Event Description

Research laboratories are often the most energy intensive building types, however there is great potential for decarbonizing lab facilities with intentional strategies. This presentation will identify the opportunities and challenges of carbon reduction strategies for a variety of building systems including alternatives for different building elements, including structure, envelope, interior finishes, and MEP systems through case studies - urban and less developed. It will also address the unique strategies and questions around the research facilities building type.

Speakers

Emily Grandstaff-Rice, Senior Project Manager, Perkins&Will, AIA 2023 President

Elizabeth Mikula, Technical Coordinator, LEED Green Associate, Perkins&Will

Moderator: Gregory Fonseca, AIA, Past President, AIA UK; Director of Architecture, BDP

Speaker Bios

Emily Grandstaff-Rice, FAIA, is a senior project manager/senior associate at Perkins&Will. As an architect, her portfolio includes work for a wide range of clients. Her most recent projects focus on K-12 and higher education learning environments; she is drawn to them for their ability to change students’ lives and prepare them for the future.

Emily has demonstrated continued and significant service to AIA, including leading the national equity, diversity, and inclusion conversation and serving as the 2014 president of the Boston Society of Architects/AIA. As a former chair of AIA’s Equity in Architecture Commission, she was instrumental in creating the AIA Guides for Equitable Practice. As the 2023 President, she used her national platform to advance equity and climate action and seek to effect widespread positive change in the industry.

Elizabeth Mikula is a Technical Coodinator at Perkins&Will in Boston. Her design interests lie at the intersection of Health Sciences and Laboratory Research which is reflected in her project work. She has dedicated time to research Embodied Carbon reduction in lab projects. When not researching, she volunteers two unique programs: the ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston connecting high school students to professionals in the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering fields and the Boston Architectural College.

Moderator: Gregory Fonseca is a practicing architect with 40 years of international experience. His diverse practice is evident with broad expertise in a variety of sectors, such as work place, urban regeneration, retail schemes, single and multi-family residential construction, for both large and small developers, corporate, government, non-profit, and private clients. Currently, he is the Director of Architecture in Urban Regeneration/Retail sector at BDP London, a global design-led practice. He is responsible for the design, direction, and management of multi-disciplinary teams delivering urban regeneration and mixed-use schemes for clients in the UK, Europe, Middle East, and China. 

Prior to BDP, Gregory was an Associate at Shepherd Robson, and founder of Mobius Design, a design-led practice, for 16 years in Washington, DC. He is a Past President and active board member of AIA UK, responsible for Continuing Education for Virtual Building Tours for the association. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the JF Kennedy Performing Arts Center in DC. His design credits include architectural awards for projects in the US and Europe, as well as furniture and artwork gallery exhibitions. His written work has been published in Hanley Wood for US projects and he has frequently contributed articles and thought pieces to ACROSS.