Teresa Coady (born July 1956) is a Canadian architect and the former president and founding partner of the Vancouver, British Columbia-based architecture firm B+H BuntingCoady (now part of B+H Architects). She is a member of the Canadian Chapter of the International Initiative for a Sustainabie Built Environment and a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Advisory Board.UNEP Advisory Board Members 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-08IISBE Canada webpage . Retrieved 2013-12-08 She is the author of Rebuilding Earth: Designing Ecoconscious Habitats for Humans.
Life and career Coady received her degree in architecture in 1983 from the University of British Columbia.“Living, Breathing buildings: re-shaping attitudes of developers and clients toward sustainable architecture requires a paradigm shift, and Gary Toushek discovers that Teresa Coady is up for the challenge,” Achieving Business Excellence (www.bus-ex.com), Editorial Research by Vincent Kelly., April 2009 pp. 46- 47. She is best known for her architectural work in the area of sustainability and energy-efficient design.“Bunting Coady Architects merges with B+H Architects” WCN: World Construction Network. http://www.worldconstructionnetwork.com/news/bunting_coady_architects_merges_with_bh_architects_101214/. Published December 14, 2010. In 1993, Teresa Coady and Tom Bunting founded Bunting Coady Architects; the practice was renamed in 2010 to B+H BuntingCoady Architects Inc.“Bunting Coady Architects Merges with B+H: New Division Offers Global Leadership in Sustainable Design” CNW http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2010/13/c4462.html Coady completed two years of engineering and received a bachelor of fine arts prior to pursuing a master's degree in architecture.Website: University of British Columbia., http://www.arts.ubc.ca/students/careers/arts-career-expo/Student_Single_News/article/723/857.html
The statement “We create Living, Breathing Buildings”, which is trademarked by B+H BuntingCoady, developed from Coady's master thesis entitled "The Living Breathing Building".“The Greening Of Canada: once a dream, environmentally sustainable design is being implemented across the country” Award: the magazine of architecture, construction and interior design. Article by Robin Brunet. December 2004 pp. 29–33. Coady sites her thesis project "The Living Breathing Building" as the mechanism though which her architectural values came to light. While her thesis was initially rejected for being ‘not architectural’, the principles associated with the phrase “Living, Breathing Buildings” became the founding values upon which Bunting Coady Architects was initially created and upon which B+H BuntingCoady operates.“Design Quarterly: Firm Merges” Design Quarterly http://www.designquarterly.ca/.“The Greening Of Canada: once a dream, environmentally sustainable design is being implemented across the country” Award: the magazine of architecture, construction and interior design. Article by Robin Brunet. December 2004 pp. 29–33
Coady believes that architecture is the means through which humans express cultural values and through which humans can prepare themselves for the future. The creation of architecture, for Coady, can have an enormous impact on the planet:
In her opinion, the concept of “Living, Breathing Building” is synonymous with a move away from the notion that buildings should be built as machines for inhabitation and towards biomimetics (the art and science of using nature and natural systems as the source of inspiration for creating buildings and building systems).“Living, Breathing buildings: re-shaping attitudes of developers and clients toward sustainable architecture requires a paradigm shift, and Gary Toushek discovers that Teresa Coady is up for the challenge,” Achieving Business Excellence (www.bus-ex.com), Editorial Research by Vincent Kelly., April 2009 pp. 46- 47.“Bunting Coady Architects LEEDing with gold standard” Journal of Commerce: Western Canada’s Construction Newspaper, Article by Jean Sorensen., December 11, 2006., A “Living, Breathing Building”, according to Coady, is a building that imitates nature and enhances the environment.“Living Breathing Buildings Proponent is Honoured as Entrepreneurial Trailblazer” AIArchitect This Week. March 13, 2009.
The B+H BuntingCoady Integrated Design Process
Teresa Coady is also known for her involvement in the creation and development of the building method utilized by B+H BuntingCoady and referred to as the ‘integrated design process’ (IDP). The B+H BuntingCoady Integrated Design Process is composed of a series of steps that, according to Coady: “(work) anywhere, anytime on any kind of building”.“Architects Pioneering Green Design Projects: mountain Equipment Co-op Prime Example”, Business in Vancouver., Article written by Brian Martin. July 17–23, 2007.“Towards Living Breathing buildings: the benefits of the integrated design process”. ArchitectureBC., Written by Teresa Coady. fall 2007.“Bunting Coady Architects 8 step Approach to Integration: focusing the team, a clearly laid-out plan dedicates a meeting to each aspect of the project”, Green Source: the magazine of Sustainable Design. November 2006. The phases of this IDP process include: Orientation and Massing Site Design and Water, Envelope, Ventilation, Lighting and Power, Heating and Cooling, Materials, Life-cycle costing, Quality Assurance.
Individual awards and recognition
Coady was selected as winner of the “Bell Trailblazer” category for the 2008 RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Awards (CWEA). Coady was selected for this award (as described by AIArchitect This Week March 13, 2009), “for (her) outstanding leadership within her company and business sector” and because “her work is pioneering new ways of creating mainstream architecture that turns away from mechanistic systems to harnessing the ‘natural intelligence’ of buildings for sustainable and energy-efficient designs".“Living Breathing Buildings Proponent is Honoured as Entrepreneurial Trailblazer” AIArchitect This Week. March 13, 2009. “Vancouver Architect Named Trailblazer of the Year”. Construction Canada., 2009 http://www.constructioncanada.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=83
In 1999, Coady was awarded the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award; an award that honours “women whose outstanding achievements contribute to the well-being and future of (the) community.” She was also included in the 10th Annual Profit W100 list of Canada's Top Women Entrepreneurs (Published November 2008).
United Nations Environment Programme
In May 2011, Coady was elected to the 2011 UNEP-SBCI Advocacy Committee. She attended the 2011 UNEP-SBCI Annual General Meeting and Symposium on Sustainable Buildings in Leverkusen, Germany, on May 23–24, 2011.
Non-architectural work
Coady is actively involved in the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival encourages the world to visit and celebrate the phenomenon of the massive cherry tree bloom annually every spring in Vancouver.https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/Cherry+blossom+sale+help+125th+anniversary+take+root/4376360/story.html
See also B+H Architects Biomimetics Sustainable architecture
References