Committee on the Environment (COTE)

The Committee on the Environment (COTE) works to advance, disseminate, and advocate—to the profession, the building industry, and the public—design practices that integrate built and natural systems and enhance both the design quality and environmental performance of the built environment.

COTE serves as the community and voice on behalf of AIA architects regarding sustainable and resilient design. AIA Pittsburgh’s COTE has three sub-committees:

  • Education: Offering talks and seminars on sustainability and resilience topics
  • Mass Timber: Exploring the opportunities and challenges of tall/mass timber construction in Pennsylvania. 
  • Deconstruction / Reuse/ Circular Economy: Advocating for building material reuse as a vital component of our region’s economy and sustainability goals.

The COTE meets the last Tuesday of the month at 3:30pm.

Committee Members

More committee members means we get more done! Interested in joining us? Click here for more info:

Join us
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  • George Rieke, AIA  – Stantec
  • Cat Wick, AIA: Co-Chair  – IKM
  • Courtney Singley, Associate AIA: Co-Chair  – Stantec
  • Rebecca Schwartz, AIA  – Michael Baker
  • Jason Andrews, Associate AIA  – Rothschild Doyno Collaborative
  • Drew Armstrong, Assoc. AIA  – Univ. of Pittsburgh
  • Kirsten Clemens, AIA  – BCJ
  • Mindy Coblentz, AIA  – GBBN
  • Ian Cook, AIA  – evolve
  • Stuart Coppedge, FAIA  – Desmone
  • Melissa Destout, AIA  – Perkins Eastman
  • Sharleen Devjani, AIA  – Gensler
  • Mike Gable  – Construction Junction
  • Rob Hosken, AIA  – Building Performance Architecture
  • Joshua Lee, AIA  – CMU
  • Paul Messineo, Jr., P.E.  – Allen + Shariff
  • Marc Mondor, AIA  – evolve
  • Gary Moshier, AIA  – Moshier Studio
  • Nathan Myers, AIA  – Jacobs
  • Pia Niaditch, AIA  – Gunton
  • Chris Pegher, AIA  – WTW
  • John Ryan, AIA  – DesignGroup
  • Natasha Smith  – PJ Dick
  • Natalie Tompkins, AIA  – Stantec
  • Marco Virgili, AIA  – Stantec
  • Fred Watts, AIA  – IKM
  • Megan Zeigler  – Green Building Alliance

COTE is working on planning 2023 events.  Please visit the following Google Form if you’d like to suggest buildings for site tours:  

AIA Pgh CoTE Site Visit Options 2023

The COTE’s Framework for Design Excellence Education Series kicked off with its first session: PEOPLE . The focus: how architects can use the Framework to highlight the sustainability strengths of their projects, envision and design a new generation of buildings, and develop a new way of talking about the work they are already doing.

The AIA Pittsburgh CoTE Education Series continued with its second seminar: PLACE. A panel of experts addressed the next 3 design measures in the Framework for Design Excellence – Design for Integration, Discovery, and Change – and spoke to how focusing on these measures impacts a building’s connection to its site, occupants, and future.

The CoTE Education Series concluded with its third seminar, PLANET. A panel of experts addressed the final 4 design measures in the Framework for Design Excellence – Design for Ecosystems, Water, Energy, and Resources.

Join us at our upcoming meetings!

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