Existing Buildings

Photo: Luke Jones. License: CC BY 2.0

The embodied impacts of renovation are usually dramatically lower than the impacts of new construction.

Although many existing buildings leave something to be desired in terms of aesthetics and comfort, they are part of the urban and suburban fabric now, and they aren’t going anywhere. And reusing these buildings is an immense creative opportunity.

Existing Buildings

Deep Dives

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  • Design for Adaptation: Living in a Climate-Changing World

    Feature Article

    Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases tomorrow, rising global temperatures would still bring major changes to the climate system and our way of life. This article offers solutions for designing buildings that not only mitigate our impact on the global climate, but also adapt to the changes that are coming-and those that are already here.

  • Cost-Effective Green Retrofits: Opportunities for Savings in Existing Buildings

    Feature Article

    Between lighting, water use, mechanical systems, the building envelope, and occupant health, existing buildings are rife with cost-effective retrofits and operational opportunities that also offer environmental benefits. Improvements range from the painfully obvious to the more complex and involved.

  • Historic Preservation and Green Building: A Lasting Relationship

    Feature Article

    Rehabilitation of existing buildings is important to sustainability in buildings, but with historic buildings, green building and preservationism can diverge. With attention to preservation standards and suitable application of green strategies, however, those agendas can be aligned.

  • Six Ways Existing Buildings Can Save the Planet

    Feature Short

    Renovations, retrofits, and better-informed O&M will determine how quickly the developed world slows its carbon emissions.

Quick Takes

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


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Product Guidance

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In The News

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Perspective

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Learning Resources

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Just For Fun

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