Hello, 

We are becoming involved with the design/construction of a new k-12 school that is intersted in entertaining geothermal. Does anyone have payback studies on geothermal?

Thanks!

Fellow Sages,

I was at an interesting lecture last night. Phil Bernstein (formerly of Autodesk, now at Yale) was speaking (in Lawrence, Kansas, at the U of Kansas) about AI and design/AEC ... you may know that he authored the 2022 book, Machine Learning, about AI and the AEC field. 

Phil has a very interesting posture about AI... Read more

Hi All,

I wanted to pass on a few cool things we have going on at Built Environment Plus (formerly USGBC MA)  I really am conscious of not spamming you often and reserve posts for some of our most exciting happenings.

August 5, Building Tech Forum/MaterialsCAN: Getting to Zero with Embodied Carbon. Featuring 13 5-minute... Read more

I'm wondering if people are seeing any increase in WELL or Fitwel certification interest? Or any other 3rd party systems aimed at health and wellness? WELL seems like a higher bar and now WELL v2 offers more flexibility. Is interest and adoption of 3rd party health and wellness certs growing? 

Hi all,

I see that this was a hot topic for the Winter Retreat this past year, but I am wondering how your firms manage standard materials across your practice. two aspects - standard specification items, and also designer choice materials. 

1. Do you have a spec baseline with high performance materials that you start with for all... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Here is the information for this month's Peer Networks Webinar, Making the Case for Equity with Data: a Free Tool for Project Teams. We hope you will join us!

Register HERE.

Making the Case for Equity with Data: a Free Tool for Project Teams
Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
1pm - 2pm ET (10am - 11am... Read more

Re: 310 CMR 78.00: Ban of Covered Products Containing Certain Flame Retardants. This law took effect as of April 01, 2021, and is enforced by Mass DEP. 

Full text: https://www.mass.gov/regulations/310-CMR-7800-ban-of-covered-products-containing-certain-flame-retardants

Quick Summary: Law bans 11 types of chemical flame retardants from... Read more

Hello - Other than hiring an acoustic consultant, I am wondering what in-house tools you are using internally at the design stage for modelling acoustic performance? 

Thanks, Mona

I see Kjell Anderson, Mary Ann Lazarus and Daniel Overbey as the Green Gurus on this list - if i missed anybody apologies.

Congrats all around folks!

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/gbci-announces-2018-leed-fellows 

RoseAnn’s role at BuildingGreen as Peer Networks Manager focuses on Peer Networks projects and planning events, including annual Peer Network Summits. 

Prior to BuildingGreen, RoseAnn worked in the nonprofit sector in customer-service based roles which allowed her to reconnect with her local community soon after earning her... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

We have an exciting cross-network opportunity coming up next week! Members of the SDL (Design Leaders) and SCL (Construction Leaders) networks will share about their experience at the recent SDL/SCL Summits. We will also preview the Reports for each Summit, and share some news about other events coming up this year.... Read more

Exterior shade or screening devices are generally much more effective at reducing solar heat gain than their interior counterparts.

BuildingGreen-Approved Shading

BuildingGreen approves exterior window and glazing attachments that reduce solar heat gain and glare or redirect daylight, providing important energy benefits while... Read more

Does anyone have install experience with Duracryl yet? I'm looking at it for a large project in place of Marmoleum. We've had multiple instances of install failures with Marmoleum, which leads to lots of finger pointing. 

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Cost of Comfort: Climate Change and Refrigerants!

Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


Explain how refrigerants work, the energy challenges they present for design teams, and the opportunities for efficiency and building performance.

... Read more

Five types of green buildings explained. Check out this great infographic by the Pembina Institute: What do net-zero and zero-carbon buildings mean for energy use and climate pollution?

Has anyone vetted through all the Epoxy and Resin-based flooring systems to see which flooring application is "healthier"?

Below is a preapproved list from our local health department:
• Tera Lite • Stonhard Stonclad, Stonclad Ut, Stonshield Hri • Sunbelt 110 • Everlast • Westcoat Epoxy Mortar, Slurry, Or Double Broadcast • Dex-O-... Read more

SDLers,

Great to see many of you at Greenbuild! It was nice to have the opportunity to remind everyone how our collective energy continues to make a real difference with the HPD, born at a summit 13 years ago after being nurtured through a BuildingGreen-HBN collaboration (see my HPD is a Teenager presentation).

To be able to... Read more