Why take this certificate?

Because sustainable design is not an optional specialty; it is an integral component of responsible building from environmental, economic, and social standpoints.

The New Jersey School of Architecture has taken the lead in preparing building designers to design green buildings with sustainable design strategies. Sustainability is an integral focus of environmental, economic, and socially responsible design that is increasingly being embraced by the business community. The Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Design recognizes the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Guidelines in setting sustainability goals and notes the Council’s actions that are transforming the market. As of June 2008 over 5700 design firms are members of the US Green Building Council and there are 43,000 LEED accredited  professionals.

The program expands the problem-solving skills of designers in new directions.  Sustainability design tools are identified and exploited by application in green building design strategies for sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.

The new insights will be useful in all stages of the building design and construction processes.  On completion of the certificate the designer will be able to take a leadership role in developing the green strategies that define a sustainable building. The production of green buildings requires a coordinated design by a team of planners, designers, constructors, and building operators.  The certificate program prepares designers to lead this integrated approach that yields a more comfortable and productive building at a lower total cost to the owner.

“I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.” - Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

Credential relates in its entirety to NJIT Master of Architecture or NJIT MS in Architectural Studies

√ For information regarding the Pre-Requisites for these courses or to speak with the School of Architecture please call (973) 642-7576.

The Faculty…

Erv Bales, founder of the Certificate Program in Sustainable Design, is a Senior Research Consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he helped initiate the Energy Star Homes program nine years ago.   He ran the Building Systems Branch of the U.S. Dept. of Energy for three years.  Erv has taught energy design of buildings at the New Jersey School of Architecture (NJSOA) for twenty years culminating in the creation of the present certificate program.  Erv holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois.

William Bobenhausen, FAIA, has been a pioneer in the application of sustainable design principles to architecture.  He was the first Director of Sustainability at Steven Winter Associates, prior to founding his own consulting firm, Sustainable Design Collaborative, LLC.  He has served as President of the NYC chapter of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), developers of the LEED program (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design).  Bobenhausen is the co-author, with James Marston Fitch, of the revised edition of Fitch’s classic study American Building: the Environmental Forces that Shaped It.

All courses in the Sustainable Architecture Graduate Certificate program count toward continuing education credits in architecture in New Jersey and New York.

Register for courses via the Registrar's Office