Design Strategies
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Design Strategies
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do about It
Feature Article
Building materials emit massive amounts of carbon long before the lights go on. Here’s how thoughtful design can reduce global warming impact.
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Lighting Design for Health and Sustainability: A Guide for Architects
Feature Article
A report providing architects guidance on how to design sustainable lighting that supports health and wellness while reducing energy use.
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When Hurricane Harvey Hit, the Texas Medical Center Stood Ready
Feature Article
At the Texas Medical Center, hard-won lessons learned from Tropical Storm Allison kept Hurricane Harvey at bay.
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Focus on Resilient Housing
Feature Article
A broad look at the opportunities and challenges in providing resilient multifamily housing.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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How RECs Work—and Why You Might Not Own Your Clean Energy
Explainer
Even if you buy into a solar farm or host an array, someone else can claim the benefits. Here’s how to get what you expect.
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Sitting Is the New Smoking: Fad or Fact?
Explainer
Active design is looking less like a luxury and more like a public health imperative.
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Demand-Controlled Ventilation: Fresh Air Only When You Need It
Explainer
Balancing the need for fresh air with minimizing energy use is difficult. Demand-controlled ventilation is the responsive solution.
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Circadian Rhythm and the Role of Lighting
Explainer
LEDs with color tuning are now being sold, but do we really have the light formula for waking us up and putting us to sleep?
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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How Low-Flow Can You Go with Plumbing Fixtures?
Product Review
BuildingGreen-Approved toilets, urinals, showerheads, and faucets automatically meet CALGreen and LEED v4 water-efficiency standards.
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BuildingGreen Announces Top 10 Products for 2017
Product Review
Our innovative Top 10 product selections reduce stormwater and wastewater, improve efficiency and IAQ, and contain fewer hazardous materials.
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Treated Wood for Ground Contact, Minus the Toxic Pesticides
Product Review
Accoya, now code-approved for fungus and termite resistance, relies on acetylation as a benign alternative to conventional pressure-treated wood.
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DC Power Supply Integrates AC and Renewables
Product Review
Nextek PhD provides AC-to-DC power at the building scale, integrates renewable energy, and can even save on first costs.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Goodbye, Denial: Free Tools Expose Localized Climate Realities
News Brief
The Climate Explorer and the CMRA translate nerdy climate projections into eye-opening images that should be well worth more than a thousand words in the push for resilient design.
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White House to Release Building Decarbonization Standard
News Brief
The new building decarbonization standard aims to bring all buildings along—not just a few high performers.
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California’s Embodied Carbon Code May Embolden Other States
News Analysis
CalGreen’s new embodied carbon requirement is unprecedented in the U.S. We analyze the code and what might come next for other states.
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The IRA’s 48(e), 48(h) Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program: Just the Basics
News Analysis
This provision offers a bonus credit to the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for small-scale solar and wind projects located in low-income and environmental justice communities.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Zero-Energy Buildings for All
Blog Post
There is increasing movement for buildings to reach net-zero energy, but they can't do it alone. Here's how to fix the system.
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Pete’s Product Puzzle: VersaDry
Blog Post
Simple folded metal solves a common moisture problem
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Building Products Matter Even More Than We Thought
Op-Ed
Operational energy use is critical, but materials might be an even bigger part of the solution to climate change and other pressing environmental issues.
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We Spend 90% of Our Time Indoors. Says Who?
Blog Post
Where the oft-quoted statistic comes from, and what the underlying study says about health in buildings
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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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
Webcast
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.
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Keeping PFAS Forever Chemicals out of Building Products
Spotlight Report
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On-demand Webinar- Rainwater Management and LEED: Strategies to Protect Ecosystems and Communities
Webcast
In this webinar, we will review the LEED v4 and v4.1 BD+C Rainwater Management credits and discuss how real project teams are approaching and implementing successful management strategies.