Recapping CACE 2025

Below is a summary of the presentations that AIA East TN reps attended at the CACE Conference in February 2025. The presentations are included for viewing and download as well.

From Concept to Reality: AIA’s Climate Programs & Local Climate Leadership

• An update on the 2030 Commitment includes the fact that over the last 5 years, predicted EUI reduction has plateaued at around 50%. Less than 2/3 of whole-building projects are reporting energy modeling. 10% of projects are reporting fuel sources, and 9% are using renewable energy sources. 
• The AIA Materials Pledge is reporting 287 signatory firms.
• AIA-CLF Embodied Carbon Toolkit for Architects is a resource to help understand, measure, and reduce carbon.
• The ROI of High Performance Design is a set of documents to help convince stakeholders. 
• Advocacy for sustainable design in Indiana was discussed. While Indiana has an expensive and carbon-intensive energy system, the energy codes are behind those of neighboring states. Indiana is also aggressively pursuing AI data center business, which is further expected to compound the carbon footprint of Indiana’s electric grid.
• Indianapolis specifically has one of the countries’ largest temperature ranges for a significant city, making high-performance design a high priority. Indianapolis is deploying “Thrive Indianapolis,” a strategy to promote sustainable and resilient policies. One aspect is a building performance benchmarking system. A similar system has seen marked improvements where deployed in NYC. Using similar models in other markets may help promote high-performance buildings and educate stakeholders.

Green is the New Gold: AIA Rewards Sustainable Design Excellence

• Brief Overview of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence (F4DE)
• AIA Philadelphia adoption of F4DE into the awards application process discussed. Using a modified version of the Common Application for Design Excellence. Noted that increasing the number of requirements tends to result in fewer projects being submitted, so there has been some back-and-forth on how many requirements to include.
• Compiled F4DE scores from 75 award-winning projects to compare performance across different categories. Evaluating whether certain categories should be given more weight in scoring.
• Recommend chapters start with a simple form for documenting F4DE measures and add a dedicated COTE representative to design juries.

Building Resilience: Designing and Advocating for a Changing World

• It was noted that this session originally was planned to be led by staff from FEMA, all of whom had their positions removed from the government. 
• A fire in Colorado in 2021 destroyed nearly 1,000 homes. Following this, AIA components worked to advocate for more attention and funding for resiliency, updating building codes, and removing the ability for HOAs to require flammable materials on homes.
• The AIA Resilience Design Toolkit was presented.
• Strategies used to advocate for California to adopt mandatory embodied carbon regulations were discussed. AIA California hired a consultant to work on the multi-year project. Public input sessions were stacked with dozens of subject experts to provide coordinated information.

ESG & The Built Environment: What Does it Mean for Practitioners?

• Representative from AIA International discussed global initiatives and trends regarding Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting and the opportunities in the overlaps between ESG, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence.

Congressional Issue Briefings

• Design Freedom for Federal Architecture: Mandating classical and traditional architecture as the official preferred style for federal buildings stifles innovation and harms local communities. By preventing individuals from shaping their built environment in ways that reflect their unique history, character, and aspirations, all style mandates undermine the American ideals of independence and self-determination.
• Arbitrary Fee Limitations for Federal Contracts: Limiting fees in a broad inconsistent manner hurts competition. The current system impairs fairness, competition, innovation, and growth as well as reduces efficiency and effectiveness for taxpayers.
• Architects Support More Housing: Federal, state, and local governments can empower architects to drive innovation in housing development. Increased funding, regulatory reforms, and targeted investments in affordable and workforce housing programs to create more safe, affordable, and resilient housing for all Americans.
• Architects Support Community Resiliency: Investing in resilience protects lives, safeguards the economy, and mitigates the impacts of natural disasters. Architects are essential to these efforts, bringing expertise in design and innovation to the forefront of disaster preparedness. By fully funding FEMA programs, reintroducing the Resilient AMERICA Act, and enacting the Shelter Act, Congress can ensure that communities are better equipped to face future challenges.
• Tax Incentives for Architects: If Congress does not renew these provisions, architecture firms of all sizes will face significant tax increases, limiting innovation and growth.