Nothing exciting like embodied carbon or EPDs... but I'm interested in some real talk on the actual performance of low-flow fixtures.  

We continue to encounter pushback on water-saving fixtures for concerns of ongoing performance. I'd love to have a dialog in this group because I find it hard to believe these challenges can't be... Read more

I'm so excited to share that the call for submissions is now open for 16cubits, a design festival and competition for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, to take place at Berkeley’s Urban Adamah in October 2024.

Please share with anyone you think might be interested! Our hope is to create a forum for builders, designers, and architects to... Read more

As Editorial Director for BuildingGreen, Tristan Roberts brings a deep commitment to environmental stewardship, a broad knowledge about sustainable design, deep understanding of green building products, and a mastery of all things LEED. A longtime contributor of in-depth feature articles in Environmental Building News and regular reporting on... Read more

Opal Mao Mannella-Durante

Happy Monday all!

i am looking for ROM on cost premium for LEEDv4 to go from Gold to Platinum and from Gold to Net Zero, anyone have any stats?  just looking for % premium.  Our projects show around 1% to get to Gold but not sure what it looks like above that.  Thank you!

Water and electrical metering and submetering equipment provide valuable diagnostic information and verification of building energy and water usage.

Measuring Water Use

The Alliance for Water Efficiency recommends metering all new connections, retrofitting meters onto existing unmetered connections, and submetering all new... Read more

Section 901.5.1.3 of the 2018 IgCC includes a requirement that "A critical review shall be performed by an external expert independent of those performing the LCA."  I'm curious as to what other's experiences are with having an external expert review an LCA - how does one find such an expert?  Do you have any favorites that you'd recommend? ... Read more

Does anyone know of a source for finding the operational solid waste generated by typical building/use types (weight/sf)? I couldn't find anything on LEED, True, or EPA. I found this table but isn't by sq ft for many of hte uses. Waste Generated by Industry and Building Type (wastecare.com)

ICYMI, this washington post piece reminded me of our summit conversation last Friday about architecture's/SDL's role in reimagining the world post-covid through innovating our practice. 

The article contains some compelling quotes from several visionary architects (fascinated that it's mostly big-A architects, largely bypassing input... Read more

Financial literacy and speaking with clients on their terms. Guiding Questions:

Have any of you heard of anyone ever using phase change material (PCM) "movable partitions" as a resiliency strategy to mitigate indoor overheating during a heat wave in passive buildings? You'd keep them stored in a basement or cool room, and deploy them into habitable spaces during the heat wave to keep the space cooler than the exterior... Read more

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We're consolidating our office and I find I have back issues of EBN going back to 1999 on the bookshelf. Any use for these other than compost?

Consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur... Read more

Hi folks,

Wondering if this group has insights about the low-embodied carbon product "Vertua" from Cemex, which appears to be a proprietary concrete product launched in 2020.

Our client wants to use CarbonCure; but our likely concrete sub is saying Cemex (where they typically source their concrete) offers an alternative called... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Doing Daylighting Right.

Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


1. Explain occupants' needs and habits when it comes to daylighting.
2. Recognize at least three recent mistakes in daylighting design and their respective alternatives going... Read more

Hey, everyone! Eleven months after our initial release, we have now released a totally updated version of our EPIC tool. It’s available at the same location as before (https://epic.ehdd.com) and reflects thousands of hours of work over the last year. From humble beginnings in Excel, EPIC now has about 2,000 users and dozens of logins each day—... Read more