How do you measure someone’s sustainable design literacy? As we discuss in Sustainable Design Literacy: A Foundation for Transformed Practice, no single exam or other measure tells the whole story.

We thought about writing our own, holistic, non-LEED-centric version of the LEED AP exam. We quickly recognized, however, that it’s the... Read more

When President Donald Trump was equivocating about whether to pull out of the Paris Accord, I fervently hoped he would not. When he announced in early June that the U.S. would walk away from the agreement, I was worried that the global effort to mitigate climate change would be seriously set back.

But now, I’ve changed my mind. In fact... Read more

As more projects started claiming “net-zero-energy design” without having actual performance data to back them up, a certification and a certifying agency became needed. International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and New Buildings Institute (NBI) have now teamed up to fill this gap and accelerate the net-zero-energy trend.

Earlier in... Read more

Among the biggest changes that LEED v4 brought to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System were three new credits in the Materials & Resources category. These credits cover building product disclosure and optimization, or BPDO: Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Raw Material Extraction, and Material Ingredients. Each of... Read more

On the same day that our editorial team finalized this month’s feature article on net-zero-energy schools, President Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.

As I re-read the article, my own words seemed tone-deaf in the context of this new reality. The past few years had given me optimism that green building was... Read more

In Portland, Maine, the chair of a building committee dreamed of a schoolhouse that could offset the transportation energy required for students to commute to class.

In Arlington, Virginia, a school architect argued he could reduce energy costs without increasing his budget.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the school district,... Read more

When Structure Tone, a construction management and contracting company with offices around the world, decided to move its New York headquarters into a new space, it wanted to make an investment in support of its most valuable resource—p­­­­­­eople. The company’s new office at 330 West 34th Street is the first project in New York City to achieve... Read more

Clean Production Action recently tossed its hat into the ring of those attempting to recognize whole formulations with greener chemistries by releasing Greenscreen Certified Standard for Textile Chemicals. The certification relies on GreenScreen, the hazard assessment framework behind Health Product Declarations and other transparency programs... Read more

The Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Development—based in Gothenburg, Sweden—recognizes organizations and individuals that contribute toward a sustainable future through work that conserves resources, develops greater global justice, or leads to systematic change.

Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena—who has suggested that “... Read more

What if instead of buying a light bulb you paid a company to provide you with light? That’s the idea behind product as a service (PaaS)—a business model that could extend to any type of building product and seeks to bring about a circular economy.

This is how it works. An owner specifies the desired performance level for a certain... Read more

There is no shortage of different tools, initiatives, and certification programs available to guide building professionals in the design and construction of healthy, sustainable buildings. Rather than creating competition, however, organizations like International Living Future Institute (ILFI) are creating partnerships and collaborating with... Read more

BuildingGreen has been asking for formaldehyde-free mineral wool insulation for years (see The Search for Better Insulation). In 1996, fiberglass batt manufacturers began replacing formaldehyde—a carcinogen and respiratory irritant (see our primer on formaldehyde)—with acrylic resins. In 2008, formaldehyde-free biobased resins arrived. And... Read more

Living walls, or green walls, can provide a powerful connection with nature in otherwise sterile urban interiors. But plants used as interior decorations have been consistently overhyped as tools for everything from cleaning indoor air to increasing productivity (see Bringing Nature Indoors: The Myths and Realities of Plants in Buildings).... Read more

When the United Nations planned the multi-year, campus-wide renovation of its New York City headquarters, it made sustainability a priority. The resulting project, completed in 2015, was designed and built to meet the equivalent of a LEED Gold rating and the iconic Secretariat Building to meet the equivalent of a LEED Platinum rating. But... Read more

Architectural practice must react and adapt as technological and cultural change continuously disrupt established ways of working. As the tools, processes, and priorities of the building industry evolve, the profession has responded by adopting increasingly collaborative models of organization and operation.

In Leading Collaborative... Read more

A new “crosswalk” document aims to support the efficient, simultaneous application of the LEED Rating System credits and WELL Building Standard. The report—published by International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) in collaboration with U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)—shows how LEED credits and... Read more

With the publication of a handbook to accompany the standard, The Living Community Challenge (LCC) has become a more clearly defined program for practitioners and may be picking up steam as a result.

The Living Community Challenge Handbook 1.1, available on the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) website, is directed towards... Read more

I have been advising architects and builders on high-performance design, materials, and construction — particularly for residential buildings — for many years. But to do this work on commercial buildings, a building science training and credentialing program seemed really important (yet elusive).

This past November I bit the bullet and... Read more

A study funded by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) indicates that the Passivhaus standard—notable for reducing heating- and cooling-related energy use by 70%–90%—could successfully be applied on tall residential buildings in dense urban environments like New York City at a viable cost. The detailed methodology... Read more

Ethnography is defined as “the scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.” It is a method social scientists use to study and understand different communities and the places in which these communities are situated.

By using ethnography to enhance engagement with project stakeholders and their rich cultural... Read more