BuildingGreen Report

News Analysis

October 27, 2006

Recently under new ownership, Environ Biocomposites Manufacturing, LLC, has renovated its production facility and increased its output by 60%. Environ Biocomposites offers panel products with no added formaldehyde made with such materials as recycled newsprint, wheatstraw, and sunflower-seed hulls. Product lines include Dakota Burl®, Biofiber™... Read more

News Brief

October 27, 2006

An American Institute of Architects (AIA) report by Kira Gould, Assoc. AIA and Lance Hosey, AIA. Available free on AIA's website. September 2006, 169 pages.

 

Ecology and Design: Ecological Literacy in Architecture Education provides an unprecedented collection of information on curricula within architecture programs across the... Read more

News Analysis

September 28, 2006
In September 2006, New York Governor George Pataki unveiled designs for three new World Trade Center (WTC) towers and announced that each building will pursue a LEED Gold. Joining 7 World Trade Center, which earned a Gold rating in July 2006, and the Freedom Tower, currently under construction, the new towers will feature extensive daylighting,... Read more

Product Review

September 28, 2006
Teak flooring from sources certified according to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards has been available in North America for some time, but it isn’t always easy to find. A new supplier aims to change that by importing prefinished teak flooring from Costa Rican plantations certified by the Rainforest Alliance’s Smartwood program. Unique... Read more

News Brief

September 28, 2006

Interface, Inc., a leading producer of carpeting and other textiles, has united its various global operations under the corporate name of Interface. The company’s textile division is now called InterfaceFABRIC, and its carpet division is now InterfaceFLOR. “Our re-brand will help to eliminate any confusion that exists about our various brand... Read more

Op-Ed

September 28, 2006
My second term on the board of directors of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) ended at the beginning of 2006. Now, a few months later, I’m able to reflect on my experiences with the organization during a period of rapid and exciting growth. When I began my first term on the board in 2000, the Council had a staff of about five, an annual... Read more

News Brief

September 28, 2006
The new General Motors Corporation’s (GM’s) Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant is the world’s first automobile manufacturing plant to achieve a Gold rating under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® for New Construction rating system. Designed and constructed by Alberici Group, Inc., the plant is expected to save 40 million gallons (175... Read more

News Analysis

September 28, 2006
A new home has appeared in Santa Monica, California: a prototype of the first line of modular houses from LivingHomes®, Inc., designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA. In August 2006, the home received the first Platinum rating in the U.S Green Building Council’s pilot LEED® for Homes.

The 2,500 ft2 (230 m2) prototype, assembled from 11 steel-framed modules... Read more

Product Review

September 28, 2006
The Varia™ line of eye-catching transparent and translucent panels made from its 40% pre-consumer Ecoresin™ has made 3form, Inc., a hit with interior designers. The company has now taken its environmental commitment one step further with the release of 100 Percent, a line of colorful opaque panels made from 100% post-consumer high-density... Read more

News Brief

September 28, 2006

Solar Energy International (SEI) recently held its first workshop, Photovoltaic Lab Week, at its new facility in Paonia, Colorado. Attendees installed three solar electric systems in the lab yard, gaining renewable energy training while helping SEI complete part of its new facility. SEI purchased the 7-acre (3-ha) site in Paonia in 2005 and has... Read more

Product Review

September 28, 2006
People living in off-grid homes powered by photovoltaics or wind have long struggled with refrigeration, which can be one of the largest electricity users in a home. Some have opted for propane or natural-gas-powered refrigeration, while others have purchased Sun Frost refrigerators, which are highly frugal in their use of power but manufactured... Read more

News Brief

September 28, 2006
Global Green USA president Matt Petersen and design jury chairman Brad Pitt announced at the end of August 2006 the winners of the

Sustainable Design Competition for New Orleans. The competition asked participants to create sustainable housing and community spaces for the Holy Cross Neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. The jury was made up... Read more

News Analysis

September 28, 2006

“Today, I am happy to announce we have reached a historic agreement on legislation to combat global warming,” California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed in late August 2006. Breaking with the federal government’s silence on climate policy and placing California at the vanguard of action to stabilize Earth’s climate, the California... Read more

Op-Ed

September 28, 2006

Alex Wilson's new book, written for anyone planning to build a new home, is now available from New Society Publishers. Your Green Home is authored by Wilson, EBN's executive editor, and illustrated by EBN art director Julia Jandrisits. The 256-page volume addresses how to find the right designer and builder, where to build, and a wide range of... Read more

News Brief

September 28, 2006

Even with flyash and other cement-reducing additives, portland cement is still required to make concrete for most projects. But now there might be a way to specify that the cement comes from a relatively efficient plant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a program to help increase the energy efficiency of cement... Read more

Feature

A closer look at the environmental benefits of green power, including on-site renewables, what REC buyers should know about their purchases, and investing in energy conservation

September 28, 2006

Buildings account for roughly 72% of electricity consumption in the United States. Appliances, equipment, and lighting throughout those buildings may be powered by electricity of different voltages or different types of current, but it doesn’t matter to those appliances how the electricity is generated. The owners and occupants of the buildings... Read more

News Analysis

The company behind TimberSIL, a nontoxic treated wood product, is facing a lawsuit from one of its partners.

September 28, 2006

In bringing its treated wood product, TimberSIL™, to market, Timber Treatment Technologies, Inc. (TTT) of Virginia has faced obstacles both from the conventional chemical treatment industry and from the government agencies that regulate treated wood (see EBN, Vol. 15, No. 8). TTT has shrugged off those hurdles as nothing more than sour grapes... Read more

News Brief

August 29, 2006
U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords (I–VT) recently introduced the High-Performance Green Building Act of 2006, which would authorize spending of $50 million over five years to codify existing federal green building initiatives and enhance federal promotion of green building. The bill would require environmental and efficiency standards for all buildings... Read more

News Brief

August 29, 2006
edited by Architecture for Humanity. Metropolis Books, New York, New York, 2006. Paperback, 336 pages, $35.00.

In 1999, Cameron Sinclair and his mentor Charles Lauster felt called to respond to the conflict in Kosovo, which resulted in the damage or destruction of more than half of the housing stock in the region. Their response took the... Read more

News Brief

August 29, 2006
Delta Air Lines’ Terminal A at Boston’s Logan International Airport has become the first airline terminal to earn LEED® certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The terminal, which earned 26 points in LEED, or a Certified-level rating, was designed by HOK and C&R/Rizvi, Inc., and guided by Delta and the Massachusetts Port Authority... Read more