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Designing for Water: Understanding Impacts for Resilience and Decarbonization

Username
Elaine Hoffman
Proposer First Name
Elaine
Proposer Email
elaine.hoffman@goodyclancy.com
Proposer Last Name
Hoffman
Proposer Company/Organization
Goody Clancy
Proposer Phone
(617) 850-6552
Proposed Session Description
Please join us for a dynamic discussion on designing for water’s impacts on resilience and decarbonization. This session will cover the topic from the perspectives of three different practice perspectives (Civil, MEP, and Architect) to delve into this complex topic that effects so many aspects of our built and natural environment. Presenters will breakdown the high impact and best practice strategies through case studies demonstrating intersections between water, carbon, and resilience.

Comments

Keirstan Entriken Mon, 11/13/2023 - 2:08 pm

Yes; This session directly responds to this year's conference theme and includes different project team perspectives, including MEP, civil engineer, and Architect. Round 2 reviewer to understand if this team has worked closely together before, level of experience of the speakers, time management etc. given three speakers for one session.

Tammy Ngo Mon, 11/13/2023 - 10:31 pm

YES: very detail in the learning objectives, and very relevant to this year theme, providing tools and resource is mentioned which in learning objective- very important, and I this can raise more focus about water in climate resilience. Between this and Proposal # 192 also about water topic, this one is a stronger candidate.  

Ben Sachs-Hamilton Mon, 11/20/2023 - 2:43 pm

Round 1 Comments: Diverse panel, arch,MEP, civil, cover water impacts on resilience and decarb. scarcity of potable water, flooding. If move to R2, work to understand format of presentation, 3 strong voices.

Tristan Grant Tue, 12/12/2023 - 8:28 am

No. I really liked this session, and I think it is strong and would be an interesting discussion of building/campus level design around water, and explore the push and pull as different disciplines vie for money and space on the site. I think showing the tension between the disciplines and how this has been successfully navigated would be engaging, especially for design professionals and owners/developers who have to navigate this and design for positive sum solutions all the time. The session would expore a few case studies presented by each, and talk about how they designed for water  use in the building and around bulk water management at site /building level. Some of this material was presented virttually at session for Boston Society of Architects if committee is interested in reviewing that to see content. This directly addresses issues of resilience and how to retrofit existing buildings/sites to manage increased precipitation and coastal flooding. If we need to bring in more content on these topics, I think this would be a great one. 

Diversity and Inclusiveness
The content of this session does address equity by discussing the impacts of flood resilience planning to other stakeholders within neighboring sites and across the watershed.
Learning Objectives
Recognize high impact opportunities and best practices for water resilience.
Utilize available tools and resources for flood resilience to apply on active projects.
Describe the primary drivers of total building water consumption, and what strategies are most impactful for reducing total building water consumption.
Understand the intersection of energy and water consumption in building operations, and how electrification of building heating systems may be beneficial to total building water consumption.
Has this session been presented before?
Yes
When and Where?
BSA Committee on the Environment
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 2 - Some prior knowledge helpful.
Session Format
Presentation followed by facilitated discussion or breakout groups
Session Format Details
3 10-minute presentations followed by 5-10 minutes panel discussion followed by Q&A
Reviewer 1
Field, Keirstan
Reviewer 2
Grant, Tristan
Curator
Schow, Mark
Proposal #
210
Session #
101
Committee Decision
Accepted
Full Description
Designing for water is a central piece of designing for climate resilience that also intersects with electrification and decarbonization in a variety of ways. As extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity, water resilience and the global scarcity of potable water are critical areas for which buildings are a major intervention point to reduce both consumption and wastewater, improve groundwater recharge, and minimize flood risks. These considerations interact with green stormwater infrastructure, building system selection, renewable energy options, as well as ability to protect existing structures in a changing climate. This session is particularly important as decarbonization efforts ramp up and will underscore how design teams should incorporate water resilience considerations into their projects through multiple lenses, ranging from coordination between green stormwater infrastructure and geothermal infrastructure to breaking down how strategies to reduce indoor water consumption dovetail with energy reduction strategies.