Building on past outreach, ASHRAE and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, committing them to working together in a variety of built environment areas.
The MOU recently was signed by ASHRAE President David Underwood and AIA President Russ Davidson. The agreement states the two organizations will work jointly in areas related to development of young professionals, advocacy and public outreach, publications, education, technical activities and research.
“ASHRAE and AIA share many common technical interests, including health and safety, energy efficiency, and resilience,” David Underwood, ASHRAE president, said. “This agreement formalizes our plans to foster technical cooperation in these areas, providing needed guidance to the industry.”
“We are at a pivotal juncture as an industry to address the growing number of design challenges,” said AIA President, Russ Davidson, FAIA. “The extension of this agreement is important for our organizations to continue to work together to further sustainable design strategies, to be active on building codes related issues, as well as for providing tangible resources that are useful for our respective members in their daily practice.”
In past projects with a focus on improving energy efficiency of buildings and systems, ASHRAE and AIA are part of a group that is developing a new version of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) sponsored by the International Code Council (ICC), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The code, scheduled to be released in 2018, will be powered by ANSI/ASHRAE/ICC/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings developed using the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved ASHRAE consensus process.
ASHRAE and AIA also joined together with IES, USGBC and the Department of Energy (DOE) in developing the Advanced Energy Design Guide series. The nine books in the series provide recommendations for achieving 50% and 30% energy savings over the minimum code requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings
