#115 Dr. Diego Ibarra – From Harvard Back to Chile

Diego Ibarra is Principal and Founder of EA Buildings (formerly ENERGY ARQ), a consulting firm with offices in Boston MA, Santiago, Chile and Bogota, Colombia. EA Buildings specializes in sustainable design, building simulations and LEED® Consulting.

Through his firm, Ibarra has been involved in over 80 projects with more than 20,000,000 SF, including commercial office towers, shopping malls, industrial facilities and academic institutions in North America, South America and Europe.

Ibarra’s expertise involves advanced building performance simulations and their application in an integrated design process. He has taught over 30 Building Performance Simulation and LEED Trainings in the U.S and internationally.

He has worked as a Teaching Assistant and Teaching Fellow at Harvard University in over 10 courses, such as Building Energy Performance Simulations; Environmental Technologies in Buildings; Energy Technology and Buildings; Daylighting Buildings; Building Technology, Thermal Performance of Buildings Systems, among others.

Diego has also worked as a LEED Reviewer, including review of ASHRAE compliant energy models. He has been a speaker at international conferences, such as, Greenbuild, International Radiance Workshop, and IBPSA’s Building Simulation.

Ibarra, a Fulbright Scholar, graduated with his Doctor of Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2014. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Chile Green Building Council, IBPSA Chile, and a member of IBPSA-USA Boston Chapter Technical Committee.

He also holds a Master in Design Studies in Environmental Technologies from Harvard University and is a LEED AP & ASHRAE BEMP.

Show Highlights

Diego tells you how to implement your knowledge at different levels, in terms of strategy surveying.
Creating a planning road map that assesses specific technologies helps clients navigate the sustainability transformation.
Diego talks about his journey to becoming a LEED Fellow.
The valuable insight you gain from tracking your time. Diego shares an app to help you allocate your time to maximize growth.
Why it’s imperative to find a mentor who has been through the green building journey.
3 big trends Dr. Ibarra says you should be reading up on now.
If you equip yourself with these key skills it will be easy to find professional opportunities.

“I try to dedicate the first half an hour to really plan the day and make a long list. I highlight what of those things to do actually match my priorities. The three big goals for the week. Really the whole point is try to avoid becoming reactive every day or our agendas get packed and we start putting out fires instead of really chasing the things that will push us forward.”

-Dr. Diego Ibarra