 |
Biography
University Professor
• B.S., 1974, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Profile
Professor Loftness has made major contributions to the definition of total building performance for a range of building types - museums, research laboratories, courthouses, and offices. Her research advances the understanding of spatial quality, thermal, visual, acoustic and air quality as well as long term building integrity, through effective architectural decisionmaking, systems integration, and improvements in the building delivery process. These emphases have led to major research projects on defining the fundamental qualities of building performance, on enhancing the building delivery process for performance, and on critical design decisionmaking for a number of building occupancy types.
Professor Loftness’s contribution to the Advanced Building Systems Integration Consortium, an industry government supported effort focussing on the “Office of the Future,” has included the classification of changing technological choices for new office environments, and the identification of necessary physical and environmental responses to accommodate the changing nature of work while improving the quality of the workplace. She has also contributed to the development of field evaluation procedures and building diagnostics, through international in-depth field studies of advanced office environments.
Professor Loftness continues technical consulting and research in the areas of environment, energy, advanced and natural technologies, and building climatology for such institutions as the Department of Energy, US General Services Administration, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation. Her environmental consulting has led to the design and construction of numerous innovative, energy conserving buildings here and abroad.
Her teaching and contributions to architectural education and research in the USA led to the American Institute of Architecture Students 2001 National Educator Honor Award, a 2003 VSGBC Leadership Award, and numerous research awards.
Selected Publications
• Loftness, V. et al, "Major Design Changes for the Office of the Future" in Office Workspace for Tomorrow, Arthur Rubin editor., NISTIR 4801, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1991, 25 pp.
• Loftness, V., V. Hartkopf, and P. Mill, "Critical Framework for Building Evaluation: Total Building Performance, Systems Integration, and Levels of Measurement and Assessment" In Building Evaluation, W.F.E. Preiser, ed., Plenum Publishing Corp., New York, 1989.
• Loftness, V. and V. Hartkopf, "The Effects of Building Design and Use on Air Quality" In Problem Buildings: Building Associated Illness and the Sick Building Syndrome, James E. Cone, and Michael J. Hodgson, eds., Hanley and Belfus, Inc., Philadelphia, 1989, pp. 643-665.
• Loftness, V., V. Hartkopf, Architecture for Art's Sake: Vantage Point Evaluation of Museum Performance for Future Design, NationalEndowment for the Arts, 1988.