We are coordinating an effort to produce a "Building Reuse Practice Guide for Climate Action" for the AIA.  This is intended as a resource for architects working on major renovations and adaptive reuse, with a focus on reducing energy use, lower embodied carbon, electrification, and adapting to a changing climate. We are looking for around 5... Read more

Exterior paints, stains, and primers—particularly alkyds—can have very high volatile organic compound (VOC) levels and can contain numerous chemicals of concern.

BuildingGreen-Approved Coatings

BuildingGreen lists exterior coatings that meet the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) VOC requirements of 50 grams... Read more

This webcast was pre-approved for 1 AIA LU|HSW and 1 GBCI LEED-specific CE hour.

Please complete the survey questions to confirm your attendance and receive your CEUs.

By providing your credential numbers in your profile, you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to these organizations. Please check your profile to... Read more

All,

I'm looking for a quick methodology to estimate GHG emissions from refrigerants on a per SF basis. Are there any benchmark studies or quick calculators similar to the embodied carbon study? https://carbonleadershipforum.org/embodied-carbon-benchmark-study-1/

Thanks,

Josh

Hi all,

For your planning purposes for next year, here’s info on in-person events coming up in 2024:

As you may remember, our Summer 2024 SDL Summit will be July 15-17, 2024 at IslandWood on Bainbridge Island! Tickets will be $1800, which includes the cost of meals and lodging.

We are excited to announce we will also be... Read more

Hi SDL,

I'm heading to Greenbuild next week and one of my teammates who's not attending has asked me to look for expo hall vendors who are involved in Design for Freedom. He's starting up a new project that he thinks could be a good DFF pilot and wants to get some manufacturer contacts. Is there any kind of informal DFF meetup happening... Read more

I'm looking into using solar shingles as a roofing option for a historic building renovation. Has anyone used them before and have any recommendations? I understand they won't be as efficient as traditional panels, but I'd like to figure out if it would be a worthwhile compromise to discuss with the historic commission, if necessary. Thanks... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Mouth, Meet Money: Case Studies of Outcome-Based Design!

Important: This quiz covers all related articles within this topic. Scroll to the bottom of the article page to find links to all the articles covered by this quiz.

Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be... Read more

Hi All,

Someone just told me that 80% of his previously certified Energy Star Projects no longer earn certification with the update baselines.  Have any of you started digging into this yet?

-Meredith

Hello all,

Does anyone know of any Rebate Program for either induction cooking equipment or kitchen electrification (new or existing)? Looking for any local or state or even federal programs (outside of California) that incentivize designing/building/retrofitting towards an all electric kitchen for any program type (institutional, single... Read more

Hi folks,

We've got another timely and engaging webinar lined up! Join Panama Bartholomy and Peter Rumsey for the latest on electrification policy and applications. (As always, if you can't make it at this time that's ok, we'll be recording it.) 

Register here to get the link: https://www.buildinggreen.com/peer-networks/webinars... Read more

Hi all, 

Following the SCL Summit back in November, the Waste Subgroup agreed to complete a Model Waste Management Plan to serve as a contractor commitment to reduce construction waste. I distributed the attached (very rough) draft back in Jan., and received some good feedback via forum comments. 

We would like to set up a call to... Read more

All,

I wanted to spread the word to all of you that AIA Minnesota is hosting a virtual edition of Materials Matter, a five-part series starting next Wednesday 3/24, from 10AM-3PM Central Time on five Wednesdays throughout March, April and May. Come to one ($15 per session) or all ($60 for the whole series of 20 CEUs, including GBCI... Read more

Hi folks,

We had a rich conversation in our monthly meeting last week. I've summarized the highlights below. Next call is July 11 at 2pm eastern. If it isn't already in your calendar, here's the Zoom link.

What’s on people’s minds?

Looking into high-temp water-source heat pumps for industrial applications. Transom and... Read more

I have a colleague researching existing, proposed, or anticipated changes to urban planning and building codes that encourage lower carbon footprints.

Can anyone comment on or point me to resources on how cities are using carbon footprint analysis and carbon reduction in permitting, now or in the future?

Some specific topics that... Read more

I’m a volunteer member of the ASHRAE 209 ("Energy Simulation Aided Design for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings”) Committee.  Are you familiar with ASHRAE 209? It was first published in 2018, and it outlines a process for incorporating energy modeling into the design process. 

From the forward: 

 ASHRAE Standard 209... Read more

Gypsum is calcium sulfate dehydrate, which is mined or produced as a byproduct of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) from coal-fired power plants. FGD gypsum may contain trace contaminants from coal processing, but not enough to represent a hazard to users. Years ago, some imported products created indoor air quality problems that required... Read more