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2026 AIASF COTE Symposium on Circular Design

Wednesday, April 22, 2026
12:30 PM - 7:00 PM (PDT)
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Category: COTE Symposium
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CIRCULARITY IN PRACTICE: Case Studies and Strategies for Design and Construction

The built environment consumes nearly half of all global raw materials, generates a third of its waste, and over 40% of its embodied carbon emissions. Circularity is a regenerative design approach that addresses these critical impacts.

Circular Design considers the entire lifecycle of buildings and materials, embracing strategies of reuse, adaptation and renewal, giving architects, contractors, manufacturers and building owners the essential tools they need to make better buildings while addressing climate change, material waste, and biodiversity loss. Circularity also empowers teams to improve resilience in the built environment, support equity, and fuel local economic development.

Join AIASF COTE for this afternoon symposium on Circularity in Practice. Gain actionable insights into how circular design will transform your practice or business, and help to drive the transition toward a regenerative, reduced waste, low-carbon world! The event includes three panel sessions, a materials roundtable, a vendor showcase, and concludes with a networking happy hour. 4 AIA CE LU|HSW pending.

Hosted by AIASF Knowledge Community - Committee on the Environment (COTE) 

Planning Committee: Charlie Stott, AIA, LEED AP | Stott Architects + AIASF COTE Co-Chair,  David Lehrer, NCARB  | Center for the Built Environment, Kathryn Soter | Good Future Design Alliance, Teresa Jan, AIA | Perkins & Will + AIASF COTE member
CIRCULARITY IN PRACTICE | Case Studies and Strategies for Circular Design and Construction

Wednesday, APRIL 22 | Earth Day!  Noon-7pm. (Program starts at 1:00pm)

12:30pm – 1:00pm  Check in and Registration (lunch NOT provided)

1:00 – 1:15 pm  Program Welcome: 

1:15 – 1:35 pm  Keynote Address: 

1:40 – 2:30 pm  Panel Presentation 1: 

Closing the Loop at Home: Circular Strategies in Residential Design.         

How do circularity principles translate to the scale of a single-family home? This case study panel brings together a residential architect and a builder to share firsthand lessons from projects that embrace reuse, adaptive design, and low-impact construction. Hear candid insights about client conversations, cost considerations, and how practical circular strategies improve durability, health, and long-term performance in residential design.

2:35 – 3:25 pm  Panel Presentation 2: 

Regenerating the Public Realm: The Contra Costa County Administration Building  

How do circularity principles translate to larger scale projects? This case study panel highlights the first public building to achieve TRUE Gold for Construction using exceptional levels of waste reduction and reuse strategies. Join the architect | owner | contractor team as they reveal the evolution of this unique design-build project: Explore the project’s circular strategies and lessons learned from a highly collaborative process. And learn about the wins and challenges of managed demolition, building with reused materials, and the materials supply chain.

3:25 – 3:40: BREAK   

3:40 – 4:15 Materials Roundtable: 

Circular Materials: Lessons From Aluminum, Wood, and Emerging Materials    

This panel kicks off PechaKucha style, with three manufacturers presenting on the state of circularity in the world of building materials. Then a rapid-fire round table conversation about: What it means when we use the terms recycled, re-used, reclaimed and regenerative, and some thoughts on: Why scale matters, local vs global, end-of-life material concerns, and the interplay between circular materials, waste reduction and embodied carbon. To wrap: Some helpful tips when researching, verifying and specifying low-impact circular products. 

4:20 – 5:20 pm  Panel Presentation 3:  

Circular Networks: Perspectives from the Field

This conversation goes beyond design, unpacking how public policy, private businesses and building contractors engage with circularity: Understand how local policies drive construction material recycling and reuse, support the reclaimed products market, and work to make circular low-waste practices the norm. Learn about business and building owners who embrace a circular approach, and the implementation tools they use for new construction and remodeling success. And discover why building contractors are the emerging critical link in the circular design network—connecting circular design intent with real world execution.

