Building materials emit massive amounts of carbon long before the lights go on.

In this course, BuildingGreen takes an analytical look at the greenhouse gases that are emitted in the process of constructing our buildings in the first place—the embodied carbon. The report focuses on how architects and designers, working with other key... Read more

There has been some great press in the last couple of days related to Healthy Building Network's (HBN) newly released report "Chlorine & Building Materials Project".  That report is over 200 pages long, but there is some great commentary available that makes the top issues much quicker to grasp.

Chlorine is used to make PVC and PVC... Read more

Hi,

Has anyone been asked by a client to track welding rods on any projects? We were recently asked to do this. I was asked why the client would ask us to do this. I don't know if it has to do w/ "real property" and is a property tax-related reason, or if it is an environmental/sustainable reason. There is piping associated with the... Read more

Hi all, hope you're keeping safe and healthy. I'm thinking about protocols to put in place on jobsites related to COVID-19 in addition to our IAQ plans. Wondering if anyone's company has started to layout specific protocols, PPE, etc. and is willing to share.

What got me thinking was this article from Prof. Joe Allen at Harvard about... Read more

Hey, everyone! Reaching out to share about the currently-under-development IEA Annex 89: Ways to Implement Net-zero Whole Life Carbon Buildings. The current committee is really the who's who of building LCA in Europe, but it does seem like it suffers from a lack of North American representation. The one North American on the committee, in fact... Read more

Hi, I've been following the copper piping discussion and am wondering if copper piping has been a problem in greywater systems.    We've used Aquatherm to some extent in greywater treatment.

Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out how to use this CLF MEP calculator tool that is downloadable from the CLF website. Please see screenshot attached - does anybody know what they are asking for as an input?

"Custom quantities input: The user can enter custom quantities on this tab and produce numerical results. For data input fill '... Read more

Green walls provide an important connection to nature in urban settings.

BuildingGreen-Approved Green Walls

We approve green wall systems designed to:

Hi folks, 

SERA is pursing WELL certification on our new office headquarters in Portland. We'd like to pursue their innovation credits on carbon disclosures and reductions since there are great synergies with our LBC and Zero Carbon certification pursuits. We’re finding the WELL requirements for carbon disclosures to be quite different... Read more

Hi Everyone -

I just received this note from Don Horn at the GSA (Deputy Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings):

"Here's another installment of our work to reduce emissions through GSA's actions. GSA issued a press release this morning announcing our new standards for low carbon concrete and environmentally... Read more

Wondering if anyone has a contact for good [sustainable] interactive water feature designer? A client is looking for a designer to add to our team and I figured this network would certainly have some insights. Project will be located in Omaha, NE. 

Hello friends,

Recently, as part of the AIA 2030 working group discussion – a topic came to light that was a conversation among (I believe) the SDL subset of our community, on a topic that is my personal obsession and daily focus – so I wanted to pipe up and share thoughts. BUT I want to respect the safe space, so if those of you in SDL... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Shoebox Energy Modeling.

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


1. Explain the difference between a shoebox model and a whole-building energy simulation.
2. Approach shoebox modeling according to project type and software tool.
3.... Read more

It’s hard to believe COP28 is upon us. Kicking off tomorrow (11.30) and concluding 12.12, it’s sure to be a full few weeks of sharing, live streams, and interesting takes.

We’ve been excited to see a few Peer Network members represented as attendees in Architecture 2030’s (in-person and virtual) delegation.

Hi everyone -
Some of you already have heard some or all of this news, but I thought I'd share today's press release with the whole group.
The headline is: 
SERA is VERY excited to announce that David Johnson, formerly the managing partner of Bill McDonough's San Francisco office, is now heading up SERA's bay area office.... Read more