BuildingGreen Report

Wood products are widely considered to be inherently “carbon neutral.” The current surge of interest in mass timber was spurred by this belief.

But could scaling up our demand for wood actually make climate change worse?

It’s a huge risk. Our forests are a massive carbon bank and a critical climate buffer,... Read more

This article has been prepared for informational purposes only; it is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal advice.

Architects are required to help their clients plan for climate change, but building codes and design standards are based on weather histories that are often over 20 years old. As a result, stormy... Read more

By Nadav Malin and Paula Melton

It’s here. So what’s new?

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released LEED v5 for its first public comment period on April 3, 2024, giving us our first detailed look at the next generation of the program that has defined green building in North America and around the world for more than... Read more

Nonconformist, bohemian businesses in Vermont share a long-held footwear philosophy: “no shoes, yes service.”

And similarly, but also really differently, shoelessness has found a foothold among companies in southern California’s famously informal—even wacky—tech start-up scene.

“I love to scrunch the course carpet nodules... Read more

In a surprise move aimed at reducing the carbon impacts of commuting, Houston, Texas is banning cars from most of the city limits, expanding bicycle infrastructure into the suburbs, and even making right turns illegal. Mayor John Whitmore said residents overwhelmingly supported the initiatives in recent elections, and local businesses are... Read more

As the 2024 event season approaches for BuildingGreen’s Peer Networks, the Sustainable Design Leaders (SDL) have been looking forward to yet another summit at the beloved IslandWood venue on Washington’s Bainbridge Island.

But in the aftermath of Paula Melton’s two-part report released earlier this year, “Wood: Is It Still Good?” it’s... Read more

“I was specifying ground-source heat pumps before they were popular,” recalled Gea Snootfeld, principal at Seattle’s Maverick Design. “Most people installing them now don’t, like, actually, get it.”

Snootfeld is referring, of course, to the recent breakout of ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs) onto the mechanical heating and cooling... Read more

Welcome to the second installment of BuildingGreen’s Biophilic Design series “Built Against the Howling Wind,” as we follow the Boar brothers’ journey of sustainable homebuilding from design considerations through project completion. We’ll look at the choices and challenges that triplets Kevin, Wilbur, and Hamlet ran into while selecting... Read more

Long before Sharknado, far in advance of Shark Week, popular culture produced something historians have since dubbed “the best marine-animal metaphor since trained seals.”

Yes, we mean jumping the shark—a type of ridiculous stunt that heralds the imminent decline of a formerly respectable endeavor.

Experts now say this metaphor... Read more

As the morning sun hits the east-facing curtain wall, Summit Ridge Office Park gazes down at its own reflection in the still waters of a man-made lake. Until recently, the building simply accepted what it saw there: a six-story, highway-adjacent office complex, first built in 1987. Once proud of its blandly handsome exterior, Summit Ridge... Read more

Subcutaneous emphysema from blowing up a giant link-o-loon.

A case of Gillespie’s Pouches developed after a career of ballooning with bad technique.

Eye damage—or, Gosh forbid, blindness—inflicted by exploding latex.

There’s no question that overinflation comes with hazards aplenty—ever since Professor Michael Faraday... Read more

Standard outdoor lighting is left on for long hours and is often too cold a color; it also allows light trespass that disturbs people, wildlife, and ecosystems.

The best lighting is “efficacious” (... Read more

This article has been prepared for informational purposes only; it is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal advice. You should consult your firm’s legal advisors before engaging in any transaction.​​

Disclosures: WSP Built Ecology is BuildingGreen’s content partner on the LEEDuser website, and BuildingGreen is... Read more

Grinders’ asthma. Stonecutters’ consumption. Potters’ rot. Silicosis.

Lung disease from breathing in dust is one of the oldest and most lethal occupational hazards for people working in the building trades. According to a “A Short History of Occupational Disease,” an article published by the Ulster Medical Society in 2021, evidence of... Read more

This is Part Two of a two-part series on wood products. Part One focuses on the embodied carbon of wood products, exploring the origin and veracity of industry carbon-neutrality claims and considering the avoided emissions associated with using mass timber in place of structural steel or concrete. Part Two considers broader climate implications... Read more

Everyone wants to save water, but low-flow shower units have been faulted for delivering poor performance—leading people to spend more time in the shower or to remove the showerhead and replace it with an older, higher-flow showerhead.... Read more

Are wood products inherently carbon neutral?

Many people think they are even better: “net carbon storing,” or “carbon negative.” Because of this, the green building community has hoped that mass timber will drive decarbonization.

But it turns out that scaling that up could make things worse instead... Read more

Stone, wood, composites, sintered stone, tile, and other solid surface materials all have different environmental and health impacts. Plastic products engineered so scratches can be sanded out... Read more

As part of its economy-wide decarbonization plan, the U.S. government is targeting a building-sector emission cut of 90% from 2005 levels by 2050—and a crucial component of that is reducing the embodied greenhouse gas emissions from building materials and construction.

To achieve this, we need better... Read more

Made from portland cement, aggregates, and water, concrete is one of the most useful and ubiquitous materials on the planet. The portland cement that holds concrete together is responsible for approximately 8% of anthropogenic carbon. That’s because  production involves a process (calcination) that transforms limestone into portland cement and... Read more