Hi Everyone - I hope this isn't a repeat topic. We are starting to get familiar with TallyCAT at SAR+ and have a few people testing our projects in it. Is anyone willing to help us troubleshoot or share lessons learned? We're running into a few errors and wonder if our Revit models and workflow are the issue, or if we need to be doing something... Read more

Dear all,

Greetings. I'm presenting virtually to an audience of architecture and engineering faculty in India on the topic 'Introduction to Climate Change and Adaptive Architecture.' What is expected of the presentation is a broad overview of how climate change affects the built environment, challenges faced and some coping mechanisms. I... Read more

Greetings to all of the AEC SD Leaders (a.k.a. the Green Gurus)!

Over the last two months, the 32-member Build-Back-Better (BBB) letter working group has developed a robust list of first 100-days, built-environment-focused executive actions for the Biden administration to consider. Kara Kempski, the AIA’s Director of Federal Relations,... Read more

The opportunity for water savings from installing efficient toilets, and from toilet replacement, is significant. In addition to improvements to the traditional gravity system, pressure- and vacuum-assisted flushing systems are available that offer superior performance—albeit often with some increase in flushing noise.

Are there any metrics for % increase for building PH vs conventional?  These questions are always really hard- especially when there are none to compare to in area.

Does anyone have a Passive House detailing resource recommendation? Something that is applicable to wood over podium and/or metal framing construction? I have the book below but looking for something more applicable.

Passive House Details: Solutions for High-Performance Design 1st Edition

by Donald B. Corner (Author), Jan C.... Read more

What thoughts do you have? What have others said that you feel we want to capture?

The Vision Vacuum: What’s driving environmental and social progress in architecture today? What should be driving it, and where should we be going?

Hi Everyone!  About ten days ago, Megan Zack posted a note announcing her new role as Chief Sustainability Officer at Wight & Company. (Yay!)  I'm so delighted that she will be stepping into this leadership role at Wight to shepard the firm in the next chapter of their journey in sustainability. 

I wanted to take a moment to say... Read more

Dear All!

Crowdsourcing here to see if anyone has access to two LCA's that can be used to compare functionally equivalent consumer products: a fossil fuel powered to a battery one?  (A good product might be a car or stove, or a heating system with a boiler compared to a heat pump, perhaps?  Needs to include the B-use phase probably...)... Read more

Hey all,

We have a NAVFAC project going into construction that has indicated that they'd like to hire someone to help them with the construction tracking aspects of the UFC requirements, including the Guiding Principles Assessment (GPA) program through GBCI. We're on the design side, so cannot offer these services on our own project;... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of How to Succeed with the Living Building Challenge: 12 Teams Share Tips.

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


1. Prepare for LBC imperatives.
2. Structure an LBC process around absolute goals, with proactive leadership and follow-through... Read more

Has anyone had experience working with Hyper Metro (http://hypermetro.co/)? If so, did you find this company to provide value especially in dense urban environments where on-site segregation poses challenges to manage multiple C&D material streams on site? Hyper Metro claims to be able to provide rebates and to pay us for our trash.

Welcome to the quiz portion of Solar Thermal Hot Water, Heating, and Cooling.

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


1. Explain active and passive; direct and indirect; and low-, medium-, and high-temperature solar thermal systems.
2. Distinguish between the three most... Read more

In case you need a good inspirational cry today: https://youtu.be/tzL79SUBzgg

Really and truly, it's stuff like this that lets me know we're going to be okay.

Aley