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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
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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
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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
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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
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
WHEN: Monday November 19, 2:00 - 3:00 PM Eastern TimeCOST: $30 for BuildingGreen Premium members, $65 for non-members Thermal Comfort – Connecting physics, people, and performance
Thermal comfort is a science of both physics and people, always a tough... Read more
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Hello small firm Sustainable Design Leaders!
We are cancelling our call next week that had been scheduled for 2/13 @ 1pm. That same day, Thursday, BuildingGreen is hosting an all Peer Networks WEBINAR. Please consider participating with the sustainability leaders from all peer networks: Design Leaders, Construction Leaders, MEP Leaders... Read more
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Hello everyone!
A small subgroup SCL members have been working on writing a response the presentation Wes Sullens gave us at the Summit this past winter. It's been a long process but the letter and all it's reccomendations are drafted and ready to present. The group felt it prudent to post the response here first for a short public... Read more
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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
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WELL & Fitwel and beyond.
Guiding Questions:
Is this a luxury item? What experiences are people having with these? How do we utilize Health & Wellness based strategies/thresholds in our design approach without going for a certification? How does this apply to our work? Which program has been more broadly adopted? and why? I... Read moreForum topic
The Planning for Resilient Outcomes Working Group has had a few preliminary meetings and we would like to invite interested Green Gurus to join our group. To give you an idea of what we are about, we have developed a purpose statement to guide our future work:
The Planning for Resilient Outcomes working group will elevate the industry'... Read more
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Hi folks!
Do you have examples or case studies of projects with compelling examples of circularity/salvaged material reuse? We’re looking to go beyond the examples we've seen of furniture reuse or creating art from salvaged material, and we’d like to collect some examples to get our client excited about the possibilities in a deep... Read more
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I was shocked to see this new research. Bad news is that acrylic paints are causing 58% of the microplastics pollution in our ocean. Yes, they are plastic. A recent study by Environmental Action, a Swiss-based scientific research firm, shows us that acrylic paint's role in plastic pollution is much greater than most of us realize. The good news... Read more
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Hello - I seem to remember a thread on Sustainable Design Specialist / Advisor - Focused or Integrated Position within a firm. Does anyone remember the subject header or did I just dream this up? My searches are coming up empty...
Thanks!
Mona
Mona Lemoine, Architect AIBC, MAA, MRAIC, LFA, LEED AP BD + C
Senior... Read more
Quiz
This summit was pre-approved for 3.5 AIA LUs and 3.5 GBCI CE hours.
Please complete the survey questions to confirm your attendance and receive your CEUs.
By providing your credential numbers in your profile, you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to the organization. Please check your profile to be sure your... Read more
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Has anyone developed a disclaimer to be issued with LCA models and reports? I have been asked to look into developing a disclaimer to be used with LCAs, and unfortuantely I have not been able to find past precedence on this.
Thank you,
Stephanie Fargas

