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:
-
slowing down climate change
-
dealing with global water shortages
-
avoiding depletion of nonrenewable resources
-
preventing public health problems associated with manufacturing
-
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.
-
Integrated Project Delivery: A Platform for Efficient Construction
Feature
Integrated project delivery, or IPD, is a new contract mechanism for design and construction. Among its benefits for green building, it enshrines integrated design and building information modeling (BIM) into a legally supportive framework.
-
The Folly of Building-Integrated Wind
Feature
Wind turbines on buildings could produce electricity where it's needed and catch high winds above ground level. However, wind turbulence, safety, cost, and poor performance all make building-integrated wind a limited strategy.
-
Cool Products From Greenbuild 2009: An Expo Floor Tour
Feature
Alex Wilson provides a tour of 37 innovative products from the U.S. Green Building Council's 2009 Greenbuild conference in Phoenix.
-
Avoiding the Global Warming Impact of Insulation
Feature
Insulation is key to reducing carbon emissions from buildings. But the blowing agent in extruded polystyrene and spray polyurethane foam offsets much of that benefit.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
-
Net-Positive, Regenerative Design, and Other Ways Buildings Can Do Good
Explainer
Instead of making a big fat net-zero your goal, regenerative design encourages whole-systems thinking and projects that actually add benefit to the environment.
-
Our Buildings Are Killing Our Oceans
Explainer
Carbon is more deadly than many other toxic substances we fret about every day. And acidification might be more of a problem than climate change.
-
Ethnography: A Creative Tool for Human-Centered Design
Explainer
Social science research methods can generate innovative and sophisticated design solutions that respond to human needs and cultural values.
-
Social Sustainability and Architecture
Explainer
Architects can increase social value through thoughtful design of the built environment.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
-
BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2023
Product Review
BuildingGreen’s Top 10 industry-transforming products this year include heat pumps that use low-GWP refrigerants, products that encourage recycling and re-use, wood insulation, and more.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
-
Clinton, Large Cities Group, Act on Global Warming
News Analysis
Former President Bill Clinton recently launched the Clinton Climate Initiative, which includes a partnership aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions with an international group of major cities and the U.S. Green Building Council.
-
Sustainable Projects Increase Firm Profits
News Analysis
Despite widespread beliefs to the contrary, sustainable building projects are more profitable than conventional projects-according to one internal study by HOK.
-
California Combats Climate Change
News Analysis
The California legislature has passed legislation that could result in a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases in the state, as well as a greenhouse gas emissions performance standard for electricity generation.
-
TimberSIL in Trouble
News Analysis
The company behind TimberSIL, a nontoxic treated wood product, is facing a lawsuit from one of its partners.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
-
Remembering Greg Franta
Op-Ed
Greg Franta, FAIA, not only inspired green builders, he made them laugh.
-
Save the Icing for Last
Op-Ed
Before considering high-profile features such as wind turbines and photovoltaic arrays, we should focus on the basics of green building.
-
Changing Practices
Op-Ed
A reader reports on changing his building practices with inspiration from Environmental Building News.
-
Earth Day + 40
Op-Ed
Forty years ago, the first Earth Day celebration brought environmental awareness into the mainstream. But we're still consuming oil at an ever-increasing rate.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
- Check if your spelling is correct, or try removing filters.
- Remove quotes around phrases to match each word individually: "blue drop" will match less than blue drop.
- You can require or exclude terms using + and -: big +blue drop will require a match on blue while big blue -drop will exclude results that contain drop.
