Do good intentions actually result in lower energy and water use? The answer is decidedly yes in federal buildings, according to a new report from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

The study compared 100 buildings that meet the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings with 100 “legacy stock” buildings. The... Read more

Back in 2013, when LEED version 4 was just emerging, the push for information transparency in building materials got a boost when a host of major architecture firms put a stake in the ground. HKS and then SmithGroupJJR led the way, with public letters requesting that manufacturers provide details about the contents of their products using an... Read more

The goals of sustainable design and construction have evolved to include an increasing focus on the embodied impacts of buildings in addition to the operational impacts. And although strategies that can achieve these goals have emerged—like net-zero design, onsite renewables, material reuse, and whole-building life-cycle analysis—many can... Read more

What can you do to make any project greener, even one with a small budget and an unmotivated client? A new guide helps designers focus on the strategies that have proven to be most effective.

The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) has released the phase one draft of the AIA COTE Top Ten Toolkit.... Read more

Project teams looking for tools to help them design high-performance buildings in the U.S. will soon have another option: the BREEAM New Construction standard. 

You may have heard of it. BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) has been used in countries around the world since 1990. The program has... Read more

A particularly well thought-out and thorough question from reader Aaron Birkland on the pH of phenolic foam and its possible corrosive nature prompted me to follow up my original blog post on Kingspan’s Kooltherm rigid insulation. Aaron has two main questions:

I was at my brother’s house in Lee, New Hampshire, recently and looked up to see that his photovoltaic (PV) panels looked a bit dull (see Image #2 in the slideshow). His PV array is easy to get to—the long north slope of his roof has a walkable 5:12 pitch—so we went up and took a closer look.

It turns out that the PV industry... Read more

The functionality of a building is largely dependent on the quality of its lighting. In order to safely and comfortably perform their tasks, occupants need lighting that provides adequate visibility without causing discomfort or distraction.

But a focus on quality is also the key to achieving sustainable lighting.

As Nancy... Read more

Buildings contribute to social sustainability by providing environments that support communities in meeting their social needs. It’s generally easy to understand how the design, construction, and operation of buildings affect the environment. A building’s energy use or carbon cost, for example, are objective and quantifiable. But the building’s... Read more

What do we mean when we say sustainable lighting? In this 17-page PDF report, we take a closer look at lighting as an essential element in quality environments that support health and wellness while reducing energy use.

The functionality of a building is largely dependent on the quality of its lighting, which is often treated as a... Read more

The most energy-efficient LED light is cold, blue, and focused directionally on a small area; it is some of the worst light quality imaginable. Yet in the early years of LEDs, energy efficiency, or efficacy (measured in lumens produced per watt consumed, lpw), was the prime metric for judging LED performance. The industry suffered through a... Read more

Curious about the toxic substances in building products? See a chemical on a Health Product Declaration that you’d like to know more about? You might want to check out the Chemical Hazard Data Commons, a free online resource from the Healthy Building Network (HBN). HBN is a nonprofit focused on reducing the use of toxic chemicals in building... Read more

Building energy modeling has become more common over the last decade or so, and it’s a standard practice for projects pursuing LEED certification. But there’s a problem: the later the team waits to start modeling the building, the more potential energy-saving opportunities have been missed along the way.

“Often building energy modeling... Read more

If you haven’t used the WELL Building Standard because it seemed too difficult or too expensive, it might be time to give this relatively new rating system another look. And if you were just getting used to the requirements of WELL, hold on to your hat: the newly introduced version 2 is a major overhaul.

Released in May of 2018, WELL v2... Read more

Are you struggling to find products for your LEED or WELL project? We’ve been there, and we know how to help.

In this hour-long free webinar, BuildingGreen's Nadav Malin and our partner Anne Hicks Harney of Long Green Specs share their tips finding green, healthy products that meet the requirements for LEED and WELL.

If you want... Read more

Previous research has shown that schools designed with sustainability features provide an environment conducive to learning, and support student health and performance. And many such schools include programs to teach students about nature and ecology.

But can students learn from these buildings, instead of just in them? Can school... Read more

Dow Styrofoam, Owens Corning Foamular, and Kingspan GreenGuard insulations no longer contain the flame retardant HBCD (hexabromocyclododecane)—a persistent, bioaccumulative toxic chemical (PBT). With these changes, HBCD is no longer being used in either extruded (XPS) or expanded (EPS) polystyrene insulation.

HBCD was the primary flame... Read more

As the 2018 hurricane season begins, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. and the Asociación de Constructores de Puerto Rico are spearheading a collaborative effort to write Keep Safe: Strategies for Puerto Rico Housing Resilience, a manual for building to withstand future natural disasters. Other key partners include the University of Puerto... Read more

Just after midnight, the skies opened.

Hour after hour, for three hours, a relentless deluge hammered Houston’s Texas Medical Center (TMC), causing nearly $2 billion in damage. Hundreds of patients had to be evacuated.

No, we’re not talking about Hurricane Harvey.

It was nearly 16 years earlier, in June 2001, when... Read more

Imagine going to a gym where you not only burn calories but also generate power—just by working out. That’s the case at Sacramento Eco Fitness, in Sacramento, California, where cycling classes generate electricity that helps power the building.

The fitness center has installed Eco-Powr stationary bikes manufactured by SportsArt, which... Read more