Center for Environmental Design Research
The Center for Environmental Design Research’s (CEDR) mission is to foster research in environmental planning and design. Its goal is to increase the factual content of these disciplines and to promote systematic approaches to decision-making within them. The scope of environmental planning and design is broad, ranging from the environments of people within buildings, to region-wide ecosystems.
Building science is the largest of CEDR’s programs. Its mission is to increase the scientific knowledge used in building design and operation. At Berkeley, building science specializes in environmental aspects of design-how to provide comfortable, healthy and productive conditions for the occupants in economical and energy-efficient buildings.
CEDR supports several projects and centers, including:
Center for the Built Environment (CBE): CBE was founded under the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. The Center is supported and guided by a consortium of building industry leaders, including manufacturers, building owners, contractors, architects, engineers, utilities, and government agencies.
Center for Resource Efficient Communities (CREC): CREC is dedicated to supporting the State of California’s climate change and resource efficiency goals at urban and community scales, through interdisciplinary research, public communication, and professional outreach. Its work focuses on:
- Effects of existing and potential urban land use patterns, transportation systems, and building design and management practices on levels of greenhouse gas emissions
- Planning, financing, regulation, and public acceptance of innovative urban water infrastructure
- Evaluation of existing and potential municipal, regional, state, and national policy mechanisms for advancing urban sustainability
- Innovative water technologies suitable for use in the urban areas of the arid West, with an emphasis on stormwater capture, treatment, and reuse; aquifer recharge; and water recycling
- Analysis and tools to support the implementation of California’s trailblazing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, achieve zero-carbon buildings, transform the vehicle fleet to include far more highly efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, and better link land use and transportation planning on a regional scale
Please contact CREC Director Louise Mozingo for more information.
Green Building Research Center (GBRC): The GBRC was created to advance and promote sustainable building design and operation on the UC Berkeley campus, and provide resources to aid other universities in similar efforts across California.