Design for Change
Good design is adaptable, resilient, and flexible to change over time—reducing the building’s risk and vulnerability and enhancing its usability, functionality, and value.
Learn more about the AIA Framework for Design Excellence.
Reproduced with permission of The American Institute of Architects, 1735 New York Avenue, N.W.; Washington, D.C. 20006
Design for Change
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design: The Goals Are Aligned
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Green building is not just for those with means.
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Saying Goodbye to the Office—and Hello to Housing
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The way we use (and don’t use) our offices is irrevocably changing. But what are we going to do with all these vacant buildings?
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Net-Zero Energy Isn’t the Real Goal: 8 Reasons Why
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Net-zero-energy buildings don’t always reduce carbon emissions. These are the tweaks we need to ensure they do.
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ESG: 6 Things Building Professionals Need to Know
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Clients need AEC professionals to help them achieve environmental, social, and governance goals. Here’s how people are turning aspirations into strategies.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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New Products from Greenbuild 2023: Part One
Product Review
The Greenbuild expo floor had quite a few new products, an exciting change post-pandemic. In fact, there were too many for one article. In part one we’re covering IAQ and low-carbon concrete. Stay tuned for part two!
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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.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence: A Hook for Firm-wide Change
News Analysis
With design awards on the line, architecture firms are starting to require sustainability tracking across all projects.
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Get to Know Your Grid
News Analysis
With electrification on the rise, understanding the source of your project’s power is essential. -
How Climate Commitments Are Transforming Design
News Analysis
2030 commitments are not easy to meet, but we spoke to three architecture firms that are progressing.
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Three Green Actions to Take While Occupants Work from Home
News Analysis
Now is a perfect time for property owners and managers to pursue these major sustainability initiatives.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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
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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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Affordable Housing or Green Housing? We Can Say Yes to Both
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Yes, available funding for building and rehabilitating affordable housing is inadequate—but that’s all the more reason to get this right when we get the chance.
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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?
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IRA Nuts & Bolts with an Energy Tax Expert
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The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) offers us a once-in-a-generation chance to equitably decarbonize the built environment and prepare communities to weather future climate threats. Will we seize that chance in time? For that to happen, it’s vital that project teams understand the rules well enough to offer and implement the right solutions.