What is the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE)?
Co-located on the Rensselaer campus and in lower Manhattan, CASE unites advanced architectural and engineering practices with scientific research through a unique and intensive collaboration between multiple institutions, manufacturers and professional offices within the building industry. By bringing together ambitious building design professionals with research faculty and advanced students dedicated to the exploration of emerging building technologies, the research center is pushing the boundaries of environmental performance in urban building systems.
Rensselaer’s School of Architecture is framing its advanced degree program in Built Ecologies—focused on the development of next generation research practitioners able to provide performance-driven building technologies to support clean, self-sustaining built environments—around CASE.
• The CASE research is well positioned to have a substantial impact on
the United States' building sector, whose lack of energy efficiency
accounts for 35% of our nation's energy consumption and nearly 40% of
U.S. carbon production
• Research and system development conducted at CASE aims to implement
changes to building practices with international impact in three
priority areas: Energy consumption; Sustainable Resource Management;
and quality of access to essential resources: Fresh Air, Clean Water,
Natural Daylight, Plant and Animal Life
Why is the CASE collaboration necessary?
• Buildings account for over a third of the total energy consumption
in the United States. As new construction projects increase
exponentially in emerging global economies, acceleration in the pace
of architectural innovation and the implementation of sustainable
material and energy technology becomes ever more urgent.
• CASE will provide an environment that supports the immediate need for
innovation and the incorporation of next-generation architectural
technologies into new building projects.
