Hosted by the Arid Lands Institute in partnership with UCLA’s Institute of the environment and Sustainability (IoES) is a half-day seminar and briefing for designers on the critical water challenges facing the U.S. West.
DESIGNERS, SCIENTISTS, AND RESEARCHERS JOIN FORCES TO TACKLE CRITICAL ISSUES FACING
THE WESTERN LANDSCAPE: WATER, ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
On October 29, designers, scientists, and researchers will come together at Woodbury
University in Burbank for Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the U.S. West: A
Briefing for Designers. The half-day seminar tackles the critical water challenges facing the U.S.
West.
WHAT: Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the U.S. West: A Briefing for Designers
WHEN: Saturday, October 29th, 2011 9:30 am —12:30 pm
WHERE: Ahmanson Main Space, Woodbury School of Architecture
Woodbury University
7500 Glenoaks Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91510
COST: The event is free and open to the public.
FOR MORE INFO: http://aridlands.woodbury.edu/
Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the U.S. West: A Briefing for Designers is hosted
by the Arid Lands Institute (ALI) at Woodbury University in partnership with UCLA’s Institute
of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES). The event is sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Housing + Urban Development/Office of University Partnerships and is supported by the
California Architectural Foundation (CAF), and the American Institute of Architects/California
Council (AIA/CC). Woodbury University School of Architecture is a proud supporter of the ALI’s
mission and activities.
The future of development across the western United States is intricately linked to the
availability of water. A precious, but often overlooked and misunderstood resource, water
impacts policy, the environment, and economics. Addressing these issues, a team of scientists
and researchers from UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability will present
findings, brief attendees, and answer questions on water, energy, climate change, and strategic
design opportunities for a water-smart future. “We are delighted that UCLA’s IoES is joining us in
this effort” said Peter Arnold, architect and ALI co-director. “Design without science is folly.”
Presentation topics include: the limitations posed by energy-intensive water delivery systems;
projected impacts of climate change on western water resources; myths and realities of
localized stormwater management, including case studies; and the challenges, both regional and
global, of managing water in an urbanized world.
Presenters represent thought leaders in the field of design, engineering, and sustainability
and include: Dr. Glen MacDonald, UC Presidential Chair and Director, UCLA Institute of the
Environment and Sustainability; Dr. Paul Bunje, director of UCLA’s Center for Climate Change
Solutions; Dr. Terri Hogue of UCLA’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and
Dr. Stephanie Pincetl, director of UCLA’s Center for Sustainable Urban Systems.
“Design professionals can inspire change through visionary and untraditional solutions to
seemingly intractable problems,” explained Dr. Pincetl.
Water, Energy, and Climate Challenges Facing the US West: A Briefing for Designers is part of
ALI’S 2011-2012 Drylands Design Initiative. The event support architects, landscape architects,
engineers, urban designers, and students participating in the William Turnbull, Jr. Drylands
Design Competition, an international competition seeking progressive design strategies for
low-carbon, localized water systems. Winning competition entries will be presented at the
Drylands Design Conference at Woodbury, March 2012; and displayed in a traveling exhibition
launching from the Architecture + Design Museum of Los Angeles in March 2012. http://
drylandscompetition.org/
PARTNERS:
UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability educates the next generation of
professional and scientific leadership committed to the health of the planet; advises businesses
and policymakers on sustainability and the environment; and informs and encourages
community discussion about critical environmental issues.
http://www.environment.ucla.edu/
The Arid Lands Institute at Woodbury University is an education, research, and outreach
center devoted to adaptive design strategies for drylands. Its mission is to train designers and
citizens to be resourceful and inventive in the face of water scarcity and climate change. http://
aridlands.woodbury.edu/
WOODBURY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
Woodbury University School of Architecture is a network of strategically sited hubs operating
within the complex megalopolis of Southern California: Burbank, Hollywood, and San Diego.
Together they form a critical platform. The school’s undergraduate and graduate programs in
architecture and interior architecture emphasize the development of students as architect-
citizens and cultural builders.
Norman Millar, Dean
Woodbury University School of Architecture
Woodbury University, founded in 1884, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education
in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor’s degrees from the School of Architecture,
School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies,
along with an MBA program, Master of Architecture, Master of Architecture in Real Estate
Development, and Master of Organizational Leadership. A San Diego campus offers bachelor of
architecture and Master of Architecture in Real Estate Development degrees.
http://www.woodbury.edu
PRESENTERS:
Dr. Glen MacDonald’s research focuses on climate change and its impacts on ecosystems
and societies. Areas of active field research include California, the northern Great Plains and
adjacent Rocky Mountains, the North American subarctic, Russia and Siberia.
Dr. Paul Bunje works to bridge the gap between scientists and decision makers to help society
respond and adapt to the challenges of climate change. As Executive Director of the UCLA
Center for Climate Change Solutions he facilitates innovative research and communicates
between scientists, decision makers, educators, and the public. As Managing Director of the Los
Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability Dr. Bunje works to foster
greater cooperation between government, business, universities, and non-profits in achieving
climate mitigation goals.
Dr. Stephanie Pincetl is a professor and researcher at the Institute of the Environment
and Sustainablity at UCLA, with a focus on urban land use and the transformation of their
natural environments. The theoretical core of her research is environmental politics, policies
and governance and specifically, the ways that rules and rulemaking impact the participants in
decision-making and the content of decisions. Rules can be formal or informal, hard or soft, but
they form the boundaries of what is perceived of as possible. .
Dr. Terri Hogue’s research interests include investigation and application of optimization
techniques to rainfall-runoff and land-surface modeling, and integration of these methods
into operational flood forecasting. Her research also involves analysis of land-atmosphere
interactions in semi-arid climates, with special emphasis on modeling surface fluxes in these
regions. This research provides insight into the hydrologic, energy, and carbon cycles and
possible response of these cycles to climate change.
The Arid Lands Institute @ Woodbury University is supported by funding under Grant Number HSIAC-09-CA-39 with
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of University Partnerships. The author and publisher
are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such
interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Government.