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The Center for Environmental Building + Design [CEBD] is a faculty research unit and consultancy at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design dedicated to improving the environmental future of buildings and cities. We look beyond building efficiency standards and net-zero formulations to design truly resilient buildings and cities. We use the knowledge, technologies, and expectations of the twenty-first- century metropolis to navigate the energy transition to the renewable resource base of pre-industrial economies. The challenges of environmental design occur at multiple, interacting scales and can only be approached systemically, so the CEBD works in interdisciplinary teams on projects at a range of scales.
- Climate Action Planning for academic and non-profit institutions
- Building products and components, such as responsive building skins, advanced glass.
- Building performance & design, including energy, daylighting and air flow analysis, new materials and methods of construction, and management strategies for large collections of buildings.
- Urban and Regional assessment, land use strategies, resource allocation, and decision making for resilient development.
The Center for Environmental Building + Design is organically aligned with programs in the school, from which faculty, graduate research assistants, and full-time research associates and post-docs are drawn. The work occurs in multiple levels of activity.
- Research and consulting projects
- Publication of findings in journal articles, books, and other media
- Education in formal degree programs and through public symposia and workshops
The CEBD is directed by Dr. William W. Braham, Andrew Gordon Professor of Architecture, who also serves as Director of the MSD in Environmental Building Design. He has worked on energy and architecture for over 35 years as a designer, consultant, researcher, and author of many articles and books. He published Architecture and Systems Ecology: Thermodynamic Principles for Environmental Building Design, in three parts (2015). He also co-edited Architecture and Energy: Performance and Style (2013) and Energy Accounts: Architectural Representations of Energy, Climate, and the Future (2016).