Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, Columbia University to Present "The Future of Energy"

Words: Dan KamysOldcastle BuildingEnvelope, Columbia University to Present "The Future of Energy"

Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope has partnered with Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planningand Preservation (GSAPP) on "The Future of Energy," assembling experts to exchange ideas on how best to address energy production and consumption issues for the future. This full-day conference is open to the public and will be held on Oct. 2, 2013, at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"The Future of Energy" is an interdisciplinary research program devoted to exploring key questions facing designers, developers and other professionals who are concerned with energy, efficiency and sustainability in the building industry. This collaborative effort between Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope and GSAPP resists focusing on specific technologies or prospective energy sources. 

Instead, it examines energy, both discursively and thematically, addressing such issues as how problems of the future of energy are framed and how these problems are conceived and discussed.

Along with a panel of leaders in the fields of architecture, engineering and construction, keynote speakers include two of the preeminent minds in energy today. Matthias Schuler is an engineer, an adjunct professor of Environmental Technology at Harvard GSD and the founder of Stuttgart, Germany-based Transsolar. Schuler works with architects to develop sustainable design strategies for buildings.  

Economist Jeffrey Sachs is the director of The Earth Institute, a professor at Columbia University, special advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and author of several books, including "The Price of Civilization."

To learn more about "The Future of Energy," go to http://events.gsapp.org/event/auditor-the-future-of-energy. For more information about GSAPP, contact Gavin Browning, 212-854-9248 or Gdb2106@columbia.edu.

CMU Partitions: How Much Reinforcement Is Actually Required?
February 2026

Walk onto almost any job site and you’ll find masons laying out interior partitions much the same way they did decades ago. The work looks straightforward: stack the units, strike clean joints, and keep the wall plumb. And the function of these partitions

MASONRY STRONG Podcast, Episode 37 Recap: Starling Johnson, VP of Sales at STALITE Lightweight Aggregate
February 2026

On this episode of the MASONRY STRONG Podcast, Starling Johnson joins the set in Indianapolis to talk about her path within masonry, sales in this industry, and life outside of work.

Masonry Restoration: Why Walls Fail and How We Fix Them
February 2026

Masonry doesn’t crack. Old brick never has issues. Every masonry wall lasts 100 years or more… right? If only that were true. Masonry is one of the most durable building materials ever used, but like all construction, it responds to time, movement, mo

MCAA President Jeff Buczkiewicz Testifies To Congress On AI In Masonry
February 2026

On February 11, 2026, Jeff Buczkiewicz, President and CEO of the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA), testified before the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. He spoke during a hearing titled “Building an AI-Ready America: Safer Workp