AIA-NJ Members Featured on PBS Special on Green Building

April 20, 2009

TRENTON, N.J. (April 19,2009) — Two members of the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA-NJ) will be featured as “green-building pioneers” on a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television feature on green builders.

Deane Evans, FAIA, executive director of the Center for Architecture and Building Science Research at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J., and David E. Cohen, AIA, of DEC Architect in Princeton, N.J., will be featured on “Green Builders,” which will air multiple times on local public television stations this month.

“Green Builders” is a one-hour high definition special profiling a cast of green building pioneers in the Garden State and beyond who have taken the leap into making their part of the built environment more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. The program is part of PBS’s celebration of Earth Day, 2009.

Evans addresses innovations in green technology and the issue of introducing sustainable features to university campuses, while Cohen talks about the green building techniques employed in the construction of his home.

“This PBS special demonstrates how New Jersey is in the forefront of green building,” said Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, LEEDap, president of AIA-NJ, which is based in Trenton, N.J. “We are proud that members of our organization are leaders in the green building movement, and that they are able to play a part in a television documentary calling attention to the environmental and economic benefits of building green.”

“Green Builders” looks at various approaches and levels of commitment to green building, and at the individuals who have turned green building theory into reality. The individuals involved in green projects, including the Willow School in Gladstone, N.J.; PNC Bank; and The Hopewell Project, a solar-hydrogen home in Hopewell, N.J., talk about why they went green, the challenges they faced and how their projects have fared.

The profiled pioneers are building the foundations of a widespread movement that will make the nation’s built environment less harmful to the dwindling supply of healthy natural resources and less expensive to operate, according to PBS. Their homes and offices are the proving grounds for green building techniques and their experiences reveal that building greener is less complicated and expensive than one would have thought.

“In most cases, one finds that a green building project has more to do with smart planning and a mindset change about energy use than about expensive technologies or consumer sacrifice,” the network said about the program.

In addition to builders and designers, those profiled on the show include teachers, homeowners, corporate leaders, academic specialists, leaders of institutions and universities and inventors. Among the many innovations examined by the program that are making green technology effective and affordable are geothermal storage, wind farms and extensive solar array systems.

New Jerseyans looking to build an environmentally friendly project should consult the “Find an Architect” section of the AIA-NJ Web site at www.aia-nj.org. Many members of AIA-NJ are certified in sustainable design and can provide earth friendly solutions for your next building project.   

The program was produced by NJN Public Television and Radio and funded by the Geraldine R. Dodge and Cape Branch Foundations. To learn more about the program, find out when it airs in your area or view it online, please visit http://www.pbs.org/greenbuilders/about-the-film.html. “Green Builders” is also available from PBS Home Video at www.ShopPBS.org or 877-PBS-SHOP.

By WeSpeak Easy | Posted in AIA-NJ News, Members & the Community, Uncategorized | Tagged: cohen, evans, green building, PBS, sustainable | Comments (0)