Mini To Mega: Connecting Design And Nature Across Scales

Should we design around nature, with it, or for it? All of these can be correct, in the right context. But the moment calls for dreaming big rather than merely checking a box and clearing the lowest hurdle. With a focus on water and biodiversity, this session will bring together experts in landscape design, land development, and ecosystem science for an energetic and nimble conversation with something for everyone, whether you work with the very smallest of sites or the largest of plans!

Speakers:

Dr. Matthew Berg, CEO & Principal Scientist, Simfero Consultants

Elizabeth "Violet" Mak, PLA, RAS, SITES AP, Regional Director of Landscape, PEA Group

Kelly Dietrich, Director Planning & Development, The Howard Hughes Corporation

1.5 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

Equity In Action: Implementing Environmental Justice For Houston's Future

Equity in Action: Implementing Environmental Justice for Houston's Future brings together a dynamic panel representing diverse perspectives crucial to transforming Houston's environmental landscape. Public officials will share policy insights, non-profit leaders will highlight grassroots initiatives, consultants will discuss strategic interventions, and representatives from public institutions and funding bodies will delve into collaborative efforts. This discussion will unveil tangible strategies, emphasizing inclusivity and justice. From innovative policies to community-driven projects, this panel explores how each sector contributes to Houston's sustainable future, showcasing the real-world implementation of environmental equity principles that are crucial for the city's resilience and well-being.

Speakers:

Christa Stoneham, Assoc. AIA. NOMA, CEO and President, Houston Land Bank

Treasa Antony, Director of Community Relations, Community Lattice

Dr. Juan Antonio Sorto, Adjunct Professor, UHD

Ken Williams, founder of GROW Green Resources & Opportunities Workforce

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

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Pursuing Water Sustainability At Rice University

As we enter an era of a changing climate in which our rapidly-growing state will increasingly experience the extremes of both drought and intense rainfall, we’ll be faced with the responsibility of improving our management of water resources. Staff from the Office of Sustainability at Rice University will share their insights from leading many of the universitys water sustainability efforts, from enhanced leak detection to water capture and reuse to water master planning and so much more.

Speakers:

Richard Johnson, Senior Executive Director for Sustainability, Rice University

Rucker Simon, Team Director, Walter P Moore

Ian Housman, Energy & Water Conservation Specialist, Rice University

Faten Tayeh, Project Manager & Resident Associate for Martel College, Rice University

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

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Inspiring Action To Save Wildlife: How The Houston Zoos Sustainability Action Plan Influences Their Campus Projects (Tour)

In 2017, the Houston Zoo created their new Sustainability Action Plan to deeply improve the environmental impact of its operations. The Plan is a roadmap that indicates where the Houston Zoo is today, where its going, and specific strategies to get there, some of the most tangible of which are its recently completed and upcoming building and exhibit projects, including Texas Wetlands, Cypress Circle Cafe, Galapagos, and the recently underway Jack’s Cafe. Together these projects demonstrate for their community and broad audience strategies for carbon, water, and energy use reduction, historic preservation and adaptation, and biophilic and resilient design.

Speakers:

Cameron Patterson, Architect, Lake Flato Architects

Sunnie Diaz, AIA, LEED AP, Architect, Lake Flato Architects & Rialto Studio

Mark Hoffman, Director of Design & Engineering, Houston Zoo

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

Confluence Park - a COTE Award Winning Transformation Of A Utility Lay Down Yard Along The San Antonio River

Confluence Park is a living learning laboratory designed to inspire people to gain a greater understanding of Texas ecotypes and the impact of urban development on our watershed. This engaging session will share knowledge from the Architect and Landscape Architect as we discuss how low impact development strategies transform a former industrial laydown yard into a one-of-a-kind outdoor educational center serving the larger San Antonio community. Large gestures of the shaped land represent the five regional ecotypes in South Texas, while the pavilion petals are inspired by the structure of plants that funnel dew and rainwater to feed their roots.

Speakers:

Sunnie Diaz, AIA, LEED AP, Architect, Lake Flato Architects & Rialto Studio

Bobby Eicholz, Landscape Architect, Rialto Studio

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

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Design With Nature To Advance Environmental Justice In Houston’s 3rd Ward

The Leading with Equity in Adaptation Practice (LEAP) program, a collaboration between Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) and American Society of Adaptation Professionals (ASAP), addresses extreme weather and climate change impacts by integrating community perspectives. The 3rd Ward LEAP team focuses on environmental justice and equity through integrating nature into urban planning, aiming to mitigate flooding, improve air quality, and address heat resilience and energy security. This session offers insights into development regulations relationship to achieving green infrastructure, tree equity strategies, and equitable building energy systems, with a particular focus on the Columbia Tap Trail and Cuney Homes.

Speakers:

Edward Pettitt II, Graduate Research Assistant, Bullard Center for Environmental & Climate Justice

Katelelo Moapare, TSU Center of Excellence for Housing & Community Development

Sasha Marshall Smith, Revitalization Planning Program Manager, Houston Housing Authority

Nathaniel “Nat” Treadway, Community Volunteer

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

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Houston Zoo Headquarters - From Masterplan To Floor Plan (Tour)

This tour provides a unique opportunity to reflect on the successful design and execution of the recently completed Houston Zoo Headquarters (anticipated LEED gold) with the project partners to include BRAVE/architecture, GreeNexus Consulting, O’Donnell Snider Construction and the Houston Zoo. We will provide supplemental insight to the office and garage, reviewing the Zoo imperatives, site restrictions, program requirements and life safety. The following discussion will allow for multiple perspectives on the strategies used in the project to inspire and support the Zoo staff for the next 50 years of activity, growth, conservation, and education.

Speakers:

Natasha Dunn, AIA, Principal, BRAVE/Architecture

Amanda Tullos, AIA, CEO, GreeNexus Consulting

Christian Sheridan, AIA

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

Designing With Data: Using A One Health Index For Community Design

Harris County is a vibrant community of nearly 5 million people from widely diverse cultures. It also supports rich ecosystems that sustain over 10,000 recorded species of plants and animals. For all its richness and diversity at a county scale, how does the balance between people, animals, plants and their shared environment play out at a community scale? This presentation will introduce the One Health Action Ecosystem for Harris County, which represents the first efforts of its kind to establish a Harris County-specific framework for collective One Health Action through data, communications, partnerships, funding, and iterative refinement.

Speakers:

Isabelle Asakura, Associate Principal, Asakura Robinson

Jaime Gonzalez, Community & Equitable Conservation Programs Director (TX Chapter), The Nature Conservancy

Carolyn White, Harris County Public Health

Andrew Knuppel, Dir of Community Planning, Asakura Robinson

Ryan Bare, Senior Research Scientist & Program Manager Nature-Based Solutions, HARC

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

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Texas, A State That Can Grow Its Own Buildings

Mass timber construction can bring aesthetic, environmental, and financial benefits to projects. Texas teams have responded and over 80 mass timber projects in Texas. However, mass timber for Texas projects is heavily sourced from other countries and the Northwest. Few realize Texas has a surplus of timber that would reduce carbon from transportation and provide a more economical options to projects in the states. This session will build awareness and help increase demand of wood originating in the South and propel the U.S. as a major supplier of mass timber.

Speakers:

Michelle Old, AIA, Assoc. VP, Kirksey Architecture

Ford O’Brien, Texas A&M Forest Service

Dirk Kestner, Director of Sustainable Design, Walter P Moore

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

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South America’s Pantanal (Tour)

Come explore and learn more about the sustainable design, construction and operations of this 4.2 acre immersive zoo exhibit and trail telling the story of the world’s largest tropical wetlands and world’s largest flooded grasslands known for iconic species such as jaguars, giant anteaters, capybaras, howler monkeys, giant river otters, tapirs, poison dart frogs, green anaconda, blue throated macaws, oropendolas, and more 

Speakers:

Florence Tang, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, Facilities & Capital Planning, Rice University

Peter Ho, AIA, Senior Associate, BRAVE/Architecture

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

Nature-Based Solutions for Resilient Land, Buildings, And Communities: A Panel Discussion and Case Studies On Nature-Based Solutions Across Project Types And Scales.

Enhancing biodiversity and supporting flourishing ecosystems are principles of green building systems like LEED and the Sustainable Sites Initiative. This session explores tools and case studies that use green infrastructure and nature-based solutions for the built environment to work in harmony with ecological systems at the building, site, and community scales.

Green building practitioners will share their expertise in ways that nature-based design principles and strategies have enhanced quality of life through LEED, SITES and LEED for Cities certified projects. The panel will demonstrate how these projects enhance the performance and resilience of the cities and communities they serve.

Speakers:

Ryan Snow, Regional Director| U.S. Market Transformation & Development, U.S. Green Building Council

Alex Ramirez, PLA, , Principal, Design Workshop

Ryan Slattery, Resilience Division Manager, Harris County Flood District

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

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Demystifying Biodiversity Commitments In The Real Estate Sector: Targets and Strategies

This session will make biodiversity tools, methods, and metrics for the building industry accessible and easy to understand. It will start by describing the key drivers of biodiversity loss, emphasizing those impacted by the building industry. Next, currently available commitment tools will be summarized, including examples of realistic goals and meaningful metrics for the building sector. Commitment tools covered will include the Science Based Targets for Nature and the Task Force for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures. The session will close with inspirational commitments made by some of the most innovative and visionary companies addressing the biodiversity challenge.

Speakers:

Julie Hendricks, AIA, Senior Sustainability Manager, JLL Project & Development Services

1.0 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW

Evolution of Houston Parks

Doreen Stoller (Hermann Park Conservancy), Guy Hagstette and Sarah Newbery (Kinder Foundation) will describe the history of Houston’s park system and focus on its rapid evolution over the past 25 years.  From Hermann Park, to Bayou Greenways, to hundreds of SPARK parks, our green spaces are changing the face of Houston, supporting a more resilient city, and connecting us with nature and each other.  You will learn about the challenges and aspirations that shaped our recent era of park building, new strategies for meeting those challenges, and the many ways parks serve our community.

Speakers:

Doreen Stoller, President, Hermann Park Conservancy

Guy Hagstette FAIA, Senior Vice President Of Parks And Civic Projects, Kinder Foundation

Sarah Newbery, Director Of Parks And Greenspace, Kinder Foundation

1.5 AIA HSW, LA CES HSW