Stable, Sustainable Building. Thomas Gentry

9-13-13

Thomas Gentry has been working with the IDEAS Center at UNCC developing a method to help architects and engineers design structures in a more energy efficient and conservation minded manner.  They are basing their research off of a three-pronged approach to sustainable design through equal focus on the economic, cultural, and environmental factors that the building project influences.  By taking these three ideas and focusing our attention on how architecture affects each one, we can determine areas in which to change our design processes and improve the sustainability of our buildings in all three areas. 

Implementation of this process begins with pedagogy, in both the professional and academic environments.  Here is where the challenge lies.  Teaching students these methods is far simpler than teaching professionals already set in their ways.  In order to combat this setback, Professor Gentry and his team are looking to implement changes into building codes to implement the various methods that they have designed.  By changing the codes, the professional dimension of architecture would have to change across the board and in a way that would start to implement the change a lot faster than if we were to wait for the next generation or two of freshly graduated architecture students.