Calendar

The built environment generates almost 50% of global CO2 emissions. In DC, as of 2020, buildings continued to be the main driver of citywide emissions (72%) followed by transportation (21%) and waste (7%). Architects, engineers, planners, and building owners must work together and commit to net zero emissions by 2030 to reduce the impact on climate change as specified by various climate and decarbonization initiatives. Further, in order to address climate change and decarbonization, policymakers are enacting building performance laws that require buildings to meet certain performance standards. Design professionals are uniquely suited to mitigate help resolve the climate crisis through design, educating clients, and working with navigating policy requirements to advance decarbonization and build greener cities.

Progress toward meeting this goal is well underway, and architects play a significant role in bringing these targets to fruition in a way that best serves people and communities in our city’s built environment.

DesignDC’s September conference will build on our previous symposiums of the year, with a focus on adaptive use and designing for change. Priority will be given to proposals that address:

• New and innovative strategies for adaptive use
• Case studies that lend proven approaches to resilience, adaptation, suvivability, and livability; case studies from outside the District that could inform practice here are encouraged
• Policy and design recommendations that advocate for constuction, codes, zoning, and permitting solutions yet to become commonplace in the DC built environment

About DesignDC:
Sessions selected from this Call for Proposals will be presented live and in-person at the District Architecture Center on September 19, 2024. 

All presentations must total 60 minutes in length, with ~50 minutes of instruction followed by ~10 minutes of Q&A.

All presenters will receive complimentary conference registration. Presenters are not required to be members of DesignDC host organizations.

Please save a copy of your proposal information for your records.

Proposals are due by August 1 at 5:00 pm.