REGIONS and LOCALITIES
The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center
Highlands, North Carolina
The Mountain Retreat; Highlands, North Carolina
Green building design is a global activity, and it’s the responsibly of architects and engineers to understand green strategies for many climates and users. The 2015 SBSE Retreat theme, REGIONS and LOCALITIES, focuses on the strategies, tools, and ideas that members of SBSE are using to teach and practice appropriate building design for region and place. Systems, energy, materials, and know-how are all subject to REGIONS and LOCALITIES. How do we teach appropriate strategies for many locations, and how can we continue to value place while working globally?
In the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina we’ll share ideas, discuss solutions, and learn from other’s experience. As a traditionally difficult climate to contend with passively, the humid climate of North Carolina will be tempered by the elevation of our camp at 4,118 feet above sea level. The rolling beauty of the nation’s oldest mountain chain will be the natural centerpiece of the retreat.
Participants will stay in comfortable lodge rooms or cabins and take buffet-style meals in the community dining room. Meals will be carefully prepared from regionally grown food and seasonal produce from The Mountain’s farm. The retreat schedule is organized with morning walks or hikes, formal presentations, evening programs, a possible visit to the UNC Institute for the Environment’s Highlands Biological Research Station, and plenty of open time for informal networking and impromptu gatherings.
Critical Dates
- December 2014 - Call for Proposals
- March 2, 2015 - Proposal Deadline
- March 16, 2015 - Acceptance of proposals
- May 1, 2015 - Registration deadline
- June 16-19, 2015 - Retreat
Event Coordination
Program Committee
Alison Kwok, University of Oregon, <akwok@uoregon.edu>
Erik Herman, Mississippi State University, <eherman@caad.msstate.edu>
Alexandra Rempel, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, <rempea@rpi.edu>
Seth Holmes, University of Hartford, <sholmes@hartford.edu>
Emily McGlohn, Mississippi State University, <emily.mcglohn@gmail.com>
Site Coordinator
Emily McGlohn, Mississippi State University, <emily.mcglohn@gmail.com>
Venue / Lodging
The Mountain is located at 3872 Dillard Road (Highway 106), Highlands, NC 28741, 4 miles southwest of downtown Highlands, NC and 10 miles east of Dillard, GA on GA Highway 246/NC Highway 106. GPS is not always reliable. The Mountain Retreat Center is located 2 hours by car from the Asheville airport and 2.5 hours from the Atlanta airport.
Cell Phone and Internet Connectivity: Due to the retreat center's remote location cell phone reception is not entirely reliable. Verizon is the predominant cell phone provider in this area, but even then reception can be very spotty, especially in moving vehicles. GPS direction to The Mountain are not reliable for everyone. Please consider this possibility before you embark on the trip to the Retreat.
The center has a DSL connection for guests and a public computer will be available for your use. A land line phone is a available 24/7 at no charge. In the nearby town of Highlands, NC, the library and Buck's Coffee Shop both offer wi-fi connections.
riving directions to The Mountain can be accessed at: <http://mountaincenters.org/pages/about/directions.php>.
Vehicles can be rented at either the Atlanta or the Asheville airport.
We have set up a rideshare group. If you need a ride or if you’re driving your own car and are able to provide a ride to others, please sign up below.
Guest Access to the SBSE 2015 Rideshare Group.
Regional attractions
- Biltmore Estate
http://www.biltmore.com/ - Pisgah National Forest
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nfsnc/recarea/?recid=48114 - The North Carolina Arboretum
http://www.ncarboretum.org/ - Basilica of St. Lawrence
http://saintlawrencebasilica.org/
Call for Submissions
We call on faculty, practitioners, content experts, and students to share tools, case studies, and innovative studio exercises with attendees through workshop experiences at the 2015 SBSE Annual Retreat. Regions and Localities focuses on the strategies, tools, and ideas that members of SBSE are using to teach and practice appropriate building design for region and place. Systems, energy, materials, and know-how are all subject to REGIONS and LOCALITIES.
