Design Process

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Design Process

Deep Dives

Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.

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  • Investing in the Environment: The Financial Industry's Approach to Green Building

    Feature

    Recent changes in the financial industry are providing new opportunities for financing green buildings. However, lenders and investors have different approaches to documenting the benefits of green, which affect how they use rating systems and other metrics. To navigate effectively in the financial world, green designers and builders need to understand the territory.

  • Is Nano a No-No? Nanotechnology Advances into Buildings

    Feature

    Nanotechnology takes advantage of the novel properties that particles can exhibit at a billionth of a meter in size. Those properties are being used in building materials, where they can improve thermal performance and the effectiveness of photovoltaics, among many possibilities. The field has little regulation, however, despite significant health and environmental concerns.

  • Making Air Barriers that Work: Why and How to Tighten Up Buildings

    Feature

    Incorporating a continuous air barrier into a building's design and construction can save energy and improve the indoor environment, among other benefits. The right materials and assemblies can help accomplish that goal, but careful attention during design and close oversight during construction are essential.

  • Counting Carbon: Understanding Carbon Footprints of Buildings

    Feature

    Everyone seems to be talking about measuring carbon footprints and designing carbon-neutral buildings, but these terms mean different things to different people. Some focus just on operating energy, while others also look at transportation, materials, and other building-related emissions. As with so many things, the results depend on what you count and how you count it.

Quick Takes

Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.

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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  • Report Links Public Health to the Built Environment

    News Analysis

    The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) has released a report detailing the connections between a range of public health concerns and the built environment.

  • Cascadia Challenges Green to Go Beyond Platinum

    News Analysis

    The Cascadia Green Building Council has issued the Living Building Challenge, a rating system based on 16 prerequisites, aiming to define a "true measure of sustainability in the built environment."

  • Two Reports Laud Green Schools

    News Analysis

    Two recent reports, one from the National Academies' National Research Council and one from Capital E, confirm that green schools support student and faculty health and performance, and are a good investment.

  • D.C. Considers Green Building Legislation

    News Analysis

    Legislation before the Washington, D.C. Council would enact green building requirements for both public and private projects, making it the first major U.S. city to do so.

Perspective

Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.

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  • 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.

  • A Wider View of Social Justice

    Op-Ed

    Reader Raphael Sperry argues that addressing social justice goes beyond single buildings.

  • 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.

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