Local Architect to Kick Off 2009 Planning Board Speaker Series

[Howard Hartman]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 5, 2009

Local Architect Specializing in Environmentally Sensitive
Design to Kick Off 2009 Planning Board Speaker Series

SILVER SPRING, MD – Many developers embrace the idea of building green and using strategies to minimize construction’s impact on the environment. But how far are they willing to go to earn their green label?

Carl Elefante, AIA, a local architect who has specialized in historic preservation and sustainable design for decades, will preview emerging green construction practices during a February 12 presentation to the Montgomery County Planning Board. Elefante is the first in a series of speakers who will address the board this year as part of the Growing Smarter Speaker Series.

With presentations to be scheduled roughly once a month, the series provides an opportunity for the board, planners and the general public to hear from experts on thought-provoking sustainable growth topics as the board tackles the next iteration of the county Growth Policy.

In his February 12 talk, Elefante will make a case that most commonly accepted green building practices rarely go beyond what is proven profitable or already required. Using green materials and designing buildings to capture natural light, for example, have become industry standards.

Elefante will look beyond those basics to architectural innovations, such as functioning rooftop gardens, advanced solar energy technologies, and innovative heating and cooling systems, including geothermal.

As director of sustainable design at Quinn Evans Architects, which has offices in Washington D.C., and Ann Arbor, Michigan, Elefante leads a broad spectrum of projects and lectures nationally on sustainable design.

Elefante is president of the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a founding board member of the National Capital Region Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. He serves on the Montgomery County Sustainability Working Group.

The Growing Smarter Speaker series is connected to the 2009-2011 Growth Policy. Planners working on a preliminary draft of the policy are rethinking how to manage growth, looking beyond basing it just on congestion relief and school capacity. Instead, they hope to focus on ways to enhance quality of place in our communities. Quality of place includes respecting the natural environment in the design of buildings, spaces and streets.

Continuing education credits available for self-reporting by AIA members.

Learn more about the speaker series.

Carl Elefante, AIA will speak on February 12 at 7:300pm at Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium, 8787 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring.