Category: News

The Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability Announces Major Grant Inspired by HouseZero®

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Interdisciplinary research will focus on advancing building sustainability The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University recently announced a new, major multi-year grant for “Sustainable Building and Urban Future,” one of two climate research clusters as part of an interdisciplinary initiative targeting urgent climate challenges in the built environment. “Sustainable Building and Urban Future” is one of two newly-announced clusters designed to address sources of planet-warming emissions and […]

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BBC Segment: “Staying Cool”

HouseZero® Featured in BBC Segment: “Staying Cool”

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Worldwide, the number of people facing extreme heat exposure is rising exponentially due to climate change, with heat stress being the leading cause of weather-related deaths (WHO). As temperatures continue to soar, air conditioning has become an essential technology; however, increasing reliance on AC is exacerbating global warming, contributing to higher annual electricity consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the BBC Radio 4 segment “Staying Cool,” science journalist and […]

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SNIFFIA sensor being tested at HouseZero.

Project Air: Innovative Air Quality Technology Tested at HouseZero®

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According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be two to one hundred times more polluted than outdoor air (EPA, 2024). With the average person spending 90% of their time indoors (EPA, 2024), the health risks associated with these pollutants remain an ever-present concern, highlighting the urgent need for effective solutions to improve indoor air quality and healthy building monitoring. A significant barrier to addressing indoor air pollution […]

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Urban agriculture in a French suburb.

Natures Urbaines Exhibition Presented at the Pavillion de L’Arsenal and in Published Book

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GSD Professor and CGBC Affiliated Faculty Member Antoine Picon produces CGBC research project Urban Natures: Technological and Social History What is the role of nature in urban development? Why are urban natures important? In the exhibition Urban Natures: A Technological and Social History, 1660-2030, which is on display at the Pavillon de l’Arsenal in Paris, France from April 24, 2024, to October 20, 2024, these questions are explored in detail. […]

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Center logo.

HouseZero Performance Data Showcased at a Hackathon Workshop Conducted by AI Institute in Dynamic Systems

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In an effort to showcase real-world examples of operating buildings using artificial intelligence (AI), the NSF AI Institute in Dynamic Systems used Harvard HouseZero performance data in their latest Hackathon. The Hackathon, which was part of a workshop conducted by the AI Institute in Dynamic Systems, was led by Na Li, Winokur Family Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) at Harvard University […]

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CGBC researchers win award at ASHRAE conference.

CGBC Researchers Recognized with Best Paper Award and Willis H. Carrier Award at the 2024 ASHRAE Conference

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After the 2024 ASHRAE Annual Conference on June 22-26, 2024, Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities (CGBC) researchers returned with multiple accolades, including a Best Paper Award. Elence Xinzhu Chen, instructor in Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, was recognized with the 2024 Willis H. Carrier Award. This award, established in memory of […]

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Icebergs.

Core research faculty from the CGBC win Salata Institute grants for projects confronting climate change

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The Salata Institute recently announced the first cohort of awardees from their Seed Grant Program, which serves to enable interdisciplinary research in climate and sustainability. CGBC core faculty researchers Holly Samuelson and Martin Bechthold, alongside CGBC researcher David Tish, were among those awarded. In their project, “Insulating buildings with algae foam,” Kumagai Professor of Architectural Technology Martin Bechthold, co-principal investigator Jennfier Lewis, and researcher and former DDes student Daniel Tish […]

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Energy and Buildings cover.

Publication by CGBC researchers is recognized with “Best Paper Award of Energy and Buildings published in the period from 2018 to 2022”

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a“Optimal control of HVAC and window systems for natural ventilation through reinforcement learning,” authored by Yujiao Chen, Leslie Norford, and CGBC/GSD researchers Holly W. Samuelson and Ali Malkawi, was selected as one of the “Ten best research papers” between 2018-2022 in Energy and Buildings.   The research paper explores issues of natural ventilation and energy efficiency, specifically through a reinforcement learning control strategy that makes optimal control decisions for heating, […]

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Cambridge City Councilor Quinton Zondervan.

Cambridge enacts ambitious building emissions reduction standards

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Holly Samuelson, Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities core research faculty and Associate Professor of Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, is quoted in a recent article that responds to building emissions reduction mandates in Cambridge, MA. Cambridge’s City Council set a measure that calls for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions among medium and large nonresidential buildings – a standard that affects around 1,100 buildings. In this […]

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Best of 2022 award in Advanced Materials Technologies.

Publication by CGBC researchers selected as one of “Best of 2022” in Advanced Materials Technologies

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“3D Printing of Hierarchical Porous Ceramics for Thermal Insulation and Evaporative Cooling,” authored by Alessandro Dutto, Michele Zanini, Etienne Jeoffroy, Elena Tervoort, André Studart, and CGBC researchers Saurabh Mhatre, Zachery B. Seibold, Martin Bechthold, was selected as one of the “Best of 2022” publications in Advanced Materials Technologies. Only 25 out of 2,000 submitted papers were selected for the honor. The research paper investigates how ceramic porous materials, which can […]

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