From Research to Reality at the U’s Center for Sustainable Building Research
By Sheri Hansen | January 28, 2021
Richard Graves, AIA, in a University of Minnesota reading room near the Center for Sustainable Building Research. Photo by Gaffer Photography.
SPOTLIGHT
The mission of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Sustainable Building Research (CSBR) is to “to transform the built environment in ways that provide for the economic, ecological, and social needs of the present without compromising the future.” An ambitious aim, to be sure. But the center’s director, architect Richard Graves, AIA, brings a sense of pragmatism to the work of conducting cutting-edge research on regenerative design and making it a reality.
“Our approach to research and our ongoing relationships with stakeholders put CSBR’s outcomes in a really great place for adoption in the real world,” says Graves. “Because we create collaborative, inclusive processes, we don’t have to build a base of advocates that need convincing; they’ve been with us all along, and that helps them get to great finished projects.”
Graves and the center’s six research fellows work with developers, contractors, and policymakers to sort through studies, test theories, and help projects embrace a more sustainable, resilient future. CSBR is also a partner of the U’s School of Architecture, helping generations of students both understand and apply the research as it is woven into the core curriculum.
The work of the eight-person research team doesn’t end there. CSBR also helps to administer the SB 2030 Energy Standard, the groundbreaking Minnesota program that has put the state’s public buildings on track to achieve net-zero energy by 2030. In addition, the team was a primary partner in the creation of the 21st Century Development (21CD) tool, which helps developers and communities make progress toward equity and regenerative design in their development projects.
“We can sort and analyze the deep and broad research that’s out there, and help practitioners and stakeholders make it real, usable, and successful.”
“Our role is to serve as the bridge between regenerative design research and practice,” says Graves. “We can sort and analyze the deep and broad—and sometimes obscure—research that’s out there, and help practitioners and stakeholders make it real, usable, and successful. We’re uniquely positioned to do that because we operate within a top-notch research institution and work to academic research standards; we don’t go into our research with preconceived answers to our questions.”
What’s ahead for CSBR? Graves says they’ll be taking a deeper dive into the human health measures in the 21st Century Development framework and other tools designed to enhance health in the built environment. “We want to find the tools that are about a healthy built environment for all, not just for the one percent,” he says.
CSBR also supports policymakers as they rework policy structures to combat climate change, and it collaborates on projects in Greater Minnesota that combine environmental performance and affordability, including a net-zero-energy affordable townhomes project currently in development in Northfield.
“We’re always thinking about what the next version of ‘best’ looks like for the built environment,” says Graves. “And once we find it, we help bring it to life in Minnesota and beyond.”
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