Join us for the AIA Virginia COTE 2026 Sustainability Summit on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Richmond, VA.
The Virginia COTE Sustainability Summit brings together design professionals across Virginia committed to advancing sustainability throughout our practices. This full-day summit is structured to spark inspiration, elevate practitioner insight, and produce tangible next steps for the profession.
An opening keynote will frame the urgency and opportunity before us. Short, focused presentations by practitioners will highlight critical topics, innovations, and on-the-ground experiences to set the stage for more in depth discussion. Participants will then engage in breakout sessions centered on key sustainability issues — the specific focus of these breakouts will ultimately be defined by the attendees, but at a high level topics are anticipated to include policy and legislation, energy innovations, the AIA Materials Pledge, and resilience imperatives across the state. Each group will identify strategic priorities and actionable recommendations before sharing insights with the broader audience. The day concludes with a collective synthesis session, where themes are refined and distilled into a focused set of priorities to guide our shared work in the coming year.
Draft Agenda for the day:
8:30-9:00am: Arrival/check in & networking 9:00-9:30am: Opening keynote 9:30-9:50: Three 5-minute presentations by practitioners 9:50-10:15: Define 3-5 subtopics for breakouts/bio break/networking break 10:15-11:15: Breakout discussion sessions 11:15-11:45: Report out 12:00-1:00: Lunch 1:00-1:30: Three 5-minute presentations by practitioners 1:30-1:45: Define 3-5 subtopics for breakouts 1:45-2:45: Breakout discussions 2:45-3:15: Report out 3:15-4:00: Closing session – review priorities established during breakouts and confirm COTE priorities moving forward 2026-2027
Join AIA Virginia COTE for the 2026 Sustainability Summit on Thursday, May 28, 2026 in Richmond, VA.
The Virginia COTE Sustainability Summit brings together design professionals across Virginia committed to advancing sustainability throughout our practices. This full-day summit is structured to spark inspiration, elevate practitioner insight, and produce tangible next steps for the profession.
An opening keynote will frame the urgency and opportunity before us. Short, focused presentations by practitioners will highlight critical topics, innovations, and on-the-ground experiences to set the stage for more in depth discussion. Participants will then engage in breakout sessions centered on key sustainability issues — the specific focus of these breakouts will ultimately be defined by the attendees, but at a high level topics are anticipated to include policy and legislation, energy innovations, the AIA Materials Pledge, and resilience imperatives across the state. Each group will identify strategic priorities and actionable recommendations before sharing insights with the broader audience. The day concludes with a collective synthesis session, where themes are refined and distilled into a focused set of priorities to guide our shared work in the coming year.
More details to follow soon – Save the Date! (Photo credits: Illustration by Thanh Huong Bui on Unsplash)
Join AIAVA COTE and USGBC for our 2026 building tour series! We wish to celebrate exciting and innovative sustainable building design around the Commonwealth. Each month we will focus on a project in one of the five AIA Virginia component areas that has achieved LEED or other sustainable certification. Tours will provide AIA and USGC CEU’s for participants.
The addition to the Sadler Center at the College of William and Mary realizes the College’s vision for a “Student Life Neighborhood” at the heart of campus, consolidating 11 student affairs departments into a single, high-performance building for students and staff. The design process and building itself aimed to foster ownership and agency among students, truly creating a “student building.” Sustainable design elements such as an overhang shade system along the addition’s southwestern-exposed curtain wall, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and radiant ceilings for heating and cooling create a healthy and comfortable interior environment for occupants that also further the College’s goals for longevity and developing a bright future for their students.
Interested in joining the VA COTE monthly calls!? We would love to have you join and participate.
Meetings are held virtually the first Wednesday of each month from 4:00-5:00 p.m. For more information and to join the calls, please contact Delaney Ogden at dogden@aiava.org.
In this three-part workshop, sustainability experts will focus on the basics of what architects need to know to integrate successful energy modeling into their practices. Various types of modeling systems will be discussed as well as how to decipher the layers of data needed to successfully complete a sustainable project.
Virtual WorkshopDates:
October 9 (Great Design – Climate, Daylighting and Comfort) October 23 (Energy Modeling Basics)
November 21 (Optimizing Energy Models)
Time: 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Zoom webinar
Cost: FREE
Up to 3 AIA LU
Session Three will provide detailed studies and the optimization of energy modeling for an architectural practice. Panelists will discuss the advantages of simplified “shoebox” energy models for initial design planning. They will also demonstrate multiple zone energy models for more advanced modeling. Participants will workshop the shoebox energy model and study how it can be an effective tool using a portfolio of industry standard software tools. This final presentation will tie together the tools needed for the integration of energy modeling in architectural practice.
