Author: Aubrey Ashmun

Human, Cities, Nature: Zen and Engineering Nexus

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| This event will take place in-person at 1:30 PM ET at HouseZero, 20 Sumner Road. This event is open to Harvard affiliates only. Modern cities face a significant disconnect: buildings are often designed and operated as static entities, isolated from human life and nature. Inspired by Zen philosophy, this talk reimagines buildings as living interfaces where human comfort, urban metabolism, and ecological cycles intersect. People currently spend over 90% […]

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Towards Foundation Models for Building Control

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| This event will take place in-person at 3:00 PM ET at HouseZero, 20 Sumner Road. This event is open to Harvard affiliates only. Buildings cause nearly 40% of carbon emissions in the US. Of total building emissions, HVAC systems are responsible for approximately 40-60% and account for 15% of global energy consumption. Despite advances in artificial intelligence, most buildings still operate as inefficiently as they did decades ago. Building […]

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“5 Lessons From a House That Generates More Energy Than It Uses”

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In the NPR article “5 Lessons From a House That Generates More Energy Than It Uses,” Climate Desk reporter Jeff Brady explores Robert Fortunato’s “Green Idea House” in Hermosa Beach, California—a 2,150 square foot home remodeled to produce more energy than it consumes. Brady underscores five key lessons from the project, one of which emphasizes the importance of research and planning. As part of that, he highlights HouseZero®, the CGBC […]

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Sustainable Building and Urban Future Brings Together Academia and Industry at Harvard Climate Action Week

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During Harvard Climate Action Week 2025, leading professors and industry experts came together for the panel discussion “Innovating Sustainable Buildings and Urban Development in the Era of Climate Change.” The session introduced Sustainable Building and Urban Future — a new cross-disciplinary research cluster focused on advancing innovations in materials science, AI sensing, and grid-aware controls to create scalable, sustainable building solutions. The panel discussion included cluster members Ali Malkawi (Harvard […]

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Innovating Sustainable Buildings and Urban Development in the Era of Climate Change

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| This week kicks off the third annual Harvard Climate Action Week (September 15-21), culminating in the Salata Institute’s Harvard Climate Symposium: Pathways for Progress on Energy and Climate (September 19-21). The week features events hosted by schools and centers across the University, bringing together leaders from government, business, non-profits, and academia. Together, they will explore strategies to enhance resilience in the face of climate change and accelerate efforts to […]

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Urban Natures: Climate Change Adaptation, Design Agency, and Politics

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| The Druker Design Gallery will host an evening of interdisciplinary conversation to mark the start of the fall semester and the opening of Urban Natures: A Technological and Political History 1600-2030. The exhibition measures how far we have come since the first public gardens were created, and it challenges us to envision the future of our cities in new ways. Following remarks by Dean Sarah Whiting and curator Antoine […]

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Center Spotlight: Mayuri Rajput

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For Mayuri Rajput, energy efficiency isn’t just a professional interest—it’s a personal mission born from childhood experience. “I grew up in a small town in North India, where frequent and prolonged power outages were a regular part of life, caused by scheduled rostering as the grid struggled to meet the surge in cooling demand during periods of extreme heat. Mayuri said. “These problems faced in my childhood always remained with […]

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Elizabeth Christoforetti Presents “Continuously Becoming Home: Design at the Intersection of Climate Crisis and AI” at Time Space Existence

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CGBC Faculty and Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Elizabeth Christoforetti, Presents “Continuously-Becoming Home: Design at the Intersection of Climate Crisis and AI” at the biannual architecture exhibition Time Space Existence. Elizabeth Christoforetti, CGBC Faculty and Assistant Professor in Practice of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, has curated and designed an exhibit for Time Space Existence, the biennial architecture exhibition […]

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CGBC Researchers Featured in The Washington Post

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Holly Samuelson, associate professor of architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and core research faculty member at the Center for Green Buildings and Cities and Mayuri Rajput, lecturer and CGBC fellow, were recently featured in The Washington Post article “Which home energy upgrades will save you money? We did the math.” In the article, Dr. Samuelson and Dr. Rajput simulated the potential cost savings and emissions reductions of […]

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Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction (2024-2025)

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Dr. Martin Bechthold and Dr. Holly Samuelson, core research faculty at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities recently contributed to the highlights on Psychology of Sustainable Building Operation and Health Co-Benefits in the Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction (2024-2025). The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024-2025: Not just another brick in the wall, published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for […]

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