By SHAWN PIATEK
State leaders in environmentally friendly building gathered Thursday at the Pasquerilla Conference Center in downtown Johnstown for this year’s American Institute of Architects Middle Pennsylvania Chapter symposium.
“Investing in Green - Opportunities and Challenges for Practitioners and Clients” was the gathering’s theme. The AIA has become a leader in education on the benefits of green-building techniques.
“Green building” refers to certain construction techniques and standards that produce buildings that are 25 percent to 30 percent more energy efficient.
“Sustainability and green-building techniques are what every architect feels everyone building a building needs to consider,” said Tom Columbus, president of the AIA Middle Pennsylvania Chapter and an employee of the EADS Group in Somerset.
“At some point, the available resources are going to come to an end. Every green building pushes that end date back even further,” Columbus said. “They also create a healthier environment that benefits us, our children and our grandchildren.”
The event brought together about 50 architects from across the state and drew exhibitors from Pittsburgh to York.
Discussions ranged from the latest developments on the green-building front to the falling costs of green construction, a development that has made the field more competitive with traditional construction methods.
Among the key speakers was Maureen Guttman, director of Gov. Ed Rendell’s Green Government Council. Guttman, an architect, serves on the AIA national board of directors.
“Green building is a huge component of the governor’s energy independence strategy,” Guttman said.
Guttman said 77 percent of all energy generated by fossil fuels is consumed by buildings across the country.
With only about 5 percent of all new buildings being constructed “green,” she said more widespread use of green-building techniques could significantly decrease dependence on foreign energy for the state and the entire country.
“This is the low-hanging fruit in our battle to lessen our dependence on foreign energy,” Guttman said.
