Vivian Loftness is searching for the source of a buzzing noise. She tilts her ear toward the ceiling. 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 happen here,鈥� she says. It鈥檚 true, the Intelligent Workplace at Carnegie Mellon feels like paradise: a bright, quiet space that鈥檚 home to architecture faculty and graduate students as well a variety of plants, CO2 sensors, louvered windows, ergonomic chairs, and myriad other environmental controls. In this living laboratory, Loftness, a professor of architecture, won鈥檛 tolerate the kind of noise pollution that鈥檚 pervasive in other workplaces.听
In fact, she鈥檚 spent most of her life building environments that balance comfort and efficiency. As early as high school, she was making art and sketching house plans but also loved math and chemistry. Then as an undergraduate she discovered that architecture provided the perfect confluence of these passions. Loftness earned her Master of Architecture degree from MIT during the 1970s energy crisis and soon became a pioneer in energy-efficient architecture. One of her early projects was a passive and active solar Greek Solar Village of public housing with Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis and the European Community. She was also central to the team designing 麻豆村鈥檚 Intelligent Workplace, where faculty and students test everything from lighting to air to acoustic quality in a space that uses a fraction of the energy of most offices. From Athens to Pittsburgh and beyond, Loftness has devoted herself to creating 鈥渨onderful places that sit more gently on this earth.鈥�
She continues to research the health and productivity impacts of good environmental quality, for instance, how daylight affects our work, eye health, and sleep patterns. She鈥檚 committed to improving the environments of children, setting guidelines so future classrooms will give kids access to the outdoors, which research has shown increases learning ability. In recognition of her innovative spirit, Loftness received several accolades in 2013 alone:
鈥� fellow, for her contributions to the green building community;
鈥� senior fellow, for her leadership in design; and
听, by Building4Change journal, for her contributions to building science.
The awards are no surprise, given her attention to details like the buzz in her office. No doubt she鈥檒l find the source of the noise and restore tranquility to the workplace.
鈥擩ulie Albright (DC鈥�92)
