Architecture Confronts Biodiversity-Loss Mitigation at A'18 AIA National Conference

NEW YORK, May 14, 2018 (Newswire.com) - The Zoological Lighting Institute™ announced today that it will feature renowned sustainability architect Ken Yeang, FAIA, visual ecologist Dan-E Nillson and wildlife advocate/architect James Karl Fischer at a new biodiversity-themed workshop during the annual American Institute of Architects Conference in June. This full-day workshop encourages architects to confront an issue often laid aside in the past asking: How can architectural design conserve and nurture wildlife rather than contribute to its loss?

The A'18 Conference, an annual meeting of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) that attracts leading design professionals from around the globe, lists "Equality in Sustainability: The Biodiversity & Architecture Question" as one of "five to watch" out of hundreds of programs. This AIA Workshop aligns itself with The United Nations "Decade of Biodiversity" (2011-2020) in connecting wildlife conservation to issues such as human health, cultural heritage and economic productivity. However, in linking architecture to wildlife directly, it encourages architects to protect life in different ways than they had before, adding to their current sustainability toolkit.

Biodiversity is a fundamental human right and its loss is a grave concern for communities around the world. It must be a fundamental concern of architects as well. No longer can we as architects be content with mitigating the harmful effects of building on wildlife from afar. We have to pay attention to the living things around us.

James Karl Fischer, Ph.D., AIA, RIBA, Executive Director, ZLI

Featured speakers include Dr. Ken Yeang, FAIA, a pioneer in sustainable design and an architect voted by the Guardian as "one of 50 people who could save the planet," Dr. Dan-e Nilsson, professor of functional biology and head of the Lund Vision Group in Lund, Sweden, and Dr. James Karl Fischer, AIA. Fischer serves as executive director of The Zoological Lighting Institute, www.zoolighting.org, a unique 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has a mission to "Support Photo-biology Science Through the Arts for Animal Welfare and Wildlife Conservation."

"Biodiversity is a fundamental human right and a grave concern for communities around the world. It must be of architects as well," urges Dr. Fischer. "No longer can we be content with mitigating the effects of building on wildlife remotely by saving energy or reducing emissions. Rather, architects have the chance to protect community-enhancing biodiversity directly in the way that they detail, site and source their proposed designs."

Equality in Sustainability: The Biodiversity & Architecture Question offers a clear route for architects to protect the interests of the most vulnerable. The United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020) and the associated Aichi Targets stress the particular importance of maintaining biodiversity for the poor and disadvantaged. Linked directly to social justice questions, biodiversity-loss mitigation, therefore, becomes a fundamental component of an architectural profession hopeful of serving the public at large.

Architects are able to register for Equality in Sustainability: The Biodiversity & Architecture Question as part of the A'18 Conference to be held on June 20-22, 2018, at the Jacob Javitz Center in New York City.
http://conferenceonarchitecture.com/schedule/#poster-358278

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Source: The Zoological Lighting Institute