Elisa Rocha, AIA
Chair, Committee on the Environment (COTE)
On the heels of Earth Day, we acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of everyone who participated in acts of volunteerism, education, conservation, advocacy, and design intervention. The AIA Oregon Committee on the Environment (COTE) recognizes our collective responsibility to maintain that momentum and build on those efforts to protect and positively impact the environment and our community. As a local affiliate of the American Institute of Architects COTE Knowledge Community, AIA Oregon COTE supports AIA National COTE’s mission to work “for architects, allied professionals, and the public to achieve climate action and climate justice through design. We believe that design excellence is the foundation of a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future. Our work promotes design strategies that empower all AIA members to realize the best social and environmental outcomes with the clients and the communities they serve.”
In support of this mission, AIAO COTE is focused on addressing issues of great importance in Oregon: energy use reduction, operational and embodied carbon reduction, climate justice and equity, health and well-being, and resiliency in response to extreme heat events and wildfires. We are committed to educating professionals and the public on these issues, and we do so by collaborating with sustainable design practitioners and allied professionals to provide educational programming through our AIA Digital Design Series presentations and through the annual Green Champion Summit, which takes place during Sustainable Building Week in October. We share resources and learning opportunities from COTE Network leaders across the country to help architects transform their practices for climate action and climate justice. And we contributed to the incorporation of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence principles into the design criteria for AIA Oregon Design Awards submissions.
AIAO COTE is open to architects and allied professionals, and we welcome everyone who is interested in participating in our efforts. We also invite all AIA 2030 signatory firms in Oregon to attend our monthly meetings, share their experiences, and assist us with developing educational opportunities to lift up all design professionals and give them the tools they need to take on that challenge.
We meet on the third Thursday of each month, and our meetings are a forum for open discussion about sustainable project work, initiatives, strategies, challenges, solutions, and advocacy. Our intention is to bring the community together to share, inspire, and cross-pollinate so we can learn from each other and strengthen our collective abilities to address climate change.
We hope to see you at our next meeting, and we invite you to attend the next Digital Design Series event on May 10th, which will feature the Oregon Design Awards 2030 Winner: the Oregon Treasury Administrative Office Building. It has been distinguished as the highest-rated USRC Platinum building in Oregon and the first USRC base-isolated structure in the United States. This DDS event will be a unique and important learning opportunity for all of us.
Thank you,
Elisa Rocha