I'm sure may are familiar with Aqua in Chicago, and Joe Lstiburek's article on thermal bridging. (https://buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi062-thermal-bridges-redux) We have similar problem with a project that is a residential highrise building, concrete structure. Here is my questions. Will energy simulation be able to pick up the... Read more

Our firm was asked by a government client in Canada to update their specifications for concrete to capture low embodied carbon as a performance metric. From the SDL group's knowledge of concrete procurement:

Welcome to the quiz portion of Net-Zero Energy Isn’t the Real Goal: 8 Reasons Why!

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


With the current push for improved window performance to meet energy codes and Passive House, room side low-e coatings can significantly improve window U-values. However, back in 2018 Payette did this excellent study that showed that while room side low-e coatings improved window U-value and increased the interior radiant temperature, the... Read more

Hello,

We are having a discussion / a bit of a debate in our office about the merits and sustainability of different roofing materials. Our current standard is to use a PVC membrane, which we all know is highly toxic. TPO is an obvious alternative that is less toxic, but it has some performance concerns and can often lead to leaking (not... Read more

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Whether you're selecting windows for a 99-unit condo project or for a single-family home, you're making a choice your client will have to live with for years, maybe decades.

And no matter how large or small... Read more

Hi folks, I was asking around during Greenbuild and getting a variety of answers on this, and since our Contractor Commitments make a distinction between "GC's" mobile equipment as scope 1 and "Sub's" mobile equipment as scope 3. I know that many of us acting as "CM" claim full "operational control" of a jobsite and consider all fuel using on... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Building Envelope: Primers from Environmental Building News.

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


1. Explain how thermal mass helps maintain indoor thermal comfort in buildings.
2. Describe the differences between closed-cell and... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Back at the retreat in March 2021 (does anyone remember back that far?), we formed an Air Quality Working Group with members from SDL, SMEPL, and SCL. Drawing on our collective experience, standards, research, and other resources, we began navigating the murkiness of indoor air quality considerations. We came up with a... Read more

Great career opportunity to make an impact on existing buildings and emissions reductions. City of Seattle will be hiring a full time Building Emissions Reduction Technical Advisor. Closing date to apply is August 6. Please share if you know someone who may be a candidate.

Description from city of Seattle:
Want to influence large... Read more

What a great first day!

Here are the slides from the show and tell presentations last night at SOM's office; everyone who presented with slides has given approval to share them.

Welcome to the quiz portion of Introduction to Fitwel Certification: On-Demand Webcast.

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


1.  Identify the different categories within Fitwel and the particular human health and wellness aspects.

2.  Describe the differences between Fitwel... Read more

Hi all,

We recently learned that Mass Dept of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) along with a few other state agencies are looking to offer grants for wastewater heat recovery implemented into projects. This is a newer technology that puts a heat exchanger or heat pump in the wastewater system that then extracts the heat energy and... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Here’s a reminder that our first Show & Tell for 2021 is happening next week! Monday, February 1st from 7-8pm ET and Tuesday, February 2nd from 4-5pm ET, come see your peers from all networks present for five minutes each on a variety of topics relating to their work.

This event is connected with the Summit-... Read more

Hi Green Gurus: check out this new series from AIAU that delves into the design and planning application of the 4th National Climate Assessment Report by region with some more recent updates. Free to members...looks like some great speakers and highly relevant. 

https://aiau.aia.org/regional-tour-climate-risk-planning-and-design

... Read more

Hey all,

At the retreat, many of you spoke to me about wanting to learn more about our Foundations Resilience event in Houston in November. As it happens, our website just went live and I thought that I would share it with the whole group. Registration (for those interested) will be up and running very soon, but this should give you a... Read more

Hi All - I wanted to share out the All For Reuse initiative below by two peers in the sustainable materials management network. I know some SDL have already done much research on this from quite a few angles, and those with LBC experience probably even moreso in practice. 

Frances Yang (Arup) and Andrew Ellsworth (Doors Unhinged) have... Read more