Expert Talks | Specialising in Sustainability as an Architect: What it Involves
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful interview, Arat speaks with Asan Rehman, a U.S.-based architect and sustainability expert. Asan shares her professional journey, discussing her work in sustainable architecture and how technology, specifically Building Information Modeling (BIM), helps reduce environmental impact. She emphasizes the importance of making sustainability affordable and accessible to all, noting that true progress comes from holistic approaches. The conversation touches on her research, professional projects, and advice for those entering the field. Rehman also highlights the value of programs like 1s2x in preparing professionals for industry challenges.
Takeaways
- 🌱 Sustainability affordability is a key challenge, with a focus on making technology more accessible and efficient for all.
- 🌍 Ashan Rehman is a U.S.-based architect passionate about sustainable architecture, particularly in balancing modern technology with traditional methods.
- 🏫 Ashan pursued her master's at Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on sustainable operations, building simulations, and environmental science.
- 🛠 BIM (Building Information Modeling) plays a crucial role in reducing construction waste, optimizing material use, and extending the lifespan of buildings.
- 💻 Ashan's work involves various sustainability and modeling software, with tools like Ecotrope, eQuest, Climate Studio, and Ladybug used for energy and carbon analysis.
- 🏛 Vernacular architecture in India, such as the 'jali' technique, has inspired Ashan to explore the integration of traditional methods with modern sustainable solutions.
- 💡 A significant misconception is that sustainable solutions are only for the wealthy, but long-term benefits make these solutions more affordable and accessible over time.
- 🌎 BIM aids in fighting global warming by promoting transparency in material use, carbon reporting, and retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency.
- 👷 Ashan's favorite projects include research on Indian vernacular architecture and creating a comic about a future where technology aids sustainable living.
- 🎓 Ashan encourages young professionals to explore diverse career paths in sustainability, emphasizing the importance of knowing one's passion and direction within the field.
Q & A
What challenge does Ashan Rehman identify as her biggest in the field of sustainability?
-Ashan Rehman feels the biggest challenge in sustainability is affordability. While everyone should have access to technology and comfort, the current challenge is making sustainable technology more affordable and efficient for everyone.
How did Ashan Rehman decide to pursue a career in sustainability?
-Ashan Rehman realized during her architectural studies that architecture is not just about aesthetics but also about environmental responsibility. Growing up in a place with vernacular architecture that used sustainable methods also inspired her to pursue sustainability in her career.
What are some software tools Ashan uses for energy modeling and sustainability projects?
-Ashan Rehman uses a variety of software depending on the project. For example, while studying at Carnegie Mellon, she used Climate Studio, Hope Tool, and Ladybug. Professionally, she uses Ecotrope and eQuest.
How does Ashan Rehman believe BIM contributes to sustainability?
-Ashan believes BIM helps by reducing construction waste and enhancing the lifespan of buildings. It allows for the fabrication of construction modules, which can prevent over-ordering of materials, and also facilitates tracking of carbon data and retrofitting decisions for improved efficiency.
What misconception about sustainability does Ashan Rehman aim to clear?
-Ashan wants to address the misconception that sustainability is only affordable for the rich. She argues that while the initial costs might be high, sustainable investments pay off over time through reduced operational costs like energy and gas.
What are Ashan Rehman’s favorite projects in her sustainability career?
-Ashan mentions two projects: one was a research project on Indian vernacular architecture, particularly studying 'Jali' construction for thermal comfort and daylight optimization. The second was a creative project where she imagined a future where technology enables sustainable living.
What advice does Ashan Rehman offer to young professionals wanting to specialize in sustainability?
-Ashan advises that aspiring sustainability professionals should understand the wide range of careers in the field, from energy modeling to ESG consulting, data analysis, and software development. She encourages people to identify their interests and pursue relevant courses accordingly.
What has been Ashan Rehman’s experience working with 1s2x as a mentor?
