BuildingGreen Report

News Brief

February 1, 2006
The 3,600 ft2 (334 m2) Hawaii Gateway Energy Center, located at the entrance to the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority in Kailua-Kona, has achieved a LEED® Platinum rating. The building features a 25-kW photovoltaic array designed to produce more energy than the building consumes, and uses a deep-seawater system for passive space... Read more

Feature

February 1, 2006
The longer I research green building practices, the more I appreciate innovations that are not just functional and environmentally responsible, but also cost-effective. Such is the case with polished, densified (hardened) concrete flooring. Stone polishing techniques from Europe, coupled with mineralizing chemical treatments developed in the U.S... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006

The new energy tax credits outlined in the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 took effect on January 1, 2006. For more information on the provisions in the act, see

EBN

Vol. 14, No. 9.

News Brief

February 1, 2006
by Sandra Leibowitz Early. New Village Press, Oakland, California, 2005.

Softcover, 178 pages, $19.95.

Update: (March 29, 2006)

New Village Press has posted this book's missing page on its website. To view it, visit www.newvillagepress.net/cover_ecoDesign.html, and click on "Errata page 84/85."

Searching for a master... Read more

News Analysis

February 1, 2006
When we reviewed the XLerator® electric hand dryer four years ago (see

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 1), the only downside we found was that the noise might be a little . . . much. The sound of the Xlerator’s 16,000-ft/minute (5,000- m/minute) airstream being deflected off hands can reach 90 decibels. Since that sound level can be a problem in some... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006

Recognizing that “utilizing less hazardous cleaning products in our State facilities and workplaces, and implementing measures to reduce exposure to those products, can minimize harmful impacts to office and custodial workers as well as improve air quality and reduce water and air pollution,” New Jersey Governor Richard Codey signed an... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006
Ed Mazria, AIA, author of

The Passive Solar Energy Book and a leading advocate for energy efficiency in buildings, has created an organization to amplify his call to action. Architecture 2030 aims to “conduct research and provide information and innovative solutions in the fields of architecture and planning, in an effort to address global... Read more

News Analysis

February 1, 2006

To help its 77,000 members meet their green design information needs, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has signed an agreement with BuildingGreen, Inc. The agreement will bring

Environmental Building News (EBN) articles to AIA members through AIA Knowledge Community publications, including

AIArchitect, and through AIA’... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006

Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, Vermont, together with ReCycle North of Burlington, Vermont, and Habitat for Humanity, will offer two five-day training courses in April 2006 on building deconstruction and the use of reclaimed building materials in new residential construction. The courses are intended for nonprofit organizations... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006
2005 was among the hottest years on record, according to several organizations and government agencies. Two analysis systems used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) place 2005 warmest ever recorded and second only to 1998, during which a strong El Niño episode contributed to warming. The National Aeronautics and Space... Read more

News Analysis

February 1, 2006
Since we carried our in-depth report on toilets in January 2004 (EBN

Vol. 13, No. 1), quite a bit has happened in the area of standardized testing of toilet performance. The Maximum Performance (MaP™) testing that we reported on has been progressing at a rapid pace. Veritec Consulting, Inc., has now tested well over 200 toilet models, and the... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006

The Zody™ chair from Haworth, Inc., was granted a 2005 Good Design™ Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The international program recognizes “designers and manufacturers for advancing new and innovative product concepts and originality and for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered standard product and... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006

Centennial College, a community college based in Toronto, Canada, has launched a full-time program in architectural technology that emphasizes green building design and construction. “The three-year program prepares students to work as technologists alongside architects, engineers, builders, contractors, and municipal building departments,”... Read more

Product Review

February 1, 2006
At the 2006 International Builders’ Show, Kohler Company introduced a new 1.1 gallon-per-flush (4.2-lpf) toilet that fits well within the definition of a high-efficiency toilet (HET)—see News on the Toilet Testing Front. The Highline™ Pressure Lite 1.1-gpf toilet is a redesign of Kohler’s older Highline toilets that have been serving commercial... Read more

News Brief

February 1, 2006

The Swedish government has set the aggressive goal of eliminating its dependence on fossil fuels by 2020, according to Mona Sahlin, minister for sustainable development. Sweden plans to harness tax credits, research, and large-scale investment in district heating, among other strategies, to wean the country off fossil fuels. Transportation,... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 2006

The architecture firm Perkins+Will has committed to buying renewable energy certificates (see

EBN

Vol. 11, No. 5) to offset the electricity use for all of its 17 North American offices. “The board of directors at Perkins+Will believes it was the right thing to do and was a great way to communicate Perkins+Will’s commitment to... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 2006

ASTM International has accepted four new standards addressing green roofs:

Standard Test Method for Saturated Water Permeability of Granular Drainage Media [Falling-Head Method] for Green Roof Systems, Standard Practice for Determination of Dead and Live Loads Associated with Green Roof Systems, Standard Test Method for Water Capture... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 2006

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached a settlement with DuPont over the company’s alleged withholding of information about the health risks of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, also referred to as C8), which is used to make Teflon® and other products (see

EBN

Vol. 13, No. 3 and

Vol. 13, No. 8). The... Read more

News Brief

January 1, 2006

The Department of Architecture at the University of Minnesota has begun a new Sustainable Design program in its Department of Architecture. For more information, visit www.cala.umn.edu/architecture/.

News Brief

January 1, 2006
The Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum has announced the winners of the sixth annual National Design Awards, including several winners committed to environmental responsibility. For more information on these and other winners, see www.ndm.si.edu.

• The sports-apparel company

Patagonia was given the Corporate... Read more