Sustainable Built Environments

Vivian Loftness FAIA, is an internationally renowned researcher, author, and educator focused on environmental design and sustainability, climate and regionalism in architecture, and the integration of advanced building systems for health and productivity.At Carnegie Mellon University, Professor Loftness holds the Paul Mellon Distinguished Chair in Architecture, is one of 40 University Professors, and served a decade as Head of the School of Architecture. With over 30 years of industry and government research funding, she is a key member of Carnegie Mellon's leadership in sustainability research and education and contributor to the ongoing development of the Intelligent Workplace - a living laboratory of commercial building innovations for performance.Her collaborative research is captured in over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and books, as well in the 2013 and 2020 Springer Reference Encyclopedia of Sustainable Built Environments, for which she serves as Editor.
Professor Loftness has served on over 25 Boards of Directors, including EPA's NACEPT, DOE's FEMAC, and the National USGBC, AIA, and ILFI Boards. She has served on 12 National Academy of Science panels as well as the Academy's Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment and given four Congressional testimonies on sustainable design. Her work has influenced national policy and building projects, including the Adaptable Workplace Lab at the U.S. General Services Administration and the Laboratory for Cognition at Electricity de France.
Professor Loftness has been recognized as a LEED Fellow; a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council, the New Buildings Institute, and the Scott Energy Institute; and one of 13 Stars of Building Science by the Building Research Establishment in the UK. She received Awards of Distinction from AIA Pennsylvania and NESEA, holds a National Educator Honor Award from the American Institute of Architecture Students,and a "Sacred Tree" Award from the US Green Building Council. Professor Loftness is a Bachelor of Science and Master of Architecture from MIT.