-Ashan has found her mentoring experience with 1s2x rewarding. She appreciates that students are eager to learn and improve themselves. She also values that 1s2x provides not only BIM training but also industry guidance and mentorship opportunities.
What role does Ashan Rehman believe architects play in combating climate change?
-Ashan highlights that 40% of carbon emissions come from the built environment, making architects crucial in the fight against climate change. BIM helps in reporting carbon data, making buildings more energy-efficient, and supporting retrofitting efforts to avoid unnecessary demolitions.
How does Ashan Rehman view the global responsibility in sustainability efforts?
-Ashan stresses that sustainability should be viewed holistically. It’s not just about saving money or individual health benefits; it's about the broader environmental impact. She emphasizes that the effects of climate change will disproportionately affect poorer communities.
Outlines
🎯 Introduction to the Challenge of Sustainability
🌍 The Importance of Sustainability in Architecture
🏛️ Blending Architecture and Sustainability
🔍 Utilizing BIM for Data and Sustainability
💡 Software and Tools in Sustainability
💼 Challenges in the Sustainability Field
🌿 Misconceptions About Sustainability
⚙️ BIM's Role in Combating Climate Change
🏗️ Carbon Emissions in Construction
🏆 Notable Sustainability Projects
🎓 Advice for Aspiring Sustainability Professionals
📚 The Role of Mentorship in Career Development
🌱 Final Thoughts on Sustainability
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Sustainability
💡Affordable Technology
💡Carbon Emissions
💡Energy Modeling
💡Vernacular Architecture
💡Building Information Modeling (BIM)
💡Embodied Carbon
💡Retrofit
💡Daylight Analysis
💡Operational Carbon
Highlights
Ashan Rehman emphasizes the importance of making technology accessible to everyone and the challenge of affordability in sustainability.
Ashan Rehman is introduced as a U.S.-based architect and mentor with expertise in sustainability, architecture, and sustainable building certifications.
She highlights the importance of balancing both science and art in architecture, which led her to pursue a career in this field.
Her journey to sustainability was inspired by the realization that architecture is not just about aesthetics but also about responsibility to the environment and future generations.
Rehman discusses how traditional Indian architecture, specifically vernacular methods like the jali design, influenced her interest in sustainable construction.
She highlights how Building Information Modeling (BIM) helps in reducing construction waste and improving the quality of buildings, thus contributing to sustainability.
Rehman explains how different software tools are used in sustainability projects, with tools varying based on the project needs such as daylight analysis, energy modeling, or carbon reporting.
She emphasizes that sustainability should be affordable and accessible to all, and that the cost-benefit ratio of sustainable solutions often becomes favorable over time.
She outlines the major challenge in sustainability, which is the lack of affordable, efficient technology for developing regions compared to more developed countries like the U.S.
Rehman clarifies the misconception that green or sustainable buildings are only for the wealthy, stating that long-term benefits outweigh the initial higher costs.
She discusses how BIM can help report carbon data, improving transparency in material use and reducing the environmental impact of buildings.
Rehman stresses that 40% of carbon emissions come from the built environment, highlighting the critical role architects play in reducing emissions.
She explains how retrofitting existing buildings is a more sustainable option than constructing new buildings, and how BIM aids in identifying areas for improvement.
Rehman shares one of her favorite research projects focused on Indian vernacular architecture, particularly jali design, for improved daylight and thermal comfort.
Rehman offers advice to young professionals entering the sustainability field, suggesting they explore various roles such as energy modeling, ESG consulting, or data analysis within the AEC industry.
She praises the 1s2x BIM professional course, highlighting its role in preparing students for real-world industry challenges while offering mentorship and industry guidance.
