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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Five Reasons to Be Optimistic About Solar Energy
Feature Article
Commercial-scale solar energy, buoyed by battery storage, is continuing to grow, redefining how we produce and use energy.
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Affordable Housing and Sustainable Design: The Goals Are Aligned
Feature Article
Green building is not just for those with means.
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The Sound of Sustainability: Acoustics in High-Performance Design
Feature Article
Acoustic performance is often overlooked by human-centered design. A holistic approach shows how to navigate the complexities of “sustainable acoustics.”
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Mind the Gaps: Making Existing Buildings More Airtight
Feature Article
Leaky building enclosures create health hazards, comfort problems, and high energy bills. Fixing them isn’t rocket science; but you’d better know your building science.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Standard Effective Temperature: A Metric for Thermal Comfort and Resilience
Explainer
Do you know how hot or cold your building would be if the power went out? You could be using thermal modeling to find out.
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Understanding GreenScreen and List Translator Benchmarks
Explainer
The Health Product Declaration and some other programs ask for GreenScreen benchmarks. What does that actually mean?
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Hygge: The Human Element in Architecture
Explainer
A Danish term for “home” is gaining attention as designers look for ways to foster wellness in buildings.
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How to Read an EPD: 7 Tips from the Field (Video)
Explainer
In this short video primer, Arup engineer Frances Yang explains how to get what you need from environmental product declarations.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Demountable Walls: Here to Redeem the Open Office
Product Review
These movable partitions preserve the flexibility of an open office and provide the acoustical privacy office workers say they want.
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SIREWALL: The Next Generation of Earthen Walls
Product Review
Made from local earth, rebar, and polyiso, SIREWALL rammed earth walls are beautiful, durable, and are stronger than concrete with less portland cement.
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The Best Indoor LED Luminaires of 2016
Product Review
Winners of an annual DOE competition represent some of the best LED lighting for decorative pendants, downlights, and healthcare.
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Non-Hazardous Deep-Cycle Batteries for On or Off the Grid
Product Review
Aquion offers high-performance “saltwater” energy storage without lead, sulfuric acid, or flammable lithium salts.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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IRA’s 179D Tax Deduction for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings: Just the Basics
News Analysis
This provision offers commercial building owners and renters (and designers of properties owned by tax-exempt entities) a tax deduction for certain energy-efficiency improvements.
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IRA’s 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit: Just the Basics
News Analysis
This program provides a tax credit to homeowners for energy efficiency improvements in residential homes.
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The IRA’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program: Just the Basics
News Analysis
This program will administer grants and loans to owners or sponsors of HUD-assisted multifamily housing to improve its resilience and quality.
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IRA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Just the Basics
News Analysis
This program funds clean-energy projects, including building-scale technologies, primarily through grants to nonprofit financial institutions.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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On the Path to Net Zero
Op-Ed
At Leonard Farm, we’ve taken another big step in our quest for net-zero energy and net-zero carbon—but we’re not there yet!
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The Green Building Movement Has Lost One of Its Unsung Heroes
Op-Ed
Kirsten Childs 1944 – 2016
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Net Zero Energy Is Achievable: Here’s How
Blog Post
The concept of the net zero energy (NZE) is a mature one, with established technology providing a clear path, especially for low- and mid-rise buildings.
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Opinion: Chemical Ingredients in Building Products—What Do You Really Need to Know?
Op-Ed
HPDs can’t be used in isolation to make decisions about the safety and environmental performance of a product.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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The Missing Embodied Carbon Link: Construction
Spotlight Report
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Assessing Climate Hazards: The First Step in Resilient Design
Spotlight Report
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Native Landscaping for Biodiversity
Spotlight Report
It may take hundreds or thousands of years to return to pre-industrial-age levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, but the loss of animal and plant species that is occurring today is, practically speaking, irreversible.
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The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do About It
Spotlight Report
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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