Thursday March 8, 2007 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Sponsors: Benjamin Moore, Computer Floors Inc./ASM, C/S Group, Forbo, Natural Cork, Tate Access Floors, Zeftron, Zumtobel Staff Lighting, GreenDepot

                     STATEWIDE SPONSOR:     

Down to Zero: Reducing Carbon Emissions
Sustainable Solutions Across Scales

Speaker: Fiona Cousins, PE, LEED, Principal, Arup

This lecture will cover:

• In the current context of increasing CO2 concentrations and increasing concern about global warming it is important for us to understand how we, as building design professionals, owners and individuals can influence the amount of CO2 released.
• This presentation describes the effort and process involved in the zero-carbon design of a fictional building in a hot, humid climate. This includes discussion of the facade, the program and the systems.
• It becomes clear that it is not possible to achieve zero-carbon using the building footprint alone for the type of program and location that was selected. The talk therefore identifies ways in which zero carbon can be achieved by reaching beyond the building site.
• It also becomes clear that the building itself is not the only contributor to carbon emissions and that transportation to and from the building is a major factor. The ways in which these carbon costs can be reduced is discussed.
• Finally, the individuals within the building are also contributors to carbon emissions so the ways in which each individual's carbon emissions can be reduced is discussed.

Biography: Fiona Cousins

Fiona Cousins is Mechanical Engineer and Principal at Arup, which she joined in 1985. She has extensive project management and mechanical engineering experience. She has done work for both corporate and institutional clients on a wide variety of building projects including office developments, laboratories, libraries, performing arts centers, airports and educational buildings. Her projects have ranged from small to extremely large and have included renovation and new build, fast-track cost-efficient space and tight control highly designed buildings. She has undertaken project management responsibilities at all stages of projects, and with many different types of building systems – from conventional VAV to chilled beams and ventilated facades.

She has maintained a strong interest in the thermal performance of buildings, developing thermal analysis software and energy analyses. She has worked with LEED and SPeAR®, the in-house Arup Sustainability analysis software, and has also managed energy analyses for NYSERDA.

Among her many projects are the Fulton Street Transit Center, Lincoln Center Master Plan, LEED studies for the Museum of Women in New York, the General Motors Warren Technical Center Campus in Michigan, Denver’s Union Station, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego and Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, to name just a few. She has also worked on numerous international projects and has facilitated a number of LEED workshops.

Ms. Cousins holds an MA in Engineering Science and an MSt, Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment from the Science from the University of Cambridge. She has been an Associate Professor at Yale, and is currently Chair of the USGBC NY Chapter.