Architects, educators, engineers and other developers from across the region will come together next week to kick start this year's Sustainable Business Advisor Program at Mt. Hood Community College. A bi-monthly series of courses run by Seattle's Sustainable Building Advisor Institute, the program aims to bring community planners up to speed when it comes to sustainable, green building designs and uses.
Spokesman Robert Weinman said that the decade-old program has grown into an increasingly universal model for sustainable design over the years.
"This program gives a global understanding of working with a range of green designers and types of buildings," Weinman said.
The program, available to both employed and unemployedprofessionals, uses an array of platforms to illustrate the diversity of sustainable building.
"It's the best of both worlds," Weinman said. "We mix field trips, textbook readings, expert lectures and hands-on projects into the course to provide a well-balanced outcome."
In the past, students have toured Portland's "Brewery Blocks" with the area's lead architect to get a feel of the start-to-finish feel of a project. And the students' final capstone projects – pushing teams to create sustainable design plans for areas across the state– have produced everything from an eco-friendly interpretive museum in Fossil to a retrofitted private home in downtown Portland.
And at the end of the 9-month course, along with presenting their final group project, students are required to pass a comprehensive exam, which, if passed, certifies them as a Sustainable Building Advisor.
Weinman said that while many sustainable building advisory programs provides a similar certification, these courses provide a unique, well-rounded outcome.
"People will walk away from this program with both a recognized certification and essential connections with people across theirfield," Weinman said. "We will help those interested in sustainable building zero in on their field and target areas, along with widen the scope of their learning."