Transcripts
my biggest challenge has been that i
feel like you know it's very unfair to
tell people to not use technology i feel
like everybody should have access to
technology everybody should have access
to comfort but as a society we should be
able to give
more affordable options of technology
which is more efficient i think the
biggest challenge in sustainability
would be affordability for this reason
[Music]
hello everyone my name is arat and i'm
here with 1s2x presenting another mentor
interview where we have a chat with
renowned professionals from all over the
world
in this occasion i am proud to interview
and present to you one of our bim
professional course mentors ashan rehman
she is a u.s based architect with a deep
passion for creating a greener world
through policies business operations and
building construction she has a
demonstrated history of working in
corporate social responsibilities
designing modeling and certifying
sustainable buildings
during her time at the carnegie mellon
university she explored the fields of
sustainable operations building
performance simulations hvac systems
generative modeling environmental
science daylighting and energy finance
so greetings sapshan it is a pleasure to
have you joining us today how are you
i'm good thanks for the introduction
with us
no problem
so
let's get right into the question shall
we
yeah
excellent so
ashan you have experience as an
architect you're a certified led
professional and have even gotten your
research published
can you give us a rundown of your
professional experience up until now
yes so i started off as
with my bachelor's of architecture from
india from hyderabad and before choosing
architecture i wanted something that
you know is somewhere in between
science and arts and i thought
architecture would be
a good way to integrate both and that's
why i chose to do
architecture and once i graduated from
uh my bachelor's
oneist 2x wasn't around and i didn't
know
what to do so
i was
in between
like different uh jobs i did visual
designing for a bit and then i came back
to architecture and i was working with
various architects in india and during
my host
in architecture i always wanted to do
sustainability but then i didn't know uh
how to pursue it and so i did a lot of
courses online on coursera i did
introduction to sustainability and i
also wrote the igbc ap exam and i was
working as a designer in a 3d
visualization company called foyer in
hyderabad and even though i really loved
my job i thought that you know i should
pursue my masters in sustainability
since it's what i always wanted to do
and that's why i applied to various
colleges all over the world and
i chose carnegie mellon university and
once i graduated from cmu i started
working as a sustainability project
manager
in new york city at the level function
excellent
so
what was it that attracted you to the
field of sustainability
so there are two things um that
attracted me to sustainability so one
while i was doing architecture while i
was studying uh my five years of
bachelor's i realized that you know
architecture is not just about
aesthetics and functions
and i realized that you know architects
had like a deeper sense of
responsibility to the environment and
the future generations to come and
that's why sustainability was important
and i realized my responsibility as an
architecture and i decided that you know
i want to pursue sustainability and
that's where i saw myself in the
structure of society and another reason
is like you know
because i grew up in hyderabad there is
so much like vernacular aspects in
hyderabad even like the rest of this so
much vernacular architecture and all
these buildings were very sustainable
like their methods of construction and i
wanted to do research on how
you know you can incorporate these uh
vernacular methods and
use them to pioneer like uh
modern technology instead of looking for
completely new solutions and yeah these
are the two reasons why i decided to
pursue
excellent yeah i mean i agree that
architecture is much more than just
designing pretty stuff right
and parting from that as well
you have worked on projects that
actually require like another branch of
architecture which is managing and
analyzing a lot of data so
how has bim helped you with these
challenges
so um
when it comes to
sustainability uh like
a lot of people just see the larger
picture sustainability which is
consuming less
electricity like as less energy but a
sustainability also means like consuming
less
holistically so like reducing reusing
recycle so
how bim health is you can use like the
data available through bim to reduce the
amount of construction based like if
you're able to
uh fabricate your
construction modules you can avoid uh
over ordering materials
and you know by reducing this waste
you're
you know being more sustainable and it's
not just about not reaching material if
you use like the data in
them and you know fabricate your
construction you're also um
making like better quality products
and when you're building lasts longer
and the lifespan of your building is
longer and
yeah the lifespan of the building is
longer you are building more
excellent yeah
and
when you have like integrated bim with
the field of sustainability
