Arizona's Sustainable Energy Future Gets Boost from New Grants
Three ASU Faculty Members Each Receive $10,000

June 17, 2010

TEMPE - Three Arizona State University (ASU) faculty members have each been awarded $10,000 APS Sustainable Design Research grants to advance sustainability through architecture, landscape architecture, industrial, interior and visual communication design.

Thomas Hartman, associate professor, ASU Herberger Institute School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, is studying the creation of design templates that optimally orient a home to reduce energy use while taking into account traditional subdivision layout and housing design plans.  

Sherry Ahrentzen, PhD, associate director for Research, Policy and Strategic Initiatives, Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family, ASU Herberger Institute School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, is designing and building a prototype for a sustainable therapeutic garden at a low-income senior housing facility.

Catherine Spellman, associate professor, ASU Herberger Institute School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, is researching urbanism and the application of sustainable design practices at the scale of the neighborhood, the street and individual houses to create a better quality of living.

"All three of these projects are helping create a sustainable energy future by incorporating energy efficiency practices in the design and construction of new infrastructure," said Ed Fox, APS Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer.

The APS Endowment for Sustainable Design Research grants come from a collaborative effort between APS and ASU. In 1994, the APS-ASU Environmental Showcase Home was built. The home was designed to help reduce consumption of natural resources and to significantly change perceptions about standard building practices and materials in the Sonoran Desert. APS donated the Environmental Showcase Home to the ASU Foundation for a New American University (ASUF) in 2000. Subsequently, ASUF sold the home and, in consultation with APS and the college, used the proceeds to establish an endowment. It is this endowment that funds the APS Sustainable Design Research grants. The grants follow the original mission of the showcase home: to educate and foster new solutions for sustainable designs.

"The faculty and students in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture are advancing collaborative design models that help redefine 21st century challenges and provide solutions in service of the greater public good," said Darren Petrucci, director, ASU Herberger Institute School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Comprised of a dynamic combination of disciplines, the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts is at the forefront of the investigation of creativity and creative practice shaping the 21st century. Many of the institute's programs consistently rank in the top 10 of national peers and encompass over 45 areas of study within the disciplines of architecture and landscape architecture; art; arts, media and engineering; dance; design; music; and theatre and film. The ASU Art Museum and the Herberger Institute Research Center, support its research initiatives. To learn more about the institute, visit: herbergerinstitute.asu.edu.

APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves about 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the largest principal of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW)

Steven Gotfried, APS
(602) 250-3040