Single-family passive house, Vorarlberg, Austria (Photo: Tõnu Mauring. License: CC BY 2.0)
News Analysis
The Two Passive Houses: A Comparison
PHIUS and PHI certifications have been considered “separate but equal” in the U.S. marketplace for years. But are they really equivalent?
Read more »
BuildingGreen
PEER NETWORKS
Private communities that facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration between sustainability professionals
Learn more »Product Review
An Adjustable Cladding System with Thermal Breaks
CL-Talon provides a cladding system that can incorporate up to ten inches of insulation and comes with thermal breaks and easy-to-adjust framing.
Read more »
California homebuilder City Ventures benefits from market differentiation by offering a number of solar, all-electric townhomes. (Image: City Ventures)
Feature Article + CEU Spotlight Report
Changing Building Design for a Changing Electrical Grid
Electricity generation from wind and solar is poised to surpass fossil fuel generation in the next 30 years. You can future-proof the buildings you design today to save money and carbon later on.
Read more »
The Urban Village, Oslo (Image: LPO Architects, SLA Architects)
News Brief + Slideshow
“Reinventing Cities” Awards Innovative Urban Projects
The 2019 winners of AIA’s COTE Top Ten are all about education and connection to place.
Read more »
Primer
Glazing Performance Metrics
A few key metrics are important for understanding the thermal performance of glazing units.
Read more »
News Brief
UK’s 2050 Carbon Law Requires Bold Plan for Buildings
With new legislation requiring net-zero carbon by 2050, buildings will be a major focus.
Read more »
Featured Topic
Explore our full knowledge base »
The Bell Museum and Planetarium at the University of Minnesota is being designed to handle a 1,000-year rain event. (Image: Perkins+Will)
Floodproofing
There’s a lot more to floodproofing than sump pumps. First, do you really want to prevent flooding, or do you actually want to let the water in (known as wet floodproofing)? How much do you know about base flood elevations vs. design flood elevations?
These resources will help get you started on one of the most basic resilient design strategies: keeping water from damaging buildings, thus reducing their risk from storms and other flood sources.
LEARN THE BASICS from the Resilient Design Institute
CASE STUDIES
-
When Hurricane Harvey Hit, the Texas Medical Center Stood Ready
- Elevated New Orleans Buildings Pass a Flood Test
NEWS & ANALYSIS
Explore our full knowledge base »
Maintain Your Credentials
WELL AP Exam Study Guide
The best and only WELL AP study guide you’ll ever need. Use our guide and you’ll pass the exam on your first try—we guarantee it.
The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do About It
Building materials emit massive amounts of carbon long before the lights go on. In this PDF report, we take an analytical look at the greenhouse gases that are emitted in the process of constructing our buildings in the first place—the embodied carbon. We then offer strategies for reducing embodied carbon, with examples of projects that have succeeded in this regard.
Lighting Design for Health and Sustainability: A Guide for Architects
What do we mean when we say sustainable lighting? In this PDF report, we take a closer look at lighting as an essential element in quality environments that support health and wellness while reducing energy use.
Fundamentals of High-Performance Building Assemblies
This four-part course, designed for architects and builders, provides methodologies for how best to design and manage these details and achieve superior performance—while avoiding expensive pitfalls.
Introduction to Fitwel Certification
Are your clients asking you about wellness? You’re not alone. Employee health and wellbeing has been called the ‘second wave of sustainability.’ In this hour-long webinar, GreenStep Education’s Alex Spilger will walk you through Fitwel certification, including its requirements, lessons learned from Fitwel projects, and how Fitwel compares to other frameworks like WELL and LEED. We’ll also discuss how to earn the Fitwel Ambassador credential.
