Presenter:

Tom Kubala, Principal, The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc., Cedarburg, WI

Click Here to download the presentation from this session!

This session will examine the rigorous process by which the TKWA-led design team undertook the task of creating a new headquarters and conference facility for the Aldo Leopold Foundation while attempting to remain true to the ecological, aesthetic, and scientific spirit of Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic. Completed in spring 2007, the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center is “zero net” energy in design and will produce over 110% of annual building energy needs. Certified LEED^® Platinum in fall 2007, the Center received 61 of 61 points submitted, the highest count yet recorded in the USGBC LEED^® rating system. It is also the first building certified by LEED^® as carbon neutral in operation. Beyond its technical achievements the ultimate goal of this project has been to demonstrate a mode of thinking that awakens a deeper ecological conscience about the connections between people and land.

The presentation will also analyze how the Land Ethic manifests itself in the goal of a building that exists within the available energy resources of the site and that operates within an overall carbon neutral budget.

Learning Objectives:

1. How to replace a traditional design process with a wholeness-based approach.
2. How to achieve “zero-net” energy status by designing within the available energy budget of a site.
3. How to attain carbon neutrality by working within available site resources.

*Due to technical difficulties, podcasts for this educational session will not be available.

Presenter Bio

Tom Kubala
Tom Kubala is principal of The Kubala Washatko Architects, Inc. (TKWA) of Cedarburg, Wisconsin. TKWA embraces a design philosophy of Wholeness, where the built environment supports and enhances both human activity and natural living systems. Sustainability is a natural extension of wholeness-based thinking and is integrated into every studio project. In 2006 the firm received the Architecture Firm Award from AIA Wisconsin. Current TKWA projects are located in the United States and Costa Rica.