ALUMNI
SHIVANI LANGER AIA, LEED AP BD+C. WELL AP; Principal, Senior Project Architect, Regional Sustainability Leader, Stantec; M. Arch Post-Professional, Sustainable Design, 2003
WHY SUSTAINABILITY? WHY SUSTAINABLE DESIGN? WHY SHOULD WE CARE? Communities are facing challenges all around the world due to extreme weather events caused by an increasingly changing climate, due to an overburden on available resources, increasing pollution and waste, and negative health impacts associated with spending extensive time in unhealthy indoor environments. Empirical evidence suggests that the impacts we are seeing due to global warming are not just getting worse but will soon be irreversible. As experienced in recent climate catastrophes, the impacts are widespread, across all regions and communities, and there is urgent need for everyone to question, curb, and rethink the actions that are making the situation worse. Sustainable design provides guidelines to address these challenges. From resource efficiency and low-carbon development to designing for a resilient and equitable future and incorporating strategies for healthy environments, sustainability provides opportunities for positive change through new technologies and holistic and unified planning. A sustainable approach — integrating the natural and built environment — is key to transforming the future of our communities.
78
2021-2022
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER PATH. I grew up in India, where we moved every two years to different parts of the country for my dad’s work. I remembered and wondered for years how each house and city could be so different from the others. I decided to be an architect to understand what makes buildings and communities unique. After my BArch degree from a renowned school in India, I worked there for three years, two of which were at a firm that was known for sustainable design. This work got me interested in studying sustainable design further, and the MArch in Sustainable Design degree at UT Austin was just the right fit for me. After working in David Heymann’s architecture firm for four years and getting a great foundation and understanding of construction techniques from a patient and incredible teacher, I joined an education design firm, SHW Group, that later merged with Stantec, a large global consulting firm. I have been at Stantec for fifteen years. Along with being a principal and a senior project architect, I am Stantec’s Regional Sustainability Leader for the US Central region. On one hand, working at a large firm like Stantec has posed challenges when it comes to incorporating and implementing best practices and standards firm-wide, but on the other hand, I have learned
a lot from the varied expertise of our global staff who work in different sectors. It is also hugely rewarding to know that, in a large firm like this, we are raising the bar on all of our projects’ standards, which directly impact the huge volume of buildings and communities this firm designs. Stantec has a research and benchmarking (R+B) program, and I have been lucky to lead the Sustainability R+B group for over eight years. The discipline that we work in faces challenges that keep changing with time, and the solutions we come up with are also based on constantly evolving technologies. It is therefore important for us, through research programs such as these, to take the time to learn and be able to make informed decisions. CAN YOU DESCRIBE A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN YOUR CAREER OR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT TRANSFORMED THE WAY YOU VIEW SUSTAINABILITY OR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN? I worked as an architect for two years at a firm in India that was well-known for sustainable design. Apart from working on some school projects, the project that impacted my architectural path forward was writing bylaws for the sustainable development of a solar township in a remote location in India that experiences extreme weather conditions.
