The Birds & the Bees: Keeping them in Mind through Sustainable Design (1.5 AIA & GBCI CE hours) hosted by the USGBC - Illinois Chapter!

Date: 26 Oct 2011 

Time: 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM

Location: Illinois Institute of Technology, Hermann Hall - Alumni Lounge, 3241 South Federal, Chicago, IL 

Program Description:

Join the USGBC - Illinois Chapter's Chicago Branch for an educational session on creative solutions to Design with Nature.

Earn 1.5 GBCI CE hours and 1.5 AIA HSW/SD units!

Sustainable design has brought us healthier, more energy efficient buildings but we must also consider the direct and indirect consequences of our design on nature.  This event will passionately discuss the effect of buildings on wildlife, specifically answering questions on how to incorporate bird safety into your high-performance building. Bird collisions with glass pose a significant hazard to birds that migrate through cities and towns every spring and fall. Thousands of birds can be killed every year by 1 single, large building.

Continent-wide, 100 million to 1 billion birds die from collisions every year.  Many species are affected from hummingbirds to hawks, including endangered species.  

This workshop will introduce the problem of bird collisions and answer fundamental questions including:

Has this problem inspired creative design solutions?

Can building operations reduce collisions?

How is the regulatory environment changing?

Why do birds collide with buildings?

How do LEED credits relate to bird-friendly design?

With bird-friendly strategies, green buildings will provide subtle visual cues that help birds safely navigate the built environment during their annual migrations. Bird-friendly design contributes to global sustainability by protecting birds on their historic travels along routes that precede the development of modern cities.

This workshop will demonstrate how individual projects can influence biodiversity and the global environment.  Design guidelines and case studies will be presented for discussion, along with consideration of LEED standards, federal and local regulation, avian ecology and successful solutions for retro-fitting existing buildings.

Speakers:

Susan Ask, University of Illinois Extension. Susan Ask is an environmental science educator, working with University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and North Park UniversityExtension.  Susan has organized educational sessions on bird-friendly design at GreenBuild 2007, 2008 and 2010; she was a speaker at the Boston and Chicago 2010 GreenBuild conference.  As liaison to the Chicago Department of Environment, she developed educational programs about green architecture and worked with city staff to include best practices for bird-safe buildings in the planned review process. 

Bob Becker, Research Director for US Congressman Mike Quigley. Bob Becker is responsible for research and policy support for federal legislation on bird-friendly buildings undefined legislation such as HR 4797 that calls for each public building constructed, acquired, or altered by the General Services Administration (GSA) to incorporate, to the maximum extent possible, bird-safe building materials and design features. The legislation would require GSA to take similar actions on existing buildings, where practicable.

Transportation & Map: Accessible via the Green Line and Red Line trains; Hourly parking lots available. Campus map available at http://www.iit.edu/about/maincampus.shtml

Registration:

$15 Chapter Members

$30 Non-Members

$10 Student Members

*Please note that as of August 1, day-of registration and walk-in registration fees will be $30 for all participants

Contact FacilitiesNet Editorial Staff »   posted on: 9/30/2011