Thursday June 14, 2007 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
FUNDAMENTALS OF SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
A Case Study of The Sam’s Point Conservation Center
Sponsors: Benjamin Moore, Computer Floors Inc./ASM, C/S Group, Forbo, Natural
Speaker:
Matthew
Bialecki, AIA, Principal
Matthew Bialecki Associates
Background:
The Sam’s Point
Conservation Center
is a 3,200 sf. interpretive facility providing educational programs and
administration support for staff and visitors using the 5,000+ acre Sam’s Point
Preserve in Cragsmoor, NY. A joint project of the Nature
Conservancy and the Open Space Institute, The Center is located on the
Shawangunk Ridge - a high rock plateau stretching over 50 miles from Rosendale, New York to
the Pennsylvania
border.
The project brief required that the facility be designed to meet LEED standards for sustainable architecture, and integrate the buildings architectural expression with the educational mission of The Nature Conservancy and OSI. The structure was conceived as an analogue of the Preserve’s unique geological features creating another tool for educating visitors about the landscape and ecology of the Shawangunk Ridge. In addition, the building design, site planning, building materials and systems were all designed and selected to demonstrate energy-efficient, sustainable building practices that are affordable and widely available. In 2005 the Sam’s Point Conservation Center was awarded AIA Honor Awards for Design and Sustainability. It received LEED Certification in 2007.
This lecture will cover:
- Affordable methods for achieving LEED certified buildings
- Fundamental strategies for sustainable, energy efficient buildings
- Analysis of alternative sustainable materials and systems and their cost effectiveness
- Architectural design strategies for integrating sustainable systems
- Cost effective designs for high performance building enclosures
SPEAKER BIO:
Matthew Bialecki, AIA,
Principal
Matthew Bialecki Associates
Matthew Bialecki, AIA, has been honored with numerous awards for his unique architectural designs and pioneering sustainable building technologies. A graduate of the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, he founded Matthew Bialecki Associates (MBA) in 1986 to practice architectural design and land planning. The nationally recognized firm specializes in “green” building designs inspired by the architectural history and natural environment of New York’s Hudson River Valley.
In addition to his architectural practice, Mr. Bialecki has also worked extensively in regional government, developing zoning and use regulations that encourage open space conservation and the development of sustainable communities. As a member of the Town of Gardiner Town Board and chairman of its Zoning Advisory Committee, Mr. Bialecki was instrumental in writing and passing laws that protected the Shawangunk Ridge, described by the Nature Conservancy as “one of the worlds last great places”. The new ridge zoning law and the Town of Gardiner’s efforts helped lead to New York State’s acquisition last year of over 2,300 acres of scenic ridge land and it’s addition to the Minnewaska State Park, one of the “crown jewels” of the New York State Park System.
Mr. Bialecki is currently working on a variety of architectural and planning projects, including a research and development of systems to achieve a zero net energy home and new zoning and land use ordinance for the Town of Gardiner.