Carl S. Sterner

Iowa City Passive House

Design

An affordable Passive House on an infill site in Iowa City, by Sol Design + Consulting. This contemporary take on a saltbox-style home utilizes low-embodied-carbon materials, and is on track to achieve PHIUS+ 2018 certification.

Solving the Climate Crisis in the Age of Trump

Writing

Trump’s election couldn’t have come at a worse time for the climate: carbon emissions must peak by 2020 to avoid catastrophic climate change. Here are six ways we can move forward with large-scale climate solutions.

Iowa Nest Residence

Design

An earth-bermed Net Zero Energy passive solar house for a private client in southeast Iowa. More info at www.iowanest.com.

Minimizing 30-Year Carbon Emissions

Writing

How can a building minimize carbon emissions over a 30-yr horizon, including both the upfront carbon of new building materials and carbon emissions from building operation? This essay presents a methodology and research outline.

Why Architects Must Lead on Sustainability

Writing

There are two reasons why sustainable design is central to the architect's practice and education: an ethical and a practical reason. (An open letter to the NAAB.)

Variations on a Copland Theme

Music

For solo piano. Based on a theme from Aaron Copland's Piano Variations.

Reclaiming Nature's Metropolis

Design

This dramatic re-envisioning of Chicago as a sustainable, Net Zero Energy city won a top award in the Living City Design Competition. With Röllerhaus Pictureworks & Design Co.

Cincinnati Deep Energy Retrofits

Design

Deep Energy Retrofits of two 150-year-old brick homes in Cincinnati, Ohio, by Sol Design + Consulting, looking at how to minimize 30-year carbon emissions, including both operational and embodied, or "upfront" carbon. More info at www.cincinnatideepenergyretrofit.com.

Designing Resilience

Writing

This essay links current work in complex adaptive systems theory and network theory to urban planning and design via three case studies. Published in New Directions in Sustainable Design (Routledge, 2011).

Responding to Modernity

Writing

An analysis of two forms of residential development through the lens of Jürgen Habermas's understanding of Modernity and its alternatives. A preliminary effort to apply Habermas’s critical theory to the built environment.

National Forecast

Music

A composition for soprano and piano. Lyrics from The New York Times.

Shaker Spa

Design

A movement against spirit/body and man/nature dualisms. The building takes an open approach to thermal comfort, relying on thermal mass, shading, and surface temperature to provide a varied and visceral experience.