Built Environment Education©
Created by architecture faculty and practitioners, BEEnow is a voluntary certification program that inspires architecture schools to emphasize the teaching of sustainability, preparing graduates to substantially contribute to low-carbon building design.
​Contact Us: 765.285.7104
About BEEnow
Built Environment Education©
BEEnow is a voluntary certification program that inspires architecture schools to emphasize the teaching of sustainability, preparing graduates to substantially contribute to low-carbon building design.
Built Environment Education©
BEEnow is a voluntary certification program that inspires architecture schools to emphasize the teaching of sustainability, preparing graduates to substantially contribute to low-carbon building design.
Background
Because the energy use of buildings is the main cause of climate change, buildings must be designed to use very little energy. Unfortunately, many architecture schools are not producing graduates who are prepared to engage climate change. BEEnow seeks to remedy this problem by inspiring architecture schools to produce graduates who are competent to design such low-energy and low-carbon buildings.
​
The 2030 Challenge and the 2050 Imperative envision a built environment that uses little carbon for its construction and even less carbon for its operation. BEEnow supports these initiatives.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Buildings
In the United States buildings are responsible for over 40 % of climate change because of the carbon dioxide emitted in their construction and operation. All future buildings must, therefore, be designed for low-energy operation and construction, employing energy-efficiency (design) strategies and renewable energy. Unfortunately, many architecture schools in the US and Canada do not produce graduates who are competent to substantially contribute to the design of sustainable low-energy buildings.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Survey of the Problem
One indication of the lack of emphasis on energy-responsive design by many architecture schools is the presentation topics of guest speakers. In such schools, speakers are rarely invited to talk about sustainability and energy-responsive design. The selection of speakers reflects the philosophy and emphasis of these schools, resulting in students with little motivation, knowledge, or skills in designing sustainable energy-responsive buildings.
The lack of interest in sustainable low-energy design is also apparent at the collective level by looking at the topics and themes of national conferences organized by the Associated Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), which represents US and Canadian architecture schools. All but one of the 12 conferences from 2007-2014 were on topics and themes other than sustainability and energy-responsive design. The one conference that covered these topics focused on resilience to the impacts of climate change and not on minimizing its severity by reducing CO2 emissions from the built environment.
​
​
​
Seeking Solutions
Years of effort by many faculty members has not been able to create any significant change to accreditation requirements for architecture schools. Consequently, a group of architecture faculty and practitioners have come together to form a voluntary certification program to encourage architecture schools to emphasize the teaching of sustainability. BEEnow is this certification program.
Architecture schools can alter their priorities so that all students graduate with the motivation and essential design skills required to create low energy- and low water-consuming buildings. These architecture schools will emphasize designs that require the least energy and water, that consume the least amount of essential resources, and that conserve embodied energy by design and by reusing materials. Sustainable buildings and communities can now be achieved through great design and innovation rather than 'add-ons' and the effort of consulting experts to fix poor designs.
​
​
​