Design Strategies
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Design Strategies
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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What’s an HPD? Health Product Declaration FAQs
Feature Short
We answer frequently asked questions on HPDs, which allow manufacturers to disclose product ingredients and hazards.
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Build More or Build Green? Affordable Housing’s False Choice
Feature Article
The housing crisis is also a climate crisis and a social equity crisis. If we change our ways, we can address them all at once.
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IRA Tax Breaks May Reinforce Inequities, So We Need to Help
Feature Article
Four tax provisions could be used to include disadvantaged communities in the clean energy transition, but equity outcomes are unclear.
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The Missing Embodied Carbon Link: Construction
Feature Article
Some researchers say construction emissions could account for as much as 30% of a project’s embodied carbon. What can be done about it?
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Building Decarbonization: How LCA and EPDs Fit in
Explainer
Life-cycle assessment and environmental product declarations reveal embodied carbon and other impacts, but it’s important to know their limits.
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Understanding Emission Scopes in the GHG Protocol
Explainer
The GHG Protocol’s three emission scopes acknowledge the complexities of supply and demand while also encouraging sector-wide alignment, consistent transparency, and support for science-based decarbonization targets.
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Glazing Performance Metrics
Explainer
A few key metrics are important for understanding the thermal performance of glazing units used in curtainwalls and windows.
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Acoustic Ecology: Designing for the Ear
Explainer
By engaging our sense of hearing, and our sonological competence, design can improve our ability to listen to and know the places we inhabit.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2024
Product Review
BuildingGreen’s Top 10 industry-transforming products this year include innovative heat-pump energy storage, electric construction equipment, PFAS-free textiles, healthier lighting, PV circularity, and more.
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Acoustic Wall & Ceiling Panels
Product Guide
Acoustic panels with high NRC ratings and low toxicity
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Modular Carpet
Product Guide
These carpet tiles are made with natural wool or are certified NSF 140 Platinum or Cradle to Cradle v3.1 Silver or Gold. They are free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
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Broadloom Carpet
Product Guide
These broadloom carpets are made with natural wool or are certified NSF 140 Platinum or Cradle to Cradle v3.1 Silver or Gold. Many are free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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How to Use the Right Tools to Design for Climate Change
News Analysis
Weather files that help designers plan for climate change will soon be readily available. But legal liability remains until ASHRAE catches up.
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Be Prepared: The IRA Eliminates the Tech-Based ITC in Just Over a Year
News Analysis
Beginning in 2025, electricity-producing facilities will need to achieve zero emissions to claim the Investment Tax Credit, making the eligibility of several currently funded technologies uncertain.
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Can “Works with WELL” Make Product Selection Easier?
News Analysis
The International WELL Building Institute has launched a new program to help users find building products and systems that align with WELL feature requirements.
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Biophilic Design’s Financial Case Is Strong As Ever
News Brief
The pandemic popularized biophilic design, says a seminal resource, in part by emphasizing the importance of green outdoor spaces.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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The Universal Low-Carbon Building Standard Avoids RECs and Unnecessary Complications
Op-Ed
RECs and carbon offsets lack credibility, and grid interactivity adds unnecessary complexity. That's why this standard leaves them out.
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The Universal Low-Carbon Building Standard Does Six Things
Op-Ed
Here’s how we’re going to deconstruct “net zero” and rebuild it as a comprehensive standard that applies to every building.
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This is the Universal Low-Carbon Building Standard We Need
Op-Ed
The building industry’s current net-zero-energy and net-zero-carbon standards got complicated for a reason, but they don’t have to stay that way.
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Net Zero Has Failed. We Need a Universal Carbon Standard for Buildings.
Op-Ed
The building sector’s current “net-zero” standards are not credible, not scalable, and don’t eliminate emissions. There’s a better way.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Build More or Build Green? Affordable Housing’s False Choice
Spotlight Report
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The BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal Insulation
Special Report
The BuildingGreen Guide to Thermal Insulation, Fourth Edition, provides detailed guidance on insulation products and practices, including environmental and health comparisons, and recommendations on what insulation to use and what to avoid.
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The Missing Embodied Carbon Link: Construction
Feature Article
Some researchers say construction emissions could account for as much as 30% of a project’s embodied carbon. What can be done about it?
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Let’s Get Real about Wood’s Carbon Footprint
Webcast
You’ve probably heard that wood products are carbon neutral. You might also have heard that timber harvesting causes immense carbon emissions. Which is it? Could it be both?
Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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Hurricane Tests Resilient Design—and Family Dynamics
April Fools
A building project brings brothers back together, but a fast-moving storm challenges the project and the family.
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New Occupational Hazard Threatens Unshod Office Workers
April Fools
Whistleblowers alert state health agencies to possible foot fungus scourge in laid-back Vermont and Silicon Valley workplaces.
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Nuclear Power and Hydrogen: Fueling the Energy Needs of the Future and Beyond!
April Fools
Pink hydrogen made using nuclear energy will provide the power of tomorrow, fueling everything from robot warehouses to flying cars.
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OK COVID, It’s HAMMER Time!
April Fools
COVID has upended our lives, homes, and offices. It’s time to fight back with HAMMER brand biocidal antifungal nonviral germicidal disinfectant antimicrobial therapeutic (BANGDAT) sprays, coatings, and composites.
