Building Energy Exchange launches Architect Leadership Council to accelerate decarbonization of NYC buildings 

New York, NY The Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex) has formed the Architect Advisory Council (AAC), a collaborative project with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and New York Energy Research and Development Authority to engage city architectural leaders in the mitigation of the climate crisis. 

The BE-Ex AAC is led by distinguished co-chairs: 

• Gina Bocra, AIA, LEED fellow, chief sustainability officer, NYC Department of Buildings 
• Chris Corcoran, program manager, team lead - codes, products, and standards, NYSERDA 
• Fiona Cousins, PE, CEng, LEED fellow, principal, Arup 
• Bruce Fowle, FAIA, founding principal emeritus, FXCollaborative 
• John Lee, RA, principal owner, Distant Lands 
• Richard Yancey, FAIA, LEED AP, executive director, Building Energy Exchange 

The recent adoption of New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act (CMA), the District of Columbia’s Clean Energy climate action plan, and the AIA’s Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Climate Action are all manifestations of the increasing momentum toward reducing the effects of climate change through the built environment. 

Beginning in 2024, all large NYC new and existing buildings will need to meet increasingly stringent carbon emission limits or face monetary penalties, under the CMA’s Local Law 97 of 2019; and, in 2025, the city will become one of the first cities in the world to adopt a predicted energy use code, as part of Local Law 32 of 2018. In 2020, the Architects Advisory Council seeks to evaluate how the profession must radically adapt to meet these ground-breaking requirements, and provide actionable recommendations to catalyze the design and construction of buildings compliant with these newly stringent codes and regulations, as well as the normalization of high performance building practices in architecture. 

Building Energy Exchange 2020 Architect Advisory Council members: 

Architects: 

• Kai Bergmann, FAIA, BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group 
• Stephanie Carlisle, Kieran Timberlake 
• Jared Della Valle, FAIA, Alloy LLC 
• Carl Elefante, FAIA, FAPT, LEED AP, Quinn Evans 
• Rocco Giannetti, FAIA, NCARB, LEED AP, Gensler 
• Mark Ginsberg, FAIA, LEED AP, Curtis + Ginsberg Architects 
• Stefan Knust, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Ennead Architects 
• Yasemin Kologu, RIBA, LEED AP BD+C, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill 
• Deborah Moelis, AIA, CPHD, Handel Architects 
• Dan Piselli, AIA, LEED, CPHD, FXCollaborative 
• Mallory Taub, WELL AP, LEED AP BD+C, Gensler 
• Kim Yao, AIA, 2020 president AIANY, Architecture Research Office (ARO) 

Engineers: 

• Elias Dagher, PE, LEED AP, CPHC, Dagher Engineers 
• Sarah Sachs, LEED AP BD+C, BEng, Buro Happold 

Organizations: 

• Ben Prosky, Assoc. AIA, executive director, AIANY 
• Illya Azaroff, AIA, president-elect AIANYS 
• Charlie Marino, CEA, LEED AP O+M, ASHRAE NY 
• Elizabeth Kelly, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability 
• Laurie Kerr, FAIA, LEED AP, LK Policy Lab 
• Michael De Chiara, Esq., Zetlin & De Chiara LLC 
• Michael Rosenberg, FASHRAE, LEED AP, CEM, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 

The Building Energy Exchange thanks the co-chairs and council members for their dedicated support in this critical effort and greatly looks forward to sharing outcomes of this initiative with the design, construction and real estate industries. 

The Building Energy Exchange is a center of excellence dedicated to reducing the effects of climate change by improving the built environment. BE-Ex accelerates the transition to healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient buildings by serving as a resource and trusted expert to the building industry.