How much will it cost to achieve LEED v4 certification?

“We’d love a green building, but can we afford it?”

“We’re required to be LEED Silver, but we’re not sure how to get there under the new rating system.”

“Sure, we’re interested in LEED, as long as it doesn’t cost extra.”

LEED v4 and cost uncertainty

With... Read more

Hi All,

As of February 1, I’ll no longer be on this Forum as I don’t fit into any of the roles of SDL (yet) and I respect this space as a haven for those who do.  Helping to form this network with Nellie, Jim and Nadav has been a highlight of my career. Its truly exciting to see SDL networks finally expand to other practice areas.  I am... Read more

It's official!

https://www.aia.org/showcases/181011-nadav-malin-hon-aia?utm_term=30014108--1cf43a8a-c646-4d26-8f90-3661099d9005

see you in June!

Mary Ann

Hi all,

We are trying to encourage participation in take-back programs and using recyclable packaging with our vendors and I was wondering how we can add it to specifications. Does anyone have any examples on how we can add wording in specs about participation in take-back programs, using recyclable packaging and/or reducing non-... Read more

Hi all,

We're doing some tool-related soul searching at WRNS and some folks here have raised Cove.Tool as a potentially interesting addition to our library. I'm looking for any insight you all can provide. Cove has come up various times, but curious if there's been any change for the better/worse in the past few years.

Do you use... Read more

All,

Our firm has been struggling to find carbon reduction strategies for concrete that move us beyond a fly ash only approach. Frankly, the knowledge just isn't there internally or with our consultants. We've known that there are a few folks out there that have a deep bag of tricks, but we haven't had the chance to work with them... Read more

Hi all,

The Sustainable MEP Leaders are assembling an industry push to expand the availability of embodied carbon data for MEP equipment. Our first steps are to send a letter to industry announcing a call to action and future educational webinars on the topic, the current draft letter is attached. In a similar manner as the... Read more

https://www.usgbc.org/articles/us-green-building-council-celebrates-2021-class-leed-fellows

I'm sure you will see many familar names on the list - not the least of which is our fellow SMEPL:  Sarah Gudeman.

Congratulations, Sarah - well done!

I have a colleague (lawyer) who is trying to assemble a list of precedent projects that used penalties or incentives for achieving energy targets. The topic she is addressing is how contracts may be changed to address growing climate change concerns.

At the moment, the only concrete example she has is a project in Washington by the US... Read more

With this special offer, you’ll get the Spec This Not That Report at the reduced price of $89, a $40 savings. Avoiding Toxic Chemicals in Commercial Building Projects

Can furniture be hazardous? You bet it can…

From flame retardants in foam cushions to unnecessary stain and dirt repellents on upholstery materials, everyday... Read more

All - 

We have corporate clients that are starting to request antimicrobials in response to Covid-19. I assume we are not the only ones seeing an increase in these requests. Knowing that the evidence supporting antimicrobials has limited to no efficacy, how are you approaching these conversations? We want to continue to advise based on... Read more

Greetings SDLs - I am looking for recommendations for VLT meters that folks have had sucess with (reliability, accuracy, etc.). Are there any that art partiularly useful when in the field for existing buildings? 

Many thanks,

JD

I am still basking in the afterglow of this week's summit, and getting ready to share nuggets of wisdom with my colleagues at our all-staff next week. I was so immersed in the moment that documenting the outlines and choices presented for breakouts slipped my mind. Is there somewhere to access these slides to refresh my memory?

Thanks... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Lighting Design for Health and Sustainability: A Guide for Architects​!

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


Describe how high-quality lighting design dovetails with sustainability by improving energy efficiency and supporting occupant health and... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The BuildingGreen Guide to Insulation!

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


1. Discuss how insulation works to increase the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of buildings; 
2. Explain why certain materials make more sense than... Read more

Hi. I'm Dan Piselli, the new Director of Sustainability at FXCollaborative. You all may know my predecessor Ilana Judah - she and I worked together closely for many years, and I can only hope to emulate her success.

FYI, a few things about me: I've been a project architect and manager for a number of LEED projects, most recently the... Read more

Hi Everyone!

I'm Lauren Shumaker and I'm a Project Manager/Sustainability Manager with Turner Construction.  As a long standing advocate for healthy and sustainable building materials, I look forward to expanding my ability to promote material transparency and shine a greater light on our ability to positively impact human and... Read more

Does anyone have install experience with Duracryl yet? I'm looking at it for a large project in place of Marmoleum. We've had multiple instances of install failures with Marmoleum, which leads to lots of finger pointing.