Building and Environment is very proud to announce the 2013 Best Paper Awards and 2013 Best Paper Award for a Young Author, established in 2007 as a measure to encourage the publishing of high-quality papers in the journal. According to the review scores and the recommendations from the reviewers, there are 26 candidate papers eligible for competing the best paper awards. The Editorial Advisory Board carefully evaluated those papers according to their originality, contributions to the field, quality of presentation, and soundness of the science.  Finally the Paper Award Committee, which consisted of Tim Xu (chair), Jon Wright, and Kwang Woo Kim, all of whom are also members of the Editorial Advisory Board, selected the following awards:

2013 Best Paper Awards:
·         Jörgen Falk and Kenneth Sandin, “Ventilated rainscreen cladding: Measurements of cavity air velocities, estimation of air change rates and evaluation of driving forces,sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132312002193>” Building and Environment, Volume 59, January 2013, Pages 164–176.
·         Peter Barrett, Yufan Zhang, Joanne Moffat, Khairy Kobbacy, “A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning,sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132312002582>” Building and Environment, Volume 59, January 2013, Pages 678-689.
·         Cheng-Chun Lin, Liangzhu (Leon) Wang, “Forecasting simulations of indoor environment using data assimilation via an Ensemble Kalman Filter,sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132313000887>” Building and Environment, Volume 64, June 2013, Pages 169-176.

2013 Best Paper Award for Young Author:
·         Delia D’Agostino, “Moisture dynamics in an historical masonry structure: The Cathedral of Lecce (South Italy),sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132313000577>” Building and Environment, Volume 63, May 2013, Pages 122-133.

Let us congratulate the authors for their significant contributions to the state-of-the-art. They should be very proud of their achievements in a very competitive pool of more than 1300 submissions in 2013.

Winning papers are free to access until 31 march 2014.

Washington, D.C. – November 6, 2013 – The jury for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Upjohn Research Initiative, a joint program of the College of Fellows and the Board Knowledge Committee to support knowledge sharing between practitioners and academicians, has announced the five projects selected to receive grants.

 

The purpose of this grant, now in its seventh year, is to provide base funds for applied research projects that advance professional knowledge and practice. The 18-month long project grant qualifies recipients to have their findings and outcomes published both electronically and in a nationally distributed publication. The total award of $105,000 will be spread across the selected proposals. The jury felt the process and deliberations were fully consistent with the blind-peer review intent of the program. This blind-peer review helps add an element of rigor to the process whereby proposals are debated on their own merits. The following five submissions were selected for funding:

 

Project Title: Daylighting Design Performance Criteria for Alzheimer Care Facilities, Towards Evidence-based Best Practices for Improved Care

Principal Investigator: Kyle Konis, PhD, AIA, University of Southern California

Abstract: The objective of this research is to establish empirical daylighting design requirements and performance criteria for assisted living facilities serving people with Alzheimer disease.

 

Project Title: Tenant Engagement in High Performance Buildings and Communities

Principal Investigator: Julie Kreigh, AIA, LEED AP, CSBA, Kriegh Architectural Studios

Abstract: Design professionals have developed methodologies to predict and analyze post-occupancy energy performance in project-specific high performance design environments.

 

Project Title: Learning Environments Design and Diversity

Principal Investigator: James Determan, FAIA, Morgan State University

Abstract: The primary intent of this research is to provide learning space designers and educators with evidence of the link between classroom design and enhanced learning outcomes using subjects that accurately reflect the future student population.

 

Project Title: Sustainable Transparency: Kinetic Building Facades

Principal Investigator: Kyoung-Hee Kim, PhD, University of North Carolina

Abstract: This applied design research project advances two domains of architectural knowledge: Kinetic Facade Design and Sustainability Performance Assessment.

 

Project Title: Responsive Pneumatics: Prototypes for Biologically Inspired Air-Based Envelope Systems

Principal Investigator: Kathy Velikov, University of Michigan

Abstract: This proposal seeks funding to advance physical prototype-based research examining new performative, formal and aesthetic potentials of cellular pneumatic foil-based envelope systems towards low energy light-transmitting building facade applications.

 

The jury for the Upjohn Research Initiative includes: Jury Chair William Joseph Carpenter, PhD, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, Southern Polytechnic State University Lightroom Architecture + New Media; Leonard Bachman, University of Houston; Christine Barber, Director of Research at Gensler; Henry Hardnett, FAIA, Indian Health Service; Marlene Imirzian, FAIA, Imirzian Architects; Calvin Kam, PhD, AIA, PE, LEED AP, Stanford University; Keith Diaz Moore, PhD, AIA, University of Kansas; Burton L. Roslyn, FAIA, FARA, DBIA Roslyn Consultants, LLC. and William J. Stanley III, FAIA, Stanley, Love-Stanley, P.C. The Upjohn Research Initiative is named after Richard Upjohn, the first president of the AIA and a founding member.

2013 Upjohn Call for Submissions

Objective

To provide base funds to be matched for applied research projects that advance the value of design and professional practice knowledge.

Description

The AIA seeks proposals for research projects to be completed in an ~18-month period beginning December 1, 2013. The AIA will award up to four grants, between $15,000 and $30,000 each, for selected projects (awarded funds must be hard-dollar matched; a maximum of 10 percent of funds may be used for overhead). This grant qualifies recipients to have their findings and outcomes published both
electronically and in a nationally distributed publication.

Preference will be given to proposals that have teams comprised of both academics and practitioners. Also preferable are long records of team collaboration and a budget using less than the 10 percent maximum for overhead (i.e., indirect costs).

AIA Upjohn Research Context

Proposals that address the value of design, practice issues, or novel materials and methods of construction are welcome. The research ideally will relate to architectural knowledge within the Building Performance domain.

www.aia.org/practicing/akr/AIAB098205 (PDF)

http://www.brikbase.org/

The National Institute of Building Science (NIBS) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) announces the launch of BRIK: Building Research Information Database.

A collaborative effort, the Building Research Information Knowledgebase (BRIK) is an interactive portal offering online access to peer-reviewed research projects and case studies in all facets of building, from predesign, design, and construction through occupancy and reuse.

BRIK offers a user-friendly approach to those involved in creating the built environment—from researchers to clients to builders to designers to occupants—to help them find the building research, information, and knowledge they need to design, build, own, and operate high-performance buildings.

BRIK presents reseach programs and products in three, clearly defined and identified levels:

• Partners’ research will be vetted under a Memorandum of Agreement with partnering non-profit associations, educational institutions, national labs, and government agencies;
• Contributors’ research provided by firms and companies will be reviewed before posting; and
• Individuals may submit research that will be reviewed before posting.

This is professional and academic peer reviewed research report searchable archive. It will launch with 500 documents and grow over time. It serves as a repository of legacy knowledge and new knowledge for the disciplines of design and construction to get timely and accurate information on building science topics.