Let’s Talk about COVID Risk

Vaccines may be the light at the end of the tunnel, but as of now the community infection rate in Austin-Travis County is as high as ever and increasing. It’s time to get on our game and end this thing strong! Now is a critical moment to reduce the spread and protect ourselves and our community. Using a layer risk reduction strategy (LRRS) is a fantastic way to protect yourself, your coworkers, your kids in school, or anyone that is congregating indoors. This seminar and discussion, led by Kristof Irwin and Lauren Woodward Stanley, AIA, is a special session offered as a community service to help you understand airborne (aerosol) transmission, what matters, why, and how to reduce your risk.

Let’s start the year smart and end the pandemic healthy! Please join us. We will start 5 minutes ahead of the posted start time with a live-over-zoom musical overture by our very own Miguel Walker as we wait for others to show up for this seminar.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize a general framework for reducing inhaled aerosol transmission in buildings.
2. Specify how indoor pathogens and pollutants circulate given different building performance.
3. Analyze the impact of use of masks in reducing spread and contagion of indoor pathogens
4. Apply an understanding of building science to pathogen transmission.

1 LU/HSW (pending) for registered attendees:

All sales final. See our complete cancellation policy here.

Kristof Irwin, P.E., M Eng.
Kristof is the principal of Positive Energy. In that role he works to rethink the way society delivers conditioned space to itself and recognizes the potential of homes and buildings to impact human and planetary thriving. Kristof’s background includes 12 years of experience as a custom builder (including deep energy retrofits and zero-net energy projects) and 11 years as a building science consultant. He worked for 14 years as an engineer, research scientist, and physicist for government and university research labs. He is active in the local and national high-performance building community including his role as past Chair of AIA Austin’s Building Enclosure Committee, Advisor to the AIA Austin COTE Committee, as well as several ASHRAE committees - ASHRAE TC-2.1 (Physiology & Human Environment), ASHRAE SSPC-55 (Thermal comfort), ASHRAE SSPC-62.2 (Ventilation/IAQ) - and serves on the Board of Passive House Austin Chapter (PHAUS). Kristof hosts The Building Science Podcast to promote education, advocacy and understanding for the public and within the AEC industry.

Lauren Woodward Stanley, AIA
Lauren is co-owner of Stanley Studio, a small integrated architecture and metalwork design practice in Austin.  A UTSOA  M.A. graduate and practitioner in Seattle and Austin since the 90’s, Lauren is drawn to architecture’s wide contextual field of play, from urban ecosystems and site design to resilient building and the resonance of materiality and craft.  A co-founder of non-profit GRoWERS (green roofs) and member of the city’s GRAG (green roof advisory group), she has worked on the side to help activate Austin’s potential in green infrastructure, rooted firmly in design.