Current Energy Star... Read more

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) have co-published a new guide for architects on deep energy retrofits. But this is not just a technical design guide; instead, the report explains why deep... Read more

The Health Product Declaration Collaborative (HPDC), an organization that launched in 2012 to help manufacturers report health-related information for building products, has hired urban redevelopment expert John Knott Jr. as its first... Read more

In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a $19.5 billion Climate Resiliency Plan to better prepare New York City for increasingly frequent severe weather events and rising sea levels.

The report calls not only for engineered protections to shield the city from another storm like Sandy but also for... Read more

It’s well established that very high levels of daylight exposure can improve health and well-being, but few studies have explored the health effects of routine indoor exposure through windows or skylights. That was the focus of findings by Ivy Cheung and an international team of collaborators published in the journal Sleep, “Impact of... Read more

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that two subspecies of butterfly native to South Florida, the rockland grass skipper and the Zestos skipper, are likely extinct.

Though loved for their delicate appearance, butterflies have a reputation... Read more

Wood seems poised for a resurgence in structural applications, but is its popularity a flash in the pan or a whole new way of building?

Where available, wood was the primary building material for most residential and commercial structures in North America prior to the 1900s. It was cost-effective to transport on rivers and rail... Read more

Experts perceive “major systemic economic failure” and “failure of climate change adaptation” as two of the most systematically critical global risks for the next ten years, says the World Economic Forum... Read more

A focus on “accessibility” often results in separate facilities for people who rely on wheelchairs, walkers, or canes. Universal design encourages spaces that can be easily navigated by everyone, regardless of age, height, sightedness, dexterity, or mobility.

The practice is championed by supporters of aging in placeas well as by groups... Read more

We’ve just completed the installation of a relatively new and (at least in New England) little-known insulation material called Spider. As a reminder, the house we are renovating (really re-building) in Dummerston, Vermont has provided an opportunity to try out dozens of innovative products and materials that I’ve long... Read more

There’s an age-old question of how much insulation to install in our homes. In the... Read more

Energy Star Portfolio Manager is getting a much-anticipated facelift on July 10, 2013. As the primary tool building owners use to track and benchmark energy and water consumption, Portfolio Manager has recently grown in popularity due to the... Read more

Urban Green Council recently revealed the winners of the second annual EBie awards as participants—building operators, engineers, and facility managers—walked the green carpet and made acceptance speeches. The celebration, humorously... Read more

Researchers developed a new predictive model to estimate vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per person in six U.S. regions, validating their model against actual VMT in the same neighborhoods, as catalogued in the National... Read more

A new study from the University of Washington Integrated Design Lab, called Targeting 100!, finds that new hospitals could lead the way in reaching the goals of the 2030 Challenge, which seeks to achieve carbon neutrality in the building... Read more