About the Department of Architecture
Sustainability
The Department of Architecture, along with our partner in SALA, Landscape Architecture, is home to an array of significant accomplishments and research agendas in the area of sustainable architecture.
The new Stuckeman Family Building, the home of the Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, was Penn State’s first LEED certified building. The MorningStar, Penn State’s entry in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, a house exhibited on the National Mall in Washington, placed fourth overall in the international competition. Penn State will compete again in the 2009 Solar Decathlon. Also, for the last eight years, architecture students have explored sustainable practices as a primary focus of the American Indian Housing Initiative (AIHI).
Several faculty members approach sustainability in architecture as a critical part of their research agendas. James Wines, author of Green Architecture, is an internationally known specialist in the field. Lisa Iulo and Scott Wing led the Department’s contribution to the 2007 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. Ute Poerschke and Loukas Kalisperis research energy and environmental modeling as a tool in the architectural design process. James Kalsbeek has conducted several seminars in building material reclamation. Jodi La Coe develops strategies for beginning design students to approach sustainable materials. Rebecca Henn researches social barriers to sustainable building design and construction.
As a means to facilitate the Department’s efforts in sustainable architecture, the Committee for Environmentally Conscious Architecture (CECA) was established in 2008. Its primary objective is to define and continually enhance the sustainable curriculum in the undergraduate programs. In addition, it studies models of sustainable pedagogy in other institutions and acts as a point of contact with other institutes and centers inside and outside the university. On October 23-25, 2009, CECA organizes the Symposium “Environmentally Conscious Design - Educating Future Architects” supported by the College of Arts and Architecture, SALA, the Department of Architecture, the Raymond A. Bowers Program for Excellence in Design and Construction of the Built Environment, and the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence.
Faculty Expertise:
Undergraduate and Graduate Curriculum Questions of Environmentally Conscious Architecture:
Lisa Iulo: ldi1@psu.edu
Loukas Kalisperis: lnk@psu.edu
Jodi La Coe: jll154@psu.edu
Ute Poerschke: uxp10@psu.edu
Malcolm Woollen: msw12@psu.edu
Green Theory of Architecture:
James Wines: juw3@psu.edu
Rebecca Henn: rhenn@psu.edu
Passive and Active Energy Systems, Energy Efficient Architectural Design:
Denson Groenendaal: dxg10@psu.edu
Lisa Iulo: ldi1@psu.edu
Darla Lindberg: dvl2@psu.edu
Ute Poerschke: uxp10@psu.edu
Malcolm Woollen: msw12@psu.edu
Urban Sustainability:
Lisa Iulo: ldi1@psu.edu
Community Dynamics:
Darla Lindberg: dvl2@psu.edu
Rebecca Henn: rhenn@psu.edu
Solar Decathlon:
Lisa Iulo: ldi1@psu.edu
Jodi La Coe: jll154@psu.edu
Scott Wing: sww10@psu.edu
www.solar.psu.edu
Design Build:
Jodi La Coe: jll154@psu.edu
Scott Wing: sww10@psu.edu
Building Material Reclamation:
Jodi La Coe: jll154@psu.edu
James Kalsbeek: jtk3@psu.edu
Energy and Environmental Simulation in Architecture:
Loukas Kalisperis: lnk@psu.edu
Ute Poerschke: uxp10@psu.edu
Technical System Integration in Architecture:
Darla Lindberg: dvl2@psu.edu
Ute Poerschke: uxp10@psu.edu
LEED:
Rebecca Henn: rhenn@psu.edu
Lisa Iulo: ldi1@psu.edu
Ute Poerschke: uxp10@psu.edu
CECA: ceca@psu.edu
Lisa Iulo, Malcolm Woollen, Ute Poerschke (chair)
Loukas Kalisperis, Denson Groenendaal, Charles Cox, Christine Gorby
Recent Graduate Theses related to Sustainability Research at Penn State’s Department of Architecture:
2010 Rohan Haksar: An Investigation into a Visual Framework Integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Energy Simulation Software (ESS) Workflow in the Early Design Phase, Co-Advisers: Ute Poerschke, Loukas Kalisperis
2009 Suhas Bambardekar: An Investigation into the Methods to Facilitate the Use of Energy Simulation Programs by Architects in the Early Design Stage, Adviser: Ute Poerschke
2009 Emily Denhoed: Urban Co_Evolution. The Architectural Linkage Between People and Ecology, Adviser: Lisa Iulo
2009 Kaustav Gupta: Sustainable Design Guidelines in India – The Excluded Issues, Adviser: Jawaid Haider
2008 Gina DeLeon: Institutional Design and Post-Desaster Construction: Towards a Self-Generative Society, Adviser: Darla Lindberg