um
typically what are the some some of the
software that you use on a daily basis
for that
uh so um
the software that you use uh vary depend
on what you want the output to be
so uh like if you are going uh for
like
a dating system like heat or
passive house then you would use another
software but if you want to do a
daylight analysis carbon and energy
analysis then your
software would be different so while i
was in carnegie mellon university when i
was a student i was mostly working with
climate studio hope tool and
ladybug and then when i started working
professionally i had to work with
completely new software but
uh you know there's nothing to be
overwhelmed because there are so many
softwares that are available in the
market
um it might seem difficult and
overwhelming but as long as you
understand what the basic
modeling inputs are for energy modeling
you should be able to use any software
which is available so
in
my present professional day-to-day life
i we use
ecotrope equest and
excellent
yeah i mean definitely many people think
that is like the same bim software over
and over again and
i mean many people don't realize that
revit sometimes isn't even used right
for you so maybe like never works
so what i realized is as an energy
modeler you can't uh like your
dependency on a 3d model like if your
model is on sketchup or grasshopper or
revit that will be the last point in
selecting your energy modeling software
like that is not even a priority like
the other things matter much more and as
an energy modeler you should be able to
uh you know use a gpa xml file and use
any energy modeling software
excellent
so part of that like uh
we talked about the the
ways that you want to get into the
sustainability factor
sector rather
and also all these
processes that are taken before
getting to the modeling
what do you think are some of the
biggest challenges that you have faced
as a professional in the field of
sustainability
um
so this is something that's always been
on my mind even
like before i started working
professionally like um
for example if you see
um the amount of energy
u.s consumes versus india like
america consumes 10 times more
electricity than india even though like
the population of india is one billion
the population of u.s is like 300
million and um it doesn't mean that
india is more sustainable it just means
that you know in india people don't have
access to like
uh dishwashers and washing machine and
air conditioners so
my biggest challenge has been that i
feel like you know it's very unfair to
tell people to not use technology i feel
like everybody should have access to
technology everybody should have access
to comfort but um
like
as a society we should be able to give
more affordable options of things
technology which is more efficient
and i think everybody should have access
to like a building construction or
like
equipment which is more efficient and
i think the biggest challenge in
sustainability would be affordability
yeah
yeah definitely um and i agree with you
a lot on that because for example all
this discourse about like using straws
or something like that i think it's
putting the responsibility on the
individual
yeah instead of like you know seeing
like the full picture of it and yeah i
mean also talking about how not
everybody has access to the same
technology and
infrastructure is also kind of important
and i don't think it's being discussed
enough
which is something that actually leads
to the next question which is that
you know recently there's been a lot of
discussion about sustainable development
right
um
besides what we just mentioned what are
some misconceptions that you would like
to clear about what you do in your field
um so it's still slightly related to
what i just mentioned the the
misconception is that uh
green or sustainability is only
something that
the rich can afford
so even though the first
cost of price might be high
like if you look at
the payback and the lifespan of the
building like you're eventually going to
make that money back if you invest in
something that is sustainable and
in a few years you're going to start
getting a bank for your buck because you
know you're spending less on electricity
or gas so even though it seems like it's
expensive in the long run it's
not going to be expensive
yeah
[Music]
and
for example like when we're talking also
about the whole thing of sustainability
like global warming
um how do you think that bim can help in
the efforts against uh global warming
and climate change
okay so one point i already mentioned is
about the basis like how you can use
them to reduce
uh the amount of construction waste and
the other way
can be used and is being used is uh
for reporting carbon data so whether
it's
embodied carbon or operational carbon
using them produces a lot of
transparency so
from the beginning like the conceptual
design stage to you know the design
development stage there's always
transparency about what materials you're
using and what's the embodied component
of each material and um
where you're sourcing your materials
from and because you know bim stores
this information about what materials
you're using
i think
having the carbon data
can really help in combating
global warming and
