Small Firm Sustainable Design Leaders –

I find it hard to believe calls for session proposals are already out for next year’s AIA Conference on Architecture.  I feel like I just got back!

At my firm, we try to have all principals and associates to submit a proposal each year.  I had a couple of take-aways from this year’s... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Boost Happiness and Save Energy with Adaptive Thermal Comfort!

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


Define “adaptive thermal comfort” and explain how it can contribute to occupant health and satisfaction.

Compare the adaptive comfort model... Read more

We are looking for someone early in their career to take over our green building certifications (mostly LEED).  They will also be helping our office build expertise in other certifications, keeping up with green building ordinances in our markets, and (hopefully) help me answer all those questions about energy codes. 

They do not need... Read more

Hi All,

In case you haven't been following State news lately, Massachusetts has a pretty major climate bill on the Governor's desk right now.  He has through tomorrow to either sign or veto it.  There's a ton of support from the bill from advocate groups.  MA AIA and the BSA both wrote letters to the Governor in support.  This only... Read more

There are a variety of products and practices that contribute to environmentally friendly landscaping.

BuildingGreen-Approved Landscaping Products
Edging

BuildingGreen approves products with recycled content or other environmental benefits.

Erosion Protection

Natural-fiber erosion protection options include... Read more

Biophilic design features are not just aesthetically pleasing; researchers have found that patients heal faster, workers are more productive, and children learn better when more elements of nature are present.

And yet there are still very few projects developed today that inspire a connection to life and the natural world. Some people... Read more

Hi Everyone- as a follow up to the 5 minute presentation I did during the recent Virtual Summit-Palooza, I am pleased to announce that the Sustainability Action Plan Guidance Document created by the AIA 2030 Working Group is finished and released.  Please share!

http://content.aia.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/... Read more

Hello Sustainable Advising members,

Nadav and I have created a spreadsheet based on the matrix you all created at the Summit Palooza. The idea of filling this in with your services and activities is to get to know one another better, be able to support each other and build camaraderie. 

Please take the time to enter the necessary... Read more

Hi all,

We have a newly constructed, core/shell project having some hot water issues in the core restrooms.

There is a 0.35 Toto lav installed throughout. The hot water heaters are adjacent on each floor, located in the janitor closets. We did the math, and there could be a gallon of water standing and cooling in the pipe between... Read more

Friends of EPIC –

Hey, everyone. As some of you might have heard, we’ve been working for a while with Autodesk to get c.scale (the data model behind EPIC) built into Forma – Autodesk’s AI-powered planning tool. Forma is packaged within Autodesk’s AEC collection and most firms using Revit should already have access. This integration is... Read more

As promised at the SDL Summer Summet: Hennepin County Energy & Environment's new Project Manager’s Guide to Material Reuse in Commercial Buildings, with specification language, guidance for procurement, and case studies of successful reuse projects around the country. This resource is meant to help owners, architects, and contractors... Read more

I know that there is a risk of starting a whole flurry of congrats through the forum, but this is a biggie, and deserves some recognition:

Congratulations Andrea and Melanie!! Huzzah!!

And a reminder--If you want to reach out to them privately, rather than through the forum, with your message, you can see anyone's email address by... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Certified Wood: How SFI Compares to FSC.

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


1. Describe how forestry standards engage with pesticide use, protection of old growth forests and forest biota, and prevention of deforestation.
2. Discuss... Read more

Hi All,

Has anyone dug into ASHRAE 2016 as part of the new v4.1 requirements or as codes start to adopt it? I recently presented on this and thought I should check my math to make sure I'm understanding and communicating this correctly.

My understanding is that there is a new reference baseline, that is essentially the ASHRAE 2004... Read more

With depth of thought and a broad view of the horizon, Candace Pearson can take a nuanced vision and sharpen it into focus, propelling the team around her forward. Operating in all three of BuildingGreen’s service offerings—publications, consulting, and peer networks—she finds pragmatic ways to fundamentally shift how we create our built... Read more

I'm sure if I hop in the way back machine I could look in the forums and find old threads on LEED GA and LEED AP study resources, but I also know that material comes in and out of date. Has anyone found a good, current solution for firmwide LEED study materials?

We used to have some GBES resources, but those are intended to be person-... Read more

Following up on one of our conversations on the vision vacuum and sustainability beyond certifications, I would like to help facilitate an offline conversation with anyone working within their firm to use the AIA COTE measures as a guiding framework in their firms/projects. Attached are my slides on my first pass at thinking about this at Page... Read more

Allen Mutapo