5:25 – 5:40 pm  Circular Design Wrap

  • Speaker TBC

5:40 – 5:45 pm Thank you’s: 

5:45 – 7:00 pm: Happy Hour + Networking 
Program Welcome:

Charlie Stott AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

Stott Architects | Principal

AIASF COTE Co-Chair

David Lehrer  LEED AP, NCARB

Center for the Built Environment, UCB | 

Director of Communications and 

Research Collaborations

AIASF COTE Symposium Committee

____________  

Keynote: 

Title TBC

Kjell Anderson FAIA, LEED Fellow

LMN | Director of Sustainable Design

____________  

Panel Presentation 1: 

Closing the Loop at Home: Circular Strategies in Residential Design

Lincoln Lighthill AIA, LEED AP, CPHD

Lincoln Lighthill Architect | Principal

Everson Perez 

Perez Construction | CEO + Owner

Kathryn Soter

Good Future Design Alliance | Executive Director

AIASF COTE Symposium Committee

____________  

Panel Presentation 2: 

Regenerating the Public Realm: The Contra Costa County Administration Building

Dalton Ho  AIA, LEED AP

Perkins & Will | Senior Generative 

Design Advisor, Senior Associate

Cymbre Potter AIA, LEED AP, CCM, DBIA

Vanir | Project Director

Kavita Karmarkar 

Webcor | Sustainability Manager

Peter Pfau FAIA, LEED AP

Perkins & Will | Design Director

____________    

Materials Roundtable: 

Circular Materials: Lessons from Aluminum, Wood, and Emerging Materials

Hilde Haugen Kallevig  

Hydro | VP Commercial Partnerships

 

Gwen Sloane 

Cambium | West Coast Millwork Manager

Anthony Dente PE, LEED AP 

Verdant Panel  | CEO

 

Isabella van der Griend  

Brightworks Sustainability | Materials Specialist & PM

____________  

Panel Presentation 3:

Circular Networks: Perspectives from the Field

Mark Klein WELL Faculty, 

LEED AP BD+C & ND, Fitwel Ambassador

Genentech | Sr. Sustainability 

Manager-Healthy Workplaces

Brett Stuckey

Turner Construction | Regional Sustainability Manager

James Slattery  

SF Dept of the Environment | 

Senior Program Coordinator

C&D Zero Waste Program

Marcus Hopper AIA, NCARB, LEED ID+C

Gensler | Project Director, Senior Associate

____________  

Circular Design Wrap: 

Speaker & Platform TBC

____________  

Thank You’s: 

Charlie Stott AIA, NCARB, LEED AP

Stott Architects | Principal

AIASF COTE Co-Chair

Teresa Jan  AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP

Perkins & Will | Director of Regenerative 

Design, Senior Associate

AIASF COTE Symposium Committee

4 AIA CE LU|HSW - Approved

Circularity in Practice brings together leading architects, contractors, building owners, policymakers, and manufacturers to share how to move circularity from aspiration to reality in the built environment. Through a series of expert-led panel conversations and case studies, explore how to:

  • Design for the Next Life: Understand how thoughtful dynamic planning and design can transform buildings from static objects to a living system of regenerative and modular materials that can be reused, repurposed, recycled and reassembled many times over.

  • Embrace the Long-Life Low-Carbon Future: Learn design strategies for long building lifespans and incorporating circular material resources at various scales – from homes to campus buildings – helping to reduce environmental strain, waste and costs.

  • Specify Circular Materials, and Help Grow the Market: Learn about tools and methods to research and specify circular, low-carbon, regenerative materials, and how search platforms and material databanks are scaling to meet climate targets, designer needs and market growth.

  • Understand Circular Infrastructure and Policies: Discover the latest regional material reuse programs, networks and government policies that are growing the circular economy. Learn about building resource facilities and tracking platforms, and various guidelines and certifications that address circularity, building demolition, deconstruction and material reuse.

  • Practice Circular Design: Learn from building owners how circularity works in action, highlighting the benefits, while taking effective steps to overcome the logistical and cultural barriers to adopting circular low-waste design in practice.
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On Earth Day 2026, position your firm at the forefront of climate action in the built environment. As COTE's sponsor, you’ll connect with a targeted audience of industry leaders, showcase your company’s expertise, and demonstrate your commitment to a low-carbon future.

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