The Big Picture
It’s easy to get caught up in the details—earning one more LEED point or getting that documentation you need for recycled content.
But it’s a lot easier to achieve all the project goals if the owner and the whole project team are in agreement about why you’re putting in all this work in the first place. Stuff like:
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slowing down climate change
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dealing with global water shortages
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avoiding depletion of nonrenewable resources
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preventing public health problems associated with manufacturing
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righting social wrongs
Here we set the scene, providing context that can help get—and keep—everyone on the same page about project goals.
The Big Picture
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Embracing the Economy as a Design Challenge
Feature Article
How architects, community developers, and others are experimenting with new models to support progressive design.
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20 Ways to Advance Sustainability in the Next Four Years
Feature Article
In this age of political revolution and environmental urgency, it’s time to step back and take a look at priorities, challenges, and opportunities
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Pest Prevention: Steps Designers Can Take
Feature Article
Integrated pest management (IPM) design strategies can reduce structural damage and unsanitary conditions, and improve our community’s health.
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Climate Change: Building Industry, You’ve Got This!
Feature Article
Global warming has legs. Do our commitments to stopping it have teeth?
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Synthetic Gypsum
Primer
Synthetic gypsum, used in drywall, is chemically the same as virgin gypsum but is created from a byproduct of coal-fired power plants. Are designer and contractor concerns about heavy metal contamination justified?
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Permaculture for Urban Design
Primer
Permaculture promotes food production and nurtures ecological systems in both rural and urban environments.
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Using Fly Ash in Concrete
Primer
Fly ash lowers the environmental footprint of concrete and improves durability. Pouring and curing concrete with high levels of fly ash requires special treatment.
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Weighting Environmental Impact Categories
Primer
Life-cycle assessments (LCAs) score products or design options across a series of environmental impact categories. To compare two products with different impact profiles, it becomes necessary to weight those categories, a difficult process.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Winning the Race to Zero
News Brief
The UN Race to Zero campaign enlists businesses in achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2050. How does it fit in with other commitments?
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At COP26, a United Plea for Climate Policy
News Brief
Leading AEC firms and organizations are challenging governments to step up climate commitments in a “1.5ºC Communiqué.”
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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Transforming the Building Industry
News Brief
The BuildUp 2030 Framework from the Institute for Market Transformation is a comprehensive guide to radically reshaping the building industry.
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A Resilient Government: Federal Agencies Respond to Climate Change
News Brief
With the release of new climate adaptation plans, EPA, GSA, and other agencies detail how their buildings will become more resilient.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary
Op-Ed
Fifty years out, the increased awareness of the environment is heartwarming and the accomplishments significant, but our challenges are greater than ever.
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Let’s Bounce Forward from the COVID-19 Pandemic
Op-Ed
What lessons can we learn from the coronavirus pandemic that will help us end up in a better place when the crisis is over?
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The Green New Deal—an Opportunity for the Green Building Industry
Op-Ed
Achieving the goals of the Green New Deal will be tremendously challenging—but not impossible.
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Carbon Emissions Are Up, But We Can Get Back on Track
Op-Ed
Carbon emissions rose in a year of natural disasters. Here’s what we can do about it.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Wood: What’s Good?
Spotlight Report
Mass timber is lauded for being “climate smart”—meaning it helps mitigate climate change—because it stores carbon from the atmosphere instead of emitting carbon.
But is this true? -
What Makes a Product Green Today?
Spotlight Report
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Re-forming the Building Industry: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Spotlight Report
People from marginalized communities are shockingly underrepresented in the U.S. building industry. It’s past time to change that.
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The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do About It
Spotlight Report
Building materials emit massive amounts of carbon long before the lights go on. Here’s how thoughtful design can reduce global warming impact.
Just For Fun
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