We invite proposals for a presentation, workshop, activity, or discussion on any of the sub-themes below. Proposals must include innovative pedagogical content that relates to teaching (and learning) for design studio and lecture/seminar courses.
Topics for Sessions & Workshops
- Global Perspectives on Place—Activities, programs, and research reflecting how these perspectives inform teaching and practice.
- Materials & Embodied Energy—Activities, assignments, and exercises that enhance an understanding of local resources, materials, and manufacturing energy.
- Regional Climate and Appropriate Technology—Projects and activities involving weather and climate analysis and strategies that address building and community impacts.
- Strategies and Tools—Exemplar tools, methods, and design strategies that teach about the importance of place and appropriateness in building design and planning.
- Roundtable Discussions & Working Groups—“Hot topics,” which could include case studies, book and grant proposals, promotion/tenure/mentorship issues, contributions to the 2050 Imperative, and so on.
- Workshops—Share projects, games, tools, material demonstrations (1 hr each).
Your proposals must include (template provided below):
- Name(s) of session organizer/presenter
- Contact information (institution, email, telephone)
- Session type: 30-minute activity or 60-minute workshop, demonstration, or hands-on activity
- Title of your presentation
- Description of presentation (250 words max.)
- Theme addressed by your proposal (choose from those above)
- Learning objectives, 3-5 goals to be achieved by participants
- Intended outcomes and deliverables
- Take away (if any) for attendees
Submission Deadline:
E-mail your proposal to Alison Kwok <akwok@uoregon.edu> by Mar 2, 2015, 5:00p Pacific Time.
Notification of Acceptance:
Monday, March 16, 2015.
Accepted presenters must register by Monday, March 30
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 2015 Retreat Proposal Template | 99.17 KB |
Registration
Registration opened February 1, 2015.
The retreat was fully subscribed!
Registration uses The Mountain’s secure registration website. You are asked to create a New User account. Information including birthday and gender are necessary for the registration system to locate the SBSE Retreat registration option. Once you've found our program you'll be able to select your desired registration package. As you complete registration, you can specify a possible roommate, food allergies, and spouse or partner attendance.
For specific questions regarding the function of The Mountain's registration system please see contact: Peter M. Raoul, Registrar at The Mountain, 828 526-5838 ext 218, or e-mail <peter.raoul@mountaincenters.org>.
Registration Types
- Participant/Presenter in Double Occupancy Room
$375.00
Includes 3 nights, shared bedroom/bathroom, bed linens, and meals. Roommate requests can be made. - Participant/Presenter in Single Occupancy Room
$475.00
Includes 3 nights, private bedroom/bathroom, bed linens, and meals. - Partner/Spouse in Double Occupancy Room
$375.00
Partners and spouses can be accommodated. Includes 3 nights, shared bedroom/bathroom with your partner or spouse, bed linens, and meals. Participation in conference sessions is not included. Please indicate your partner or spouse’s name in the roommate request form. - Student Scholarship Recipient
$25.00
Includes 3 nights, shared bedroom/bathroom, bed linens, and meals. Scholars will be expected to provide nominal logistical service during the retreat. - Cook Scholarship Recipient
Free
Includes 3 nights, shared bedroom/bathroom, bed linens, and meals. Cook Scholars must have a current SBSE membership for the 2015–16 year. Developing country memberships are available.
All participants, including student scholarship recipients, must have current SBSE membership for the 2015–16 year. Visit http://www.sbse.org/membership/newform2.htm to pay your dues.
CANCELLATION POLICY
For cancellation notices received in writing 30 days or more prior to the program start date, fees paid minus a $35 per registration administrative fee will be refunded. Cancellations less than 30 days prior to program start will receive a refund of fees paid minus a $60 administrative fee per registration. All cancellation notices/refund requests must be made in writing and be received by The Mountain prior to the program start.
