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

Hello Green Gurus,

Here’s a reminder that our first Show & Tell for 2021 is happening next week! Monday, February 1st from 7-8pm ET and Tuesday, February 2nd from 4-5pm ET, come see your peers from all networks present for five minutes each on a variety of topics relating to their work.

This event is connected with the Summit-... Read more

Axel Slowin

Hi All,

USGBC MA is doing a study on the cost of net zero energy buildings in MA.  I’m wondering if you all have any data to share on plug loads in ZNE projects. I’m looking for single family res, 2-4 unit residential, +/- 60 unit residential, 10-12 story office, and k-12.  The engineers have presented initial results and their... Read more

Know any awesome sustainability leaders within GC or CM firms? They can be at mid-sized or large construction companies—any firm in the ENR top 400 qualifies for sure, others might need some vetting. The key is people who have sustainability as the focus of how they spend their time--either formally by title or otherwise. 

We want to... Read more

Hello All,

News Bulletin: The 2020 SDL Winter Summit will be held January 29th - January 31st, 2020 at The Lodge at Gulf State Park, Alabama!

During the 2019 Winter Summit, we discovered such an amazing venue at the Gulf State Park in Alabama that we’ve decided to go back! This incredible beachfront hotel designed by Lake|Flato is... Read more

Hi All:  We are in the design phase for a 5,700 SF project in NH. The team is taking care to drive down embodied carbon where possible. It will be NZE.

A1-A3 emissions are coming in at 67.15 kgCO2e/sf, of which 11.97 kgCO2e/sf is a hot spot attributed to permeable paving and concrete pavers (a little skewed, since lot and patio sizes... Read more

Has anyone submited this credit in lieu of demand response before?  I'm attempting on multiple projects but not sure what to expect review wise or how much confidence to have in the ability to get more than 1 point for trying.

https://www.usgbc.org/credits/gridoptimal-152-v4?return=/credits/New%20C...

Hi all - Reflecting on the COTE Top Ten Awards and Lloyd Alter's recent article  https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/keep-aiacotes-its-time-scrap-aia-awards.html, I am curious how many local/state AIA awards programs have incorporated sustainability reporting metrics as a requirement for all awards submissions, not just for categories... Read more

Our building scientist has been using Insight 360 to model daylight and document it for LEED certifications.  However, it appears that Autodesk is no longer fully supporting the tool and may eventually stop all together.  (we have not been able to run simulations for weeks due to a change to how "cloud credits" work on their end that they... Read more

Hi all- 

DiMella Shaffer is seeking a Sustainability Practice Leader! For the last 2.5 years, I have been setting the structure in place, making change, and providing thought-leadership as the first Sustainability Practice Leader (director level leadership) at DiMella Shaffer in Boston. It has been a fantastic firm to work for and this... Read more

Hello Sustainable Construction Leaders, 

Mark your calendars! The next quarterly SCL call will be Wednesday, July 28th, 3pm ET (noon PT) and will focus on ESG.

Check in with three contractors at varying levels of development in their ESG programs. Julia Gisewite from Turner Construction, Jennifer Taranto from STO Building Group,... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Choosing Insulation: High-Performance Foundation & Basement Assemblies – Unit 2.

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


1. Explain the insulating performance and durability of different insulation materials.
2. Provide examples of... Read more

Hey Team,

I'm in a Living Future session where a number of manufacturers are talking about the low uptake they're seeing in their take back programs. Contractor friends... What barriers (if any) are you running into in using take back programs? How might we as architects help increase utilization of these programs?

Aley

Practitioners interested in reducing the embodied carbon of buildings are likely now used to considering the impact of different materials, like mass timber or low-carbon concrete. Low-carbon construction, however, may be less familiar. 

Contractors are just... Read more