 Prof. John Fernández John E. Fernández Associate Professor, School of Architecture, MIT MIT Portugal Involvement: Co-Lead, Sustainable Energy Systems focus area (MIT)
Current research interests: Material flow analysis tool development in the Urban Metabolism Prof. John Fernández is Co-Lead (MIT), of the Sustainable Energy Systems focus area, MIT Portugal Program. During the 2008-09 academic year, he will be living with his family in Lisbon to conduct research on the Sustainable Built Environment research area of the MIT Portugal Program. MIT Portugal’s Director of Education Josh Jacobs recently spoke to Prof. Fernández in Lisbon at a research workshop of the Transportation Systems focus area, which Prof. Fernández will collaborate with on urban transport issues. JJ: What is your background? JF: I have a Bachelor’s in Art and Design (Architecture) from MIT and a Master’s in Architecture from Princeton University. After my studies, I worked as a designer and architect at Frank O. Gehry and Associates, Skidmore Owings and Merrill, and Kohn Pederson Fox, among other architectural firms, before opening my own firm in 1990. I also was a professor at the University of Florida before joining MIT in 1999. JJ: How have your research interests developed over the past few years? JF: I had been doing research in the area of material properties for high-performance buildings, and this led to an interest in tracking materials flows in cities. I became a member of the Society for Industrial Ecology, whose members are developing new tools to track resource flows. We try to develop carbon footprints from the individual up through cities to whole societies. JJ: How did you get involved with the MIT Portugal Program? JF: As my research became more centered on these questions of material flow analysis, I saw the listing of Urban Metabolism as one of the research areas in the MIT Portugal Program. When I started talking with Paulo Ferrão [Program Director and Coordinator of the Sustainable Energy Systems focus area in Portugal] about his interests in this research area, I realized that there was the opportunity for a real match in our philosophies and interests, despite the fact that Paulo comes from a strong mechanical engineering background that is quite different from mine in architecture. JJ: What has been most interesting to you about doing research in Portugal? JF: Portugal is on the leading edge of the aggressive development of renewable energy sources in an urban environment, even as it lags places like Portland, Oregon, in the development of resource-efficient urban forms. This context gives us a chance to make the case for an urban growth model—as opposed to the typical expansion of cities through suburban growth—which is not only ecologically, but also economically superior. The Urban Metabolism approach addresses this in cross-cutting ways, talking about transportation issues as well as other dimensions of urban forms. JJ: Are you optimistic about the likelihood of Portugal changing its approach to urban development in line with some of the models you will describe? JF: Yes, very much. The Portuguese context is large enough to describe regional-urban interactions, for example, among Lisbon and the cities around its perimeter. But it is also small enough to allow us, as well as policy-makers, to see the whole picture. JJ: You are coming to live in Lisbon with your family during the 2008-09 academic year. Are you looking forward to this opportunity, professionally and personally? JF: This is an ideal time for me and my family to come to Lisbon. They will get an opportunity to have a multi-cultural living experience that isn’t available in the United States. Also, I just received tenure last year at MIT, and this is the right time for me to change focus and invest myself in this new project. Paulo and I are hoping to produce a book that will be the definitive text for urban metabolism, which if all goes well will be published in 2010. Without committing to living in Portugal for an extended period, we would not have been able to set such high goals for ourselves as research collaborators. | 
