News Brief
Carol Venolia, Publisher/Editor
If “progressive construction” can be defined as pushing the tools and techniques of conventional builders in the direction of less environmental destruction, then Building With Nature’s material goes beyond progressive, into the forefront of visionary thinking about construction. This bimonthly newsletter, now... Read moreProduct Review
Builders concerned about out-gassing of formaldehyde from medium-density fiberboard (MDF) have long used Medex in cabinets. This exterior-grade product, originally developed for highway signs, is considerably more expensive than conventional MDF or particleboard, however. Now Medite II fills the need for a... Read more
News Analysis
It isn’t just environmental zealots who are up in arms about the U.S. Forest Service’s policies on managing the nation’s timber resources. The Association of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics has jumped into the fray—from the inside. Jeff DeBonis, the Association’s founder and executive director,... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all,
Later today, we will be delivering the BITuser development site ready for content input. Andrea has created instructions to help get you started.
We would like to set up a few editor profiles for you. Could you let us know who should have a profile for content management? We need first and last name and an email.
... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all,
I just joined the SDL group and am grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of this awesome community!
I have an exciting residential embodied carbon research opportunity to share…
Lake|Flato Architects is collaborating as an industry partner with the RE2 Lab and the Hamer Center for Community Design at Penn... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks,
As you may know, this network is part of a family of Sustainability Leader Peer Networks that BuildingGreen hosts. They each have their own private forum, and there is also a shared cross-network forum called "Green Gurus."
Those of you have already paid in to be part of this network moving forward have automatically... Read more
Forum topic
Hi everyone,
Following November's SCL Summit, I put together a model Construction Waste Management Action Plan based on the ideas shared in our focus group. It is linked below in Google docs, so everyone should have access to live edit the plan. Please take a look and add comments if you can. It's a very rough outline, so we can... Read more
Forum topic
Hello friends in the construction group!
I am advising an owner on a huge redevelopment project and - we are of course looking at carbon/embodied carbon from a design perspective - but I remember hearing some of you talking about how you are addressing emissions during construction (including both recommendations related to specific... Read more
Product Guide
Air movement keeps occupants comfortable when it's warm, so cooling setpoints can be higher, and natural ventilation is a viable option even at higher temps and humidity.
BuildingGreen-Approved Ceiling Fans
BuildingGreen approves Energy Star-certified ceiling fans with ECMs—motors using electronic commutators.
Energy and... Read more
Forum topic
Lake|Flato developed a project process road map as an internal project management tool over a decade ago, and we're looking into updating it. It serves as a sort of "checklist" of major design, sustainability, and QA/QC milestones for each project phase. I know we've talked about similar tools at other firms at past SDL summits, so wanted to... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Programming Buildings for Health: WELL, Fitwel, and Beyond!
Important: This quiz covers all related articles within this topic. Scroll to the bottom of the article page to find links to all the articles covered by this quiz.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all - at the suggestion of Nadav and some of the Sustainable MEP Leaders, I'm reposting a thread I started a couple days ago in the SMEP forum.
In response to increasingly aggressive (and effective) targeting of building owners (particularly schools), a group of researchers have put their support behind a letter warning against the... Read more
Forum topic
I am brushing up on current tools for local government greenhouse gas inventories and was wondering if any of you have used the EPA's Local Government Greenhouse Gas Inventory tool? Download the Local Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool | US EPA
Some of my immediate questions include:
Is the EPA tool straightforward to use?
Are... Read more

