Colleen Reid - Carbon in Spatial Design: Embodied and Operational

All spatial design and the resulting built infrastructure release carbon in some form. Designers and the many stakeholders responsible for building infrastructure must be intimately aware of the impact of their decisions, as these decisions relate to both Embodied and Operational Carbon. Up until recently, most people have come to understand the need to reduce Operational Carbon, and many dramatic successes have been occurring and developing under this category. It is now well understood that Embodied Carbon has a similarly significant impact within our constructed world and will also have a tremendous impact on our future. All of us need to understand the relationship between our decisions and the resultant release of carbon and GHGs, whether we are involved in the building of infrastructure or are simply making small, everyday choices.
Speaker Bio: Colleen Reid's career comprises three intertwined strands; an architectural practice working with First Nations, concentrating on design for First Nations communities, an academic career including a professorship and senior administrative positions as Associate Dean, Chair of Environmental Design and Interim Dean, Faculty of Design at OCAD University, and an artistic career including courses taken in varying institutions as well as my own practice and gallery shows.
Within all three of these strands, she has come to understand a great need to further understand nature, nature’s relationship with our perception of beauty and our impact on sustainability. Her increased concern over climate change has similarly underlined her concern for nature and the significance of our interaction with it. Colleen desires to delineate the beauty, joy and comfort she finds in nature, as well as the awe and respect she feels for all aspects of our natural world. She hopes, as an artist, architect, and professor, to share her developing insights and underline the importance of nature to all of us, the incredible beauty of nature, and the significance of our need to respect it.
The Sustainability Council’s ongoing lecture series explores local and global perspectives on sustainability, equity and climate action. Hear researchers and practitioners from the University of Alberta and beyond in fields ranging from engineering to ecology, public health to poetry, and native studies to nanotechnology.
The University of Alberta acknowledges that it is located on Treaty 6 territory and respects the histories, languages, and cultures of First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and all First Peoples of Canada, whose presence continues to enrich our vibrant community.
Resources
uab.ca/lectures