July 14, 2008

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada launches wiki on carbon-neutral building

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has launched a wiki site to enable architects to exchange information on making buildings carbon-neutral by 2030.

In an article posted on its website, the institute said new tools are needed to respond to the 2030 Challenge.

The RAIC-endorsed challenge calls upon design professionals to become actively engaged in reducing fossil fuel use in buildings.

The site is envisioned as an interactive web tool for architects, engineers, designers and others in the search for effective strategies and techniques for improving building performance.

The RAIC unveiled the site at the 2008 Festival of Architecture in Fredericton.

“The wiki site is an exciting venue that the profession can use to share ideas and spur efforts towards ever more sustainable building,” said Stacy Christensen, chair of the institute’s 2030 taskforce.

The site is based on the same concept and software as Wikipedia.

RAIC said the site is configured to provide a source of technical information and advice from peers on design approaches, methods and materials for enhanced energy performance.

“As one investigates the various avenues of research, the evolving information found within this site will aid in the recognition that all elements of building performance have an energy signature,” the institute said.

“This recognition becomes a tool to push a broader set of environmental or sustainable design imperatives needed for the achievement of net-zero carbon emissions in buildings.”

The institute said the site will support dialogue around all issues of building performance.

The list includes: material science and performance, energy sources, conservation and generation; water use, reuse and conservation; and lifestyle impacts.

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