February’s special Sustainability in Practice section highlights materials, design approaches, research, and technology that reduce carbon footprints across scales and typologies, from biomass plants to office towers to mass-timber structures with big green ambitions. Also included in this expanded CEU section is an in-depth conversation on building renewal and material reuse with structural engineer and MIT professor John Ochsendorf.
Joined by Juliana Berglund-Brown, PhD researcher at MIT, Ochsendorf is one of several speakers at RECORD’s forthcoming Sustainability in Practice event whose work is also featured in this section, including Ilias Papageorgiou (founder, PILA) and Merritt Bucholz and Karen McEvoy (founding directors, Bucholz McEvoy Architects). The full slate of speakers and registration information for the February 19th event at MIT Media Lab can be found here.
Continuing Education

To earn one AIA learning unit (LU), including one hour of health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit, read the articles above and complete the quiz. Upon passing the quiz, you will receive a certificate of completion, and your credit will be automatically reported to the AIA. Additional information regarding credit-reporting and continuing-education requirements can be found at continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com.
Learning Objectives
- Discuss architecturally distinctive plants for generating heating, cooling, and electricity, and the pros and cons of the alternative energy technologies they house.
- Explain technical practices and strategies behind successful adaptive-reuse and retrofit projects, especially as they relate to high-rise structures.
- Describe design principles that can reduce embodied carbon, improve building performance, and enhance occupant comfort.
- Investigate the specification of reused or upcycled steel components, and their suitability for new projects.
AIA/CES Course #K2502A