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Profile: Betsy Pettit FAIA

by BSA staff / November 17, 2011

Name: Betsy Pettit FAIA
Job title and company: President, Building Science Corporation
Degree(s): Bachelor of Environmental Design (Miami University in Ohio), MArch (North Carolina State)
Professional interests: Affordable housing, retrofits

What are you working on now?

Deep-energy retrofits for single and multifamily homes

How do you explain to your mom what you do for a living?

She is my biggest fan, and since I come from a family of architects and builders, she gets it.

What inspired you today?

The crisp, blue sky and brilliant leaves. I love autumn in New England!

What architectural buzzword would you kill?

Green this and green that. Everything is green!

When you’re working, do you discuss or exchange ideas with your colleagues?

Yes. We all move around the office from desk to desk when we need to figure something out.

What are you reading?

Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, The Marriage Plot: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides and The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks

Do you sketch by hand or digitally?

I love my iPad, but I always sketch by hand.

Has your career taken you anywhere you didn't expect?

Yes! Although I started out working in architects’ offices, I went on to work for a developer, and then for the Commonwealth in the public-housing division, and finally to my own company with a building-science engineer as a partner.

Where is the field of architecture headed?

Survival of traditional architecture firms will be based on their ability to provide full building services, which would include analysis of the sustainable nature of a project, energy modeling and enclosure design in addition to aesthetically beautiful buildings.

Can design save the world?

Well, beautiful design certainly makes living worthwhile! And designers can and have changed the world.

What do you hope to contribute from your work?

I hope that the younger generation of architects gets a head start on learning the important things about how buildings work. I hope that I have been an instrument of change for bringing a more holistic view to our profession.

Who or what deserves credit for your success?

Who else, my mother!

Your least favorite college class?

It had more to do with the instructor than the subject matter; it was “Active Solar Hot Water Systems.” And that leads me to the point that a good teacher can make or break a subject for the participant. It took me years to finally decide I really wanted to understand that topic.

Your favorite Boston-area structure?

I really love the John Hancock Tower and its juxtaposition with Trinity Church—the whole Copley Square experience.

Who would you like the BSA to interview next?

I would love to see Mike Davis FAIA, LEED interviewed next.

If you were on a late-night TV show, what would your 30-second plug be?

Life is long and full of surprises. Don’t sum up your life in 30 seconds! You have the ability to be many things to many people.

If you could sum up your outlook on life in a bumper sticker, what would it say?

Live in the present, and be passionate about what you are doing.