TALLAHASSEE, FL - During the last week of the 2008 session, the Legislature took the initiative to position Florida as a leader in energy conservation and reducing greenhouse emissions in the built environment, sustainable design. As the voice of Florida architects, the Florida Association of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Florida) applauds the governor and the Legislature for taking this giant green step toward preserving our environment and protecting our future.
Media reports concerning HB 7135 have focused heavily on the bill's goal of increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. We would like to take a moment to highlight the bill's language regarding newly constructed and substantially renovated state-owned or leased buildings that will be required to meet environmental design standards, which will ultimately provide energy savings over the life of the structure. This is almost the very definition of sustainable design, a term AIA Florida and its members use regularly to describe our efforts.
With a requirement for state buildings to be constructed in compliance with a recognized green building rating system, we believe HB 7135 will propel Florida to the forefront of sustainable design and green building. This legislation comes at a critical time as research from the U.S. Department of Energy shows that buildings annually consume more than 30 percent of total energy and 71 percent of electricity in the U.S. It shows that buildings account for 49 percent of the sulfur dioxide emissions, 25 percent of the nitrous oxide emissions and 35 percent of the country's carbon dioxide emissions.
AIA Florida's commitment to green design is reflective of the national American Institute of Architects' efforts to not just talk the talk, but to walk the walk, with architects leading in the design of a sustainable future. Part of the institute's campaign, similar in nature to HB 7135, asks architects to accept responsibility for our roles in creating the built environment and consequently, altering our professional actions. We encourage our clients and the entire design and construction industries to join us in changing the course of the planet's future.
The institute has pledged to promote sustainable design, including resource conservation to achieve a minimum 50-percent reduction from the current level of fossil fuel consumption used to construct and renovate buildings by the year 2010, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
AIA Florida is the state's leading architectural and design organization, boasting a total membership of more than 3,600; as such, our members are required to take continuing-education courses on topics that now in include sustainability, green design and energy conservation. For those organizations that must meet HB 7135 requirements, the construction and/or renovation decision makers should consult and select an AIA architect.
As the profession that designs the buildings we live, work and play in, and as professionals who already adhere to the USGBC rating system, the Green Buildings Initiative's Green Globes rating system and the Florida Green Building Coalition standards, we are uniquely qualified to help Florida's counties, municipalities, school systems and private sector meet and exceed these standards. Our architects will play an integral role in providing services that align with our government's goal to make Florida a green state.
As our Legislature becomes more involved in sustaining Florida's future, AIA Florida will be there supporting this breakthrough legislation and promoting sustainable design so others can walk the walk, too. Good design is a right, not a privilege; let's make sure Florida takes advantage of it.
Source: tallahassee.com