Jeffrey Cook Memorial Scholarship 2015
In honor of the late Jeffrey Cook, the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) will provide up to two scholarships to qualified applicants to help defray the cost of attending the 2015 SBSE Retreat. Qualified applicants will be faculty members engaged in teaching environmental control systems (or closely related building science topics) in architecture or related disciplines. In addition, applicants MUST be from a developing country. Each scholarship will cover the majority of on-site retreat costs (including lodging, most meals, and retreat materials) and provide some support for travel expenses.
2015 SBSE Retreat Scholarships for Students
The Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) will provide up to six scholarships to qualified students to help defray the cost of attending the 2015 SBSE Retreat. Each scholarship will cover the majority of on-site retreat costs (including lodging, most meals, and retreat materials) and provide some support toward travel expenses. These scholarships will provide support for students who are interested in teaching environmental control systems (or a closely related area of building science). The focus of this opportunity is on graduate students, ideally with some experience as a teaching assistant in a building science course. Retreat scholarships will be awarded on a competitive basis.
Please see the SBSE Awards and Scholarships page for more detailed information and application instructions.
Schedule
Tuesday, June 16, 2015 Retreat Welcome
3:00–6:00 pm
- Registration The Mountain
Happy Hour! hosted by The Mountain (5:00 pm)
6:00 pm
- Retreat Welcome
7:00 pm
- Dinner
8:00–9:00 pm
- Evening Program
Wednesday, June 17, 2015 Retreat Sessions
7:30 am
- Breakfast
8:30-9:30 am
- Workshop 1 (60 min)
- DeKay, Bennett: Three Minute Manifestos
- Track A (30 min each)
- Rajkovich: Reaching Across the Aisle: Collaborations between Planning and Architecture
- Rider: LEED Lab on Campus: Fostering "Unusual Partnership"
9:30-11:00 am
- Open Time:
Explore and Networkand Office Hours
11:00-12:00 am
- Workshop 2 (60 min)
- Guzowski: Places of Light: Louis Kahn and Renzo Piano on Daylighting, Bioclimate, and the Kimbell Art Museum
- Track B (30 min each)
- Stannard: Learn, Explore and Be Inspired By Nature: A Design/Build Case Study
- Shrestha: Integrating Traditional Nepalese Architecture with Modern Sustainable Construction Practices
12:00-1:00 pm
- Presentations:
- Cook Scholars Karno Chhay & Rupesh Shrestha (20 min each);
1:00-2:00 pm
- Lunch
2:00-3:00 pm
- Track C (30 min each)
- Holmes: Enhance a global perspective through local understanding: Learning through volunteer travel
- Unaka: Teaching Social Justice in Studio towards better Ecological Design
- Track D (30 min each)
- McGlohn: Audit Squad
- Tejchman/Utzinger/Sharegh: Sound Climate: Analyzing the Acoustics of Places and Communities
3:00-3:15 pm
- Cookie Break
3:15-4:15 pm
- Track E (30 min each)
- Barnes: Exploring Building Energy Performance through IES VE Computer Modeling
- Goyal, Anderson: Practitioner’s take on Sustainability Simulations
- Track F (30 min each)
- Sattler: Recasting Dynamic Cladding: Service Provisioning for Bodies and Environments in the Age of Climate Change
- Wasley: SBSE Book Club- stone cold selections for a warming world
4:15-6:30 pm
- Open Time: Explore and Network
- SBSE Group Photo (4:00 pm)
6:30-8:00 pm
- Dinner
8:00-9:00 pm
- Evening Presentation and Bonfire to follow!
Thursday, June 18, 2015 Retreat Sessions
7:30 am
- Breakfast
8:30-9:30 am
- Workshop 3 (60 min)
- Rempel: How Should We Teach Passive Solar Heating in 2015?
