As I've said before, windows are a silent but very high-tech part of our buildings. The advances in glazing in the last 30 years have been phenomenal. Will windows keep getting better and better with no end in sight?
Everybody loves a high-tech innovation, and our windows are very high-tech, but have we reached a point where we don't need to push further?
We design a house from the inside out and engineer a house from the top down, but we build a house from the ground up. What are the most environmentally sensitive, durable materials?
[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking design and construction to what he sees as radical or "root" concerns. Enjoy--and please share your thoughts. – Tristan Roberts]
Before you peel that NFRC sticker off the window, check the numbers and ask whether you got the right window for your climate.
Have you ever found yourself picking a sticker off a building product or material from the store, and wondering, why did they put the sticker here? I have often had this thought with everything from stovepipe to plumbing fittings, but the classic example in the building world is probably windows.
As more federal buildings target zero energy, leading designers tell us that day-to-day choices make all the difference
Automatically operated shades and a passive transpired solar collector could help bring the NREL research support facility to net-zero energy use--but it takes intentional conservation too. (Photo: Frank Ooms)
Can an epoxy-based polyurethane truly be "green" as its name attests?
A new clear floor coating for the commercial and industrial market is being touted as not containing isocyanates, potentially toxic chemicals used in uncured spray polyurethane foams (SPF), clear furniture and floor coatings, and adhesives such as those found in no-added-formaldehyde wood panel products. But it does contain epoxy, made from bisphenol-A.
Almost every technological "solution" has created a new set of problems which it was assumed would be solved by further advances in technology. How is green building different?
[Editor's note: Robert Riversong, a Vermont builder, continues his 10-part series of articles taking design and construction to what he sees as radical or "root" concerns. Enjoy--and please share your thoughts. – Tristan Roberts]
We expect windows to provide fresh air and cooling breezes at times, but at other times we expect them to be completely airtight and provide good thermal insulation
It has been a great spring so far for spotting wildlife. A neighbor told me he was shooing a black bear away from his garbage the other day when he saw that he had also frightened off a moose that was also in the neighborhood. Perhaps the moose and bear are rehearsing for a new wildlife buddy movie?
A tour of rebuilding in the Ninth Ward of NOLA, with green homes designed by some of the world's leading architects
The IGCC is designed to implement green building on a massive scale--not to replace LEED.
There are many challenges with mandating daylighting within an international code framework. This illustrates one of them: geography plays a huge role in daylighting, but established climate zones do not overlap with daylight availability, so separate zones had to be established.
How to tell green from greenwash? Our free recorded webinar is available below, and we're also using this space to answer questions from the live webcast. Enjoy!
Spray-polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation, growing in popularity, is under scrutiny from EPA. What's a homeowner or builder to do?
Originally published May 16, 2011. Updated by Paula Melton June 1, 2018.
A friend of mine used to be a long-haul truck driver. At one point he even became a trainer working with new drivers.
Over dinner recently, I asked what was one key lesson that he would want to impart to any new driver. While he was thinking about it, his wife lit up and offered this advice (which I'm sure is not from the company manual): make sure your seatbelt is removed before you begin a hot swap.
Crowd-sourced commentary enriches proposed rules for building well.
I'm not sure if it was the topic or the all-star panel that drew a crowd to a session entitled "Beyond the Red List" at the recent Living Future conference in Vancouver.
Thomas Friedman argues that sustainable design is patriotic. Will non-choir members be convinced?
Posted the next day.
As Bourbon Street throbs beneath my hotel room window, it is a little hard to focus on anything else--and in my exhausted state it's all starting to get mixed up with Thomas Friedman's talk this morning.
