Farah Ahmad, B.Arch '12
Farah Naz Ahmad is an Eco-Architect specializing in energy efficiency and green building standards, and holds a passion for the advancement of the green building industry. Her public sector experience in city government agencies has spanned across sustainable design, green building policy education, building energy codes, environmental journalism, and the greening of public schools. She continues to raise awareness on the climate crisis and address interdisciplinary action and solutions and curates a resource hub at: www.farahnazahmad.com, as well as: www.instagram.com/renewablefarah.
Farah started off her career at the New York City Department of Design and Construction and realized the wide potential of impact in the public sector. She transitioned to the New York City School Construction Authority, where she worked with engineers on energy retrofit projects in large school buildings. She has also served as a building energy code official at New York City Department of Buildings, and is now back at NYC SCA working on green school projects and sustainability compliance.
Tell us about your current work as a sustainability professional in the architecture field.
I currently work on assisting projects with compliance on sustainability standards- including building energy code, the New York City Green Schools Guide, and the package of green building local laws released over the last decade which shape our city's emissions policies today.
What sustainable projects inspire you?
Projects that utilize their environment as an element to draw from and also visually and operationally inspire the public to be cognizant of resource conservation. I have an appreciation for public government buildings that set high standards for their cities. Austin City Hall stands out as a prime example because its major elements were carefully considered and extracted from natural means, and the notion of 'government transparency' to the public is really reflected in how visual its sustainable design features are.
What would you recommend to someone who is interested in a career path related to sustainable design?
Review all the career specialties within sustainable design because the green job market has exploded.
Understand the standards by which green design is governed and then explore the market for products and construction practices that will exceed baseline code requirements.
Renew your passion by attending green building and engineering conferences to broaden your perspective on green construction and operation.