another way bim is used for this is uh
for like retrofitting and renovating
buildings like uh
breaking down a building and
constructing a new building is never a
solution you should try to retrofit what
you already have and by using you know
the data that you have you can just see
which part of your building is not very
efficient like if you should uh replace
your windows or you know add more
insulation or just replace your hvac
system like you can use
them to make these retrofitting
decisions
excellent
yeah i think that
[Music]
most like we said previously
a lot of people think that bim and like
you know something of the real world
like global warming don't actually link
up but like you said if we actually
truly see the processes that we're doing
we can actually see how it's helping
i mean simply as like you said reducing
the amount of time that we spend
doing we work which is something that we
struggle with a lot in the construction
industry
um and also the transparency and factor
of it right like
um
we can reduce all the time needed for
like
uh
things that maybe are inflated prices
are inflated or like even sometimes a
ghost
tasks or schedules
i think that
while not uh
as popular as like putting a green
building
i think that they can also help like you
said and i think that's something very
interesting to be discussing
like currently
on this stage particularly that we are
now like adopting them
in many countries right
so
go ahead yeah and um
like a lot of people just assume that
most of the carbon emissions are coming
from industry you know and factories but
actually 40 of the carbon emissions come
from the build environment so yeah
architects have a huge role to play and
i think fortunately we are
in a stage where we don't have to
like tell the importance of
sustainability to people i think
everybody now knows that climate change
is real and global warming is exist it's
just that they don't know
what to do about it
yeah yeah definitely the other way is
talking with a colleague about how
for example here in mexico we do have a
lot of
like
emissions generated by the construction
industry
but people
don't think that's real because like
most of the construction here is like
auto construction so like
people build their own stuff but
they don't realize that for example when
people self-construct they're wasting
more money they're wasting more
resources they're spending more time
constructing and that also adds to like
water pollution air pollution
and all of these like uh results of
not efficiently managing construction
and i think
it's also very important
to
make notice within our own industry
how we also like contributing to
the harm right but also i think it's
important to recognize how we can help
as well
um and parting from that uh you've been
involved in a lot of projects like we
said that deal with a lot of data with a
lot of
um analyzing for example energy
sustainability how they can reduce costs
and stuff
which one
of the projects
do you think would be your favorite
um
i'm gonna mention two projects actually
and it's going to
fall back to what we spoke just now uh
so one project is um
i something that i worked with uh with
my peers at candy melon university
ammunition she's also from
sba and uh it's
we both wanted to study about you know
indian vernacular architecture so we
chose uh this uh method of construction
used in india called the jali
uh like it has different names in other
cultures like it's called mashrabya in
the middle east and in india it's called
sejali and we wanted to you know
research on that and work on like
the solution ratio and the perforation
size and alter that and see how you can
you know increase the amount of daylight
in a room and
also uh
like give more terminal comfort by you
know
using venturi effect of them
so i think that is uh one project that
we both are very excited to work on and
another project which was
like more of a fun logic and was not a
research project is um
i had imagined uh
it was a comic and i had imagined a
future where you know technology is
taking over the world and the main
protagonist is
very lazy very dull but he's still able
to live a very sustainable life
because you know technology is helping
him live a very sustainable life and i
have given a few drawings and examples
of how that happens so that's also one
of my favorite questions
yeah thank you for sharing them i think
uh i mean we would invite our readers to
go and check her website
because that's where all of these
projects are and actually the comic is
also included there so go and check it
out
[Music]
and also talking about like um
career-wise
um do you have any advice for young
professionals who might want to
specialize in sustainability
uh so
like
you know most of the people in india are
engineers are doctors so architecture
itself is a very niche profession
and sustainability is even more niche
but when it comes to sustainability
there are many fields that people can
pursue it's not just energy modeling so
like me and my peers who did
master of sustainable design at carnegie
mellon together all of us are working
now in different fields but in
sustainability in the a industry
so people who want to pursue
sustainability
um
