Michelle Kaufmann, photo by Garret Curtis

The Virginia Society AIA is pleased to announce Michelle Kaufmann as the 2011 Architecture Exchange East Keynote Speaker. Her firm, Michelle Kaufmann Studio, recipient of the 2008 TOP FIRM AWARD by Residential Architect, specializes in sustainable design including single family homes, eco-luxury resorts, and multi-family communities.  She is also a consultant for builders, developers and architecture firms on sustainability and prefabrication, and an advisor to Architecture for Humanity, and Cradle to Cradle Products Institute.

Her book, Prefab Green describes off-site construction and the green design principles of Kaufmann-designed homes such as the Glidehouse®, the Sunset® Breezehouse®, the mkLotus® and others. She has been called “the Henry Ford of green homes” by the Sierra Club and was named “2009 Green Advocate of the Year” by the National Association of Home Builders. She was also included in Business 2.0 magazine’s list of “100 People Who Matter Now,” and listed as one of the “The Green 50” by INC magazine. She has been featured on the Sundance channel, HGTV, Discovery, Planet Green and in numerous magazines including Town+Country, Dwell, Sunset, Time, and the Smithsonian.

Working to help extend education and awareness about the beauty of sustainable design, Michelle has had a number of her homes showcased in museums. A full-size replica of Michelle’s home, the Glidehouse® home was built at the National Building Museum as part of the exhibit The Green House, and a fully-functioning 3-story Smart home is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry. The home is the exhibit on green building called The Smart Home: Green + Wired. Her work has also been on display at MOCA, the Walker Art Center, the Vancouver Art Center, and the Virginia Center for Architecture.

Kaufmann received her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, and her Master’s from Princeton University. A well-known and highly-acclaimed speaker, she has taught at Iowa State University and Woodbury University, and prior to founding Michelle Kaufmann Designs, she was an Associate with Frank O. Gehry.

The 2011 Architecture Exchange East Keynote Address is sponsored by MTFA Architecture, Inc. and Hourigan Construction.