The Florida Design Initiative


The Florida Design Initiative was created in 1992 under Governor Lawton Chiles' Executive Order 91-253 and the Department of Community Affairs' Agency Strategic Plan. It was founded as a forum for two groups: 1) the elected state presidential officers of all design professional associations; and 2) the senior state agency heads responsible for all state building procurement, design, and delivery services.

The INITIATIVE is focused on changing the way buildings are procured, designed, built, and operated. Its goal is to encourage businesses and agencies who are negotiating for design services to demand best practices with regard to comfort, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, heating and cooling, lighting, and siting—and to empower architects, landscape architects, engineers and interior designers to provide these services.

This project encouraged and provided support to the Florida Energy Office to co-sponsor the Second National Conference on Building Commissioning. It has developed and distributed INITIATIVE Guidelines for best practices (recently incorporated into an RFP issued by the City of Tallahassee for design services). The INITIATIVE Guidelines were included in Governor Chiles' 1995 Report to the legislature on the status of energy-efficiency in state buildings and are a key feature in the proposed 5-year plan to protect the state's capital assets.

The INITIATIVE is also developing both print and electronic information dissemination approaches. The quarterly newsletter e design will continue to be mailed to almost 1,000 members and interested parties throughout 1995.

Members of the Florida Design Initiative reinforce the nationwide trends in energy efficiency seen as "green architecture" and "sustainable community design and development" which have the potential of saving taxpayers tens to millions of dollars in energy expenses over the next decade.

Sponsor:
Florida Energy Office, Florida Department of Community Affairs

Principal Investigators:
Larry Peterson
Walter Grondzik
Diane Greer

Duration:
December '93 - December '95

External Funding Level:
$131,500

Resulting Publications:
e design, December 1994, Volume 1, Number 1, School of Architecture, Florida A&M University

Architecture's New Market Niche Energy Efficient Design, Florida Architect, May/June 1992

The Florida Design Initiative: Optimizing Florida's Energy Efficiency, Florida Engineering Society Journal, September 1993

Florida Design Initiative An Update, Florida Architect, Spring 1994