James Binkley, FAIA serves as the senior architect at the U. S. Postal Service Headquarters. He is responsible for all design standards for the nationwide $500 Million per year major facilities program.
The AIA has said Jim is, "A leader and promoter of excellent public architecture and sustainable design. He has made extraordinary contributions to American architecture by leading several government organizations to carry out vitally needed programs."
While with the Department of Energy, Jim managed what Progressive Architecture called the "largest research effort ever undertaken on building design." This very significantly increased the world's understanding of energy use in buildings. Attesting to the importance of these programs were their inclusion in two State of the Union Addresses by the President of the United States and AIA investing in a full-page ad in the Washington Post in support of them.
This new research allowed Jim to bring together the: AIA; ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating , Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), major conservation organizations, and, Model Building Code groups to produced the new national energy standard. It was far more performance oriented than ever before, allowing tradeoffs for such architectural strategies as daylighting. This standard has been adopted by approximately 13,000 state and local building codes and the Federal government. Each building designed under it should be over 25% more energy efficient than previous standards.
Also while with the Department of Energy, Jim established a national technology transfer program. His work resulted in a new chapter added to Architectural Graphic Standards; a national student energy design awards program through the ACSA (Associated Collegiate Schools of Architecture); various tools for specific sectors of the buildings industry such as a slide rule for homebuilders; and Summer Institutes at MIT for architectural faculty; and at Ohio State University for engineering faculty to train teachers from around the country. The program is still the primary US source of energy efficiency information and provides design tools for architects, engineers, builders and owners for the creation of energy efficient buildings.
At the Postal Service, after 9-11, Jim was given the additional responsibility for facility security standards. These standards prescribe the design of security systems for all 35,000 USPS buildings. In addition Jim has developed leading edge building responses to bio terrorism that are being implemented nationwide. He is a member of the USPS National Bio-Security Team. Also USPS energy efficient buildings and green building initiatives are Jim's responsibility.
The Public Architects Professional Interest Area of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) selected Jim as Chair for 2000. He is a founding member of the national AIA Federal Agency Liaison Group, which represents the largest Federal-building owners to the AIA. He is serving as Chair of the Committee on the Environment in 2006. This committee has over 7,000 AIA members. In the Washington DC AIA, Jim has been active on the Fellows Committee.
He represents the Postal Service on the National Academy of Sciences Federal Facilities Council. Binkley is a professor at Catholic University (CUA) where he teaches two upper level required architecture courses each year. At CUA he has been named university wide Instructor of the Month.
Jim's accomplishments have received the first NOVA Award ever given by the National Business Roundtable; and, three Progressive Architecture magazine Research Awards. Also he is a recipient of the U. S. Army Commendation Medal.