in the aac industry uh i think should uh
be aware of what all they can do so that
you know they can choose
like a college or a course which caters
to you know what they want to research
about so
the examples of you know this uh
sustainability in the asc industry would
be like one would be energy modeling
one can be um an esg consultant which is
like um an environment social problems
and there is a lot of scope for that you
can be a data analyst
uh you can be a software developer you
can develop all these you know softwares
for um energy modeling so there are many
things that you can do in sustainability
so my advice would be to you know
know why exactly you want to do
sustainability and where you see
yourself contributing and
like choose a course accordingly
excellent i actually didn't know that
the architecture was
there's not many architects i guess in
india is that correct yeah it's mostly
engineers mostly
doctors
wow i didn't know that actually here
mexico is kind of the other way around
yeah i mean there's a lot of like health
professionals but there's also a lot of
civil engineers and a lot of architects
and a lot of lawyers as well
but uh yeah i definitely didn't know
that so
um i think that is your advice is very
valuable especially because of that
because there is now so much people that
want to delve in in the field
and i think that your efforts and your
work actually have to or will contribute
actually to
people seeing like all the branches that
architects can actually uh
delve into right
um so part of this efforts of getting to
know like more possibilities in the
construction industry is the bim
professional course of 1s2x
which you what you are a mentor of
so
um
how you found sorry working with bonus
2x starting so far what has been your
experience
so um
so when i did architecture like
everybody in my family they are doctors
so i didn't have
uh anybody to go to for advice like
career
like whether i should be working or if i
should pursue my master's immediately so
i think one is to x uh provides
it's not just teaching you bim and
making your industry ready i think the
best thing about 102x is it also
provides industry guidance you can talk
to
people and mentors from the industry who
are doing different things in different
countries and you always have them
available for advice so you can
uh everybody is very approachable
and
you know that's one great thing about
manage to ex and it's also helping you
with you know uh learning them and
grasshoppers and you know it's clearly
gonna help you
when you start working professionally
um
and i think uh the best thing about the
students from manuscripts is like when
you are
probably have the access to maybe
something similar in college like you're
forced to do it because you know you
have to ask graduate and get your degree
but in minus 2x people whoever like
whoever has taken this course has taken
it because they wanted to because they
want to improve themselves they want to
be better so like i've always found that
the students really really want to learn
and you know it's nice
to have that experience as a mentor when
like your students are really interested
in
learning and you know sustainability is
an elective in
the
bim course and you know
it's nice that
it is an elective because
sustainability is a big part of the
ac industry and everybody should have
some knowledge about it so it's nice
that 1s2x prepares all these students
very holistically for
the real world and for the industry
excellent
well i just want to thank you alshan for
your wise words and your advice i agree
i think that the efforts that are being
made
not only by 1s2x but also from
professionals like you
that actively go and delve into the
research of sustainability and how to
merge
and the practice of architectural
resistant ability i think is very
important
not just in india but i think that we're
all over the world we need more than
than ever
these efforts
and recognizing how
we are harming as well with our
professional but
profession sorry
but also the ways that we can help that
we can uh
try to fix you know at least for the
next generations to come
so
do you have any parting words that you
want to add at the
after this interview
um
well i think i just
uh
say that you know look at
the
bigger picture and
the impact that you're creating to the
environment it's not always about
how
you are saving money if you're being
more sustainable or how your health
might improve because you're being more
sustainable think about
the environment and everybody as
a whole because
like as things get worse as the climate
change happens it's not the rich people
that are going to suffer it's going to
be
the poor people that are going to
just
be kinder
[Music]
yeah
excellent i agree totally
um so yeah this was the interview with
abshan rechman once again i thank you so
much for your time i think that
everything you said and shared was very
valuable and i hope that the readers
that will be checking this interview
later in the website as well in video
will be able to
pick on the ways that they can improve
their profession
uh so yeah thank you so much for
watching and thank you option for your
time
thank you so much bye bye
[Music]
you
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