News Analysis
A study published in the June 5, 1992, issue of
Science by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona suggests that smoke emitted into the atmosphere from human activities may be having a significant effect in counteracting... Read more
Explainer
News Brief
At first glance,
An Environmental Handbook for Florida Contractors looks like it deals only with the environmental regulations that Florida contractors must contend with. And, indeed, the Handbook describes in detail the requirements for complying with regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. But the book goes much further,... Read more
Product Review
The company's promotional material is the epitome of environmentally friendly packaging—like a Ben & Jerry's annual report. The article reprints sent were even bound in a jacket made from corrugated cardboard. So we were quite intrigued by the product. Syndecrete™ is a lightweight, pre-cast,... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Feature
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
Feature
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
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Feature
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
Forum topic
Hi, curious if anyone in the group has considered using Fitwel in an existing (built) school project (K-12).
Would be interested in hearing your experiences and if this tool is a good fit for this type of project.
Forum topic
Hi, this is a somewhat niche/specific question - we are working on an all-electric school (middle and high school) that includes a chemistry lab. The lab was going to have portable sources for flame experiments, but there is concern that the portable sources would be unsafe for middle school students, so they are asking for a hard-pipe natural... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Raze or Retrofit? Six Extraordinary Answers to an Everyday Question.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Understand how the embodied impacts of renovation compare to those for new construction.
2. Provide three reasons why building... 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
Forum topic
Hi All -
With the holidays coming up and budgeting for 2023 - do we have any information on when and where a mini summit will be? I heard rumors of Arizona? Hoping to come but need the info as soon as I can.
Forum topic
Hello All! My firm is looking to hire a sustainability coordinator to help advance our sustainable initiatives at our firm. This will be a new position for our firm. Does anyone have a job description, roles/responsibilties, and task list that they would be willing to share with me? Or if you serve in this role at your firm, I'd love to chat... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all, it's time to schedule our next session. Who's in? Ping me at amt@vmdo.com if you want to be considered part of the working group, and fill out your availability on this Doodle poll.
If you just want to monitor what's going on, we'll post updates to the Working Group page.
The agenda for this call is to figure out what we... Read more
Forum topic
Hello All!
We are using TallyCat to extract quantities from our REVIT Model, and bring them over to EC3 to get a model GWP (focusing on material categories required to evaluate ILFI Zero Carbon certification). There are a number of questions that are popping up!!
I am sure there are others trying the same thing, yes... maybe?! ... Read more

