Future of Sustainable Buildings: Plumbing Systems & Data for Resilience

Future of Sustainable Buildings: Plumbing Systems & Data for Resilience is a project that combines mechanical engineering and data science to demonstrate how plumbing and building systems impact sustainability, equity, and public health in cities like New York.

The demo will feature an interactive visualization where visitors can simulate choices, such as upgrading plumbing systems, implementing graywater recycling, or improving efficiency across neighborhoods. These simulations will generate real-time outputs showing the environmental and cost impacts of sustainable building practices.

Future of Sustainable Buildings bridges the tangible (pipes, water, energy) with the digital (data engineering, visualization, simulation), which we feel is especially important in this era. Many civic conversations overlook plumbing and mechanical systems, despite their central role in sustainability, climate adaptation, and the long-term resilience of New York City’s infrastructure.

As lifelong Queens residents, we want to connect this work directly to the city we call home. We’ve grown up surrounded by the complexities of NYC’s infrastructure, from aging buildings to water usage disparities, and we believe the public should have tools to understand and imagine more sustainable and resilient futures for our city.

Future of Sustainable Buildings is a project by Caitlin Reyes and Erik Ramjattan.

About Caitlin Reyes and Erik Ramjattan:

Caitlin Reyes — Senior Computer Science student at Hunter College, incoming Data Engineer at CVS Health. Specializes in data pipelines, visualization, and civic/public interest applications of technology.

Erik Ramjattan — Alumni from The City College of New York, Mechanical Engineer specializing in plumbing systems at Cosentini Associates. Brings expertise in sustainable building design and infrastructure efficiency in urban cities.

Note: Company names are listed only to provide context for our professional backgrounds. This project is an independent effort and is not affiliated with any organizations.