Building the Future: Towards a Climate Ready Architecture
Richard C. Yancey '85
Founding CEO, Building Energy Exchange
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Monday December 8, 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m., Boger 112
We are at an inflection point in the climate crisis. Innovative solutions are becoming built examples and ambitious policies are becoming laws, but of all the sectors that contribute to climate change, buildings are the most resistant to change, contributing over 40% of the world’s carbon emissions, and nearly 70% of most cities.
We must rapidly evolve the way we design, construct, and operate our homes, offices, schools, and factories, creating a new, climate ready architecture. Richard Yancey, FAIA, LEED AP (Wesleyan ’85), will speak to his own journey —from passionate architect to creating a nonprofit organization on the frontier of ideas and action— and share insights into the leading climate solutions for our built environment.
Starting with a Mathematics-Economics degree from Wesleyan, Richard went on to become an award-winning architect, only to pivot mid-career to create the Building Energy Exchange, a pioneering international center of excellence dedicated to building decarbonization, addressing the biggest challenge of our time.
About the speaker and Building Energy Exchange:
Richard C. Yancey, FAIA, LEED AP, is the founding CEO of Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex), a nonprofit center of excellence that is reducing the effects of climate change by improving the built environment. Through education, exhibitions, and research, BE-Ex plays a central role in New York City and New York State’s climate action plans.
BE-Ex has become an innovative international hub and a model for other cities, recently establishing the Building Performance Partnership, which has helped to launch high-performance building hubs in Washington, DC, St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Aspen, with more on the way.
In 2019, Richard was elevated to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and he received the 2023 Champion of Architecture Medal, from AIANY. He has lectured and published widely, and served on numerous expert panels, including the New York City Mayor’s Climate Action Plan Technical Working Group.
Prior to BE-Ex, Richard has over twenty-five years of experience as an award-winning architect and received his Master of Architecture from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.
This event is co-sponsored by the Samuel Silipo ’85 Distinguished Visitors Fund of the Department of Art and Art History, the College of Design and Engineering Studies, and the Bailey College of the Environment.
Past Events
Shifting Shelves — Libraries of the 19th-Century Islamic World
- Friday October 24, 1:30 p.m., Boger 115
Panelists and paper titles:
- Yael Rice (Associate Professor of Art and the History of Art and of Asian Languages and Civilizations, Amherst College) - "Scattered Leaves: The Fates of South Asian Albums (Muraqqa’s) and their Libraries, 18th-19th c."
- Deniz Türker (Assistant Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture, Rutgers-New Brunswick) - "Tanzimat’s Antiquarians, Their Coins, and Books"
- Selin Ünlüönen (Luther Gregg Sullivan Fellow in Art History, Wesleyan University) - "The Treasury, the Museum, the Library: How to Keep Books in Qajar Iran"
Extracting the Past: How the 'AI' Industry Exploits Art History and What We Can Do to Stop It
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Tuesday September 16, 4:30p.m., Boger 112
Sonja Drimmer, Associate Professor, History of Art & Architecture, University of Massachusetts Amherst