News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Green Gurus,
We’re happy to see the first round of summit registrations rolling in! We’ve had lots of questions about specific topics for the sessions. As usual, the agenda will be based on topics that are top of mind for you.
Whether you are already registered or not, please fill out the Pre Summit-Palooza Survey to help us... Read more
Author
Mark oversees strategic marketing and product development for BuildingGreen. In this role, he works closely with our Editorial, WebDev, and Consulting teams to conceive, plan, direct, and budget integrated marketing programs that support our outreach and meet customers’ needs.
Joining BuildingGreen in late 2021, Mark brings... Read more
Portal
The current Stantec/BuildingGreen featured topic is Material Health. Read on to learn the essentials, and then dive deep to earn CEUS.
Also see the Resilient Design featured topic, and also a survey of topics trending in Stantec’s regions.... Read more
Forum topic
Hello, what acceptable levels of air quality are you using to evaluate natural ventilation strategies for your projects? In our Living Building we only open windows when PM10, PM2.5, etc. are within LBC and WELL limits. In a seasonally smoggy urban environment, this limits how often we can utilize natural ventilation even if the outside... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all!
NESEA's BuildingEnergy Boston is happening March 28-29 at the Westin in Boston's Seaport. Would anyone like to meet up there? There are a few happy hour-like events we could meet at in the Trade show space or I'm open to other ideas! Let me know if you're interested. Here is more info: https://nesea.org/conference/buildingenergy-... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of 20 Ways to Advance Sustainability in the Next Four Years!
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
Identify the challenges to green building during a time of environmental urgency and political unrest, and find opportunity in these challenges.
... Read more
Forum topic
Ali Flynn and Alejandra Arce Gomez are planning a breakout meeting for the Waste Managment Group for all interested.
Please fill out the doodle poll below so that we can find a good time:
https://doodle.com/poll/qxd4zxrw9xzrxwc6
Ali and Alejandra have drafted an updated version of the Commitment for Waste (attached) after... Read more
Basic page
Forum topic
Thank you to everyone who signed on to the Materials Pledge letter. It was officially released