After this session participants will be able to:
Discuss the advantages of shoebox energy modeling for initial design planning.
Describe the differences between shoebox energy modeling and multiple zone energy models.
In this three-part workshop, sustainability experts will focus on the basics of what architects need to know to integrate successful energy modeling into their practices. Various types of modeling systems will be discussed as well as how to decipher the layers of data needed to successfully complete a sustainable project.
Virtual WorkshopDates:
October 9 (Great Design – Climate, Daylighting and Comfort) October 23 (Energy Modeling Basics)
November 21 (Optimizing Energy Models)
Time: 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Zoom webinar
Cost: FREE
Up to 3 AIA LU
Session Two will demonstrate the basics of energy modeling. Panelists will describe what metrics should be considered. They will explore environmental loading, peak studies, net annual loading, net benefits, how to access climate data, as well as other basic metrics. Participants will workshop simple massing studies. Panel members will demonstrate energy modeling using a portfolio of industry standard software tools.
After this session participants will be able to:
Evaluate useful metrics and studies that may be applied to a specific project type.
Describe basic environmental loads that should be investigated in project planning.
Appraise which energy modeling programs will be applicable to their projects.
Discuss how massing studies will help model the basics of environmental loading.
In this three-part workshop, sustainability experts will focus on the basics of what architects need to know to integrate successful energy modeling into their practices. Various types of modeling systems will be discussed as well as how to decipher the layers of data needed to successfully complete a sustainable project.
Virtual WorkshopDates:
October 9 (Great Design – Climate, Daylighting and Comfort) October 23 (Energy Modeling Basics)
November 21 (Optimizing Energy Models)
Time: 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Zoom webinar
Cost: FREE
Up to 3 AIA LU
Session 1:
October 9: Great Design – Climate, Daylighting and Comfort
The first session will focus on the basics of design for comfort and tools to assess performance. How far can an architect go in-house? What collaborative team members are needed to successfully achieve sustainable design goals? What questions should the architect ask of their consultant? How do you develop and implement an efficient sustainability workflow? Participants will workshop climate and daylighting strategies led by a panel of architects and engineers.
After this session participants will be able to:
Develop a battery of productive questions and actionable metrics for consultants to answer throughout the design process.
Describe a workflow that integrates energy modeling into a design practice.
Identify tools to model climate and daylighting impacts during early stage design.
Identify the collaborators needed for successful energy modeling.
The Energy Modeling Deciphered for Architects 3-Part Virtual Workshop was a great event. To watch/rewatch the recordings of these sessions, please visit our AIA Virginia YouTube Channel here or click the links below:
In the three-part workshop, sustainability experts focused on the basics of what architects need to know to integrate successful energy modeling into their practices. Various types of modeling systems were discussed as well as how to decipher the layers of data needed to successfully complete a sustainable project.
Read the national COTE newsletter by Chair, Michelle Amt here.
MONTHLY VA COTE CALLS: Do you want to join a VA COTE monthly call!? The committee meets the third Tuesday of each month from 4:00-5:00pm and would love for you to participate. Please use this link to join!
On June 26, AIA Blue Ridge hosted design professionals and elected officials for a collaborative building tour showcasing excellent sustainable design at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke, Virginia. The LEED Silver research institute by AECOM serves as a new model for biomedical and behavioral science as part of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute.
This tour was organized in part with Virginia COTE to promote and showcase achievements in sustainable design to local and state elected officials in Virginia. If you have worked on a project that exemplifies sustainable design excellence and would like to organize a building tour please reach out to Delaney Ogden at dogden@aiava.org.
AIA Virginia COTE is awarded the AIA Virginia Knowledge Community Grant! This grant will support a three-part workshop on energy modeling tools, processes, and best practices in October 2024. This workshop will help members move their organizations towards meeting the 2030 Challenge goal of carbon neutral building by 2030.
This hybrid workshop will explore early-stage concept modeling as well as robust whole building energy modeling with virtual experts and in-person networking and knowledge sharing. Look for more information and registration soon!
The VA COTE Steering Committee sincerely thanks the AIA Virginia Member Services Advisory Council for the generous support!
