Author
Boyd is part of the marketing team at BuildingGreen, where he supports analytics and social media engagement.
Boyd’s experience before joining BuildingGreen includes a decade in the paddlesports industry guiding whitewater trips as well as 5 years working in beer and wine manufacturing with a focus on customer interaction as well as... Read more
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Following up on the Decarbonizing Existing Building: Envelope + MEP Solutions Integrative Design Jam, a cohort of us determined a "Decision Making Tree Toolkit" that begins to classify decisions into and "if/then" framework using region, market, climate, scale of intervention, and other factors would be useful in helping us collectively move... Read more
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If you work on projects in Massachusetts, you are probably working under the updated MA Stretch Energy Code. While this code is doing great things pushing for electrification and very efficient buildings, it can still be tricky to implement or adjust your processes to the calculations even for seasoned pros. AIA MA in conjunction with BE+ has... Read more
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"The man with one watch knows what time it is; the man with two is never sure." --Segal's Law
We recently purchased two indoor air quality meters in the $200-$300 range and find that they never agree, not even close. I would like to find out what other people's experiences have been, and if they have tested affordable models that... Read more
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Hi folks,
Any of you who have completed WBLCA for projects - we are working on a new initiative with the City of Cambridge (building on our prior work NZ Climate Action Plan) but this time focused exclusively on embodied carbon.
We have not yet begun the work - but they have an opportunity to make a move on this on Tuesday and... Read more
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Happy Friday all!
Arizona's USGBC's Fall Summit is coming up on October 5th and we are looking for another GC to speak on our 'Waste Diversion in Arizona Construction' panel.
Here is the link to the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/usgbc-arizona-fall-summit-2023-tickets-6776...
It's going to be a great event starting... Read more
Product Guide
Replacing windows is expensive and comes with high impacts, but simple films can improve performance.
BuildingGreen-Approved Films
BuildingGreen approves three types of window films:
surface-applied films that have earned NFRC ratings and have a minimum 10-year warranty seasonal flexible-film kits bird-safety filmsEnergy... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Finding Furniture Without Toxic Flame Retardants.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain why avoiding toxic flame retardants is important.
2. Explain how we were swindled into dosing our buildings and our bodies with flame... Read more
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Hi: Please check out the fantastic editorial from Ned Cramer at Architect on "The Future of Architecture Education is the Future of Civilization". The deadline to comment on the latest draft of the NAAB accreditation criteria is November 22 and, as in the past draft, it falls far short of prioritizing climate action and sustainability. VERY... Read more
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Who all is implement 360-degree reviews as part of their employee review process? Lake|Flato is thinking of implementing this and would like to talk to a few other firms who have experience they would be willing to share. Please contact me if you'd be up for a short email discussion or phone call to discuss. hholdridge@lakeflato.com
... Read more
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It is with the greatest pleasure that I announce to this esteemed group the recognition of our very own and much-loved leader Nadav Malin as an Honorary AIA member. AIA COTE had the honor to serve as Nadav's sponsor and we are pleased and delighted with this outcome (but not surprised of course.) For the record, "The AIA recognizes the notable... Read more
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All,
Can anyone suggest a product for the following situation. We are looking to insulate existing aluminum eterior column covers that have a three inch air gap. The issue is there is no way to remove the covers without destroying them. we would like to cut small holes, pump in the insulation and then cap the holes. Can anyone... Read more
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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
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This article just came up in my news feed. I thought you’d all like to read it. I will point out that C&D-specific MRFs have told me that they are really good at single-stream C & D waste, as long as the drywall is pulled out. Any drywall in a single-stream C & D dumpster ends up in the landfill. Drywall just breaks apart and gets... Read more
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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