Unique places of intellectual intermingling and diverse expertise, institutions of higher education are strategically placed to push the boundaries of and experiment with progressive sustainable practices. In a city like New York, the particular concern of how we interact with built infrastructure is especially pronounced, and addressing this in the context of universities means adapting existing resources and building healthier environments that facilitate “better learning.”

In a dialogue jointly organized by New York University and Danish Cleantech Hub, four guest speakers gave their take on integrating sustainability with the infrastructure of higher education institutions. Topics ranged from how to achieve carbon emissions reduction goals, (hint: start by installing smarter widgets), to innovative building design such as smart facades and natural ventilation (a favourite amongst the design geeks of the morning’s speakers).

As the first presenter, NYU’s own Assistant Vice President for Sustainability Cecil Scheib, highlighted during his presentation, we spend a staggering 90% of our time inside buildings, and this is reflected in the resources institutions are willing to invest in them. This was demonstrated by NYU’s own efforts to become more energy efficient, which resulted in our university reducing its carbon emissions 30% based on 2006 levels in just 5 years.

While university administration-led initiatives are pivotal to an institution reaching its sustainability goals, Kirsten Mariager, Head of Sustainability Management at Danish Energy Management, echoed a sentiment mentioned by Cecil, which was the importance of getting all stakeholders of the university involved. She discussed the usage of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a common, accessible language to communicate the importance of sustainability, and how we can measure our progress.

Speaking more broadly on the potential architectural features of the university institutions of tomorrow were presenters Nina la Cour Sell, who is both a partner and lead architect of Henning Larsen Architects, and Kaspar Raven, an engineer for Danish company WindowMaster. Though each touched on certain specifics of projects they’ve worked on, what seemed to be a unifying arch in the design and construction of new sustainable buildings was the expressed intent of building for people. They focused on how certain levels of sunlight or ventilation could improve cognitive abilities, and how design can be more seamlessly integrated with the surrounding environment by making use of the building site’s unique microclimate.

Though each speaker was insightful to some degree, overall the event lacked any cohesive narrative or message. However, a topic that kept surfacing in my mind was the construction of new infrastructure versus repurposing existing buildings. As much fun as it is to envision glittering facades with windows that can be automatically adjusted to open in 5 degree increments for optimal draft catching purposes, a lot of established higher education institutions are operating in existing buildings, which were likely constructed at a time where architects held vastly different concerns and had additional technological and design constraints. If the reduction of our impact on the environment is the predominant issue at hand, then perhaps we should focus our conversations around how to make changes to adapt existing infrastructure to become more efficient and more conducive for its occupants.