- Track A (30 min each)
- Erman: Architectural Acoustics Illustrated
- Tejchman/Utzinger: Under Pressure: SimulationCFD and the Visualization of Air-Flow Around and Through Buildings
9:30-11:00 am
- Open Time: Explore and Network
- Optional Guided Hike: Explore Chinquapin Mountain
11:00-12:00 am
- Workshop 2 (60 min)
- Peters: HDR Photography for Lighting Design
- Track B (30 min each)
- Hu: The Application of Nanotechnology
- Qarout/Utzinger: Building Structure Systems: Embodied Energy & Carbon Emissions Estimation
12:00-1:00 pm
- Future Teachers Forum
Future and veteran teachers are invited to discuss college teaching issues.
1:00-2:00 pm
- Lunch
2:00-3:00 pm
- Track C (30 min each)
- Jing/Utzinger: The Response of Green Roofs to Stormwater Run-off and Heat Flux
- Kong/Utzinger: Solving Glare Problems in Architecture through Integration of HDRI Techniques and Modeling with DIVA
- Track D (30 min each)
- Pastre: Bringing hand craft to construction and connecting campuses from across the region
- Al-Hassawi: Integrating Building Systems 1 with Architectural Studios
3:00-3:15 pm
- Cookie Break
3:15-4:15 pm
- Track E (30 min each)
- Alshaali: Form Follows Wind: Architects Guide to Passive Cooling Design
- Sanders: Design of Energy Efficient Commercial Complex in Kathmandu, Nepal
- Track F (30 min each)
- Erik H: SketchUp Plug‐Ins: Teaching Technical Subjects Through Active Engagement Exercises
- Nelson/Duluk: How Gender and Age Impact the Path Toward Carbon-Neutrality
4:15-6:30 pm
- Open Time: Explore and Network
- Happy Hour! hosted by SBSE 5:00 pm
6:30-8:00 pm
- Dinner
8:00-9:00 pm
- Evening Presentations
Teaching Exchange (omiyage)
2015 Retreat Proposals
Friday, June 19, 2015 Farewell
6:45–10:00 am
- Breakfast and departures
Participants
-
Afifi, Emad / Savannah College of Art and Design
- Al-Hassawi, Omar* / Arizona State University
- Aloshan, Mohammed / Virginia Tech
- Al-Shaali, Rashed / UAE University
- Anderson, Kjell / LMN Architects
- Barnes, Ray / University of Arizona
- Bennett, Susanne / University of Tennessee
- Chakradhar, Sabin* / SIU Carbondale
- Chaay, Karno** / Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Chen, Julie / Hartford, CT
- DeKay, Mark / University of Tennessee
- Duluk, Sophia / EHDD, San Francisco, CA
- Ermann, Michael / Virginia Tech
- Goyal, Apoorv / LMN Architects
- Grondzik, Walter / Ball State University
- Guzowski Mary / University of Minnesota
- Holmes, Seth / University of Hartford
- Hong, Jing* / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Hoque, Simi / University of Massachusetts
- Hu, Ming / American Institute of Architects
- Kartub, Stacey / University at Buffalo
- Kong, Zhe / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Kwok, Alison / University of Oregon
- McDonald, Shannon / SIU Carbondale
- McGlohn, Emily / Mississippi State University
- Moffett, Brittany* / University of Southern California
- Nelson, Heather / RTKL, Washington, DC
- Papesch, Peter / Boston, MA
- Pastre, David / Clemson University
- Patt, Gail / Boston, MA
- Peters, Troy / Wentworth Institute of Technology
- Qarout, Layla* / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Rajkovich, Nick / University at Buffalo
- Reichard, Georg / Virginia Tech University
- Rempel, Alexandra / RPI
- Rider, Traci / North Carolina State University
- Sattler, Meredith / Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- Schiler, Marc / University of Southern California
- Shareghiboroujeni, Nasim* / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Shrestha, Rupesh** / Acme Engineering College, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Stannard, Sandy / Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- Tejchman, Filip / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Tuffo, Ashley* / University of Oregon
- Unaka, NJ / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Utzinger, Michael / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
- Wasley, Jim / University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
* SBSE Student Scholarship Awardee
** Jeff Cook Memorial Scholar