Lecture/Presentation

WELL Building Standard: Tools for Healthier Buildings

February 12, 2014 6PM-8PM

• Where: The Center for Architecture 536 LaGuardia Place New York, NY 10012 212-683-0023
• Hosted by: AIANY Committee on the Environment (COTE)
• Go to event website »

There exists a complex relationship between our surroundings and our well-being, yet conventional practice and our rating systems fall woefully short of helping architects to assure that our built environment actually supports our health. Current building codes, standards, and guidelines that address indoor environmental quality do so inadequately; their non-holistic approach falls short of providing effective solutions and measurable outcomes. As a result, some buildings that exist today are actually making us sick. The WELL Building Standard is a new, research based protocol for buildings that prescribes technology enhancements and performance-based measures across seven categories to make the human perform and feel better. Its use can help architects to measure health impacts and design healthier buildings Our panel of leading experts will present science- and medical- based research outlining how buildings contribute to human health and wellness. Discussion will focus on methods and tools to address these issues through design.   AIA CES: 1.5 LU | HSW   Speakers:  Robin Guenther, FAIA, Principal, Perkins+Will Dana Pillai, Executive Director, Product Development, Delos Living Ellen Tohn, Founder and Principal, Tohn Environmental Strategies Moderator: Susan Szenasy, Hon. AIA NY Chapter, Editor in Chief, Metropolis Magazine Speaker bios: Robin Guenther, FAIA  Robin is Principal of Perkins+Will and Senior Advisor to Health Care Without Harm. Her innovative healthcare projects have been published nationally and internationally. Robin is increasingly at the intersection of health care architecture and sustainable policy and participates in a wide range of advocacy initiatives while continuing to practice. She co-coordinated the Green Guide for Health Care, served on LEED for Healthcare committee, and released the second edition of “Sustainable Healthcare Architecture,” with Gail Vittori in May 2013. In 2005, she received the Center for Health Design’s Changemaker Award for her leadership and innovation in the design of healing environments. Dana Pillai Dana leads the Delos Analytics practice, and has a background analysis, economics, and research. Prior to joining Delos, Dana was a consultant at Fitzgerald Analytics, a boutique consulting firm based in New York City. While working at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, he advised the governments of several African countries on investment strategies in electricity infrastructure development and comparisons across different energy generation and distribution technologies. He established the Geographic Information System for the Millennium Villages Project – the flagship proof of concept vehicle for the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Dana holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University where he was a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow. He was also a William J Clinton Fellow for Service in India. Ellen Tohn Ellen is an environmental and health consultant with over 25 years of experience. She is the founder and principal of Tohn Environmental Strategies. Ellen works with housing developers, owners and managers to create green and healthy housing and developed the nationally recognized “One Touch” approach. Ellen served as an advisor on indoor air quality issues to the US Green Building Council’s LEED program, Enterprise Green Communities, EPA, the Department of Energy, and numerous other green building programs. Susan Szenasy, Hon. AIA NY Chapter Susan is editor in chief of METROPOLIS, the award-winning New York City-based magazine of architecture and design. Susan sits on the boards of the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, FIT Interior Design, the Center for Architecture Advisory Board, and the Landscape Architecture Foundation. She has been honored with two IIDA Presidential Commendations, is an honorary member of the ASLA and AIA NYC, and the 2008 recipient of the ASID Patron’s Prize and Presidential Commendation. Along with METROPOLIS publisher Horace Havemeyer III, Susan was a 2007 recipient of the Civitas August Heckscher Award for Community Service and Excellence. She holds an MA in Modern European History from Rutgers University, and honorary doctorates from Kendall College of Art and Design, the Art Center College of Design, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Organized by: AIANY Committee on the Environment (COTE) Price: Free for AIA members; $10 for non-members

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