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PZS and The AIA 2030 Commitment

PZS Architects is a signatory to the AIA 2030 Commitment* and have been integrating the AIA Framework for Design Excellence methodology into our work for some time now. We spent several months developing our Sustainability Action Plan (<- click the link!) that we submitted along with our 2030 Commitment Letter into the Design Data Exchange (DDx). The “new” cloud-based DDx was launched in October of 2020 to allow firms to easily upload, track, and evaluate the energy-efficiency and sustainability of their projects throughout all phases of design.

We are actively entering project information into the DDX and will continue to do so in order to build a large sample size of relevant information. The data we enter will be used to promote our firm’s sustainability goals and re-affirm our commitment to becoming carbon neutral. Working within this data tracking system and implementing sound sustainability design processes as a standard practice will allow us to achieve our goals as outlined in the AIA 2030 Commitment.

We are committed to the following changes in our design process in order to succeed in our AIA 2030 Commitment:

  • Bi-weekly training sessions how to use energy analysis tools and tracking software (the DDx).
  • Implement best practices throughout the office for designing to high energy-efficiency standards.
  • Energy analysis will be standard on every project in every phase.
  • Make design decisions based on the information from the energy model and analysis software.
  • Implement sustainable manufacturers’ components into our design (walls, roofs, windows, doors, floors, and finish materials).
  • Regularly adjust BIM/office standards to make designing high-performance, energy-efficient projects second nature instead of the exception.

*The mission of the AIA 2030 Commitment is to transform the practice of architecture in a way that is holistic, firm-wide, project-based, and data-driven. Participants prioritize energy performance as they work toward carbon neutral buildings, developments, and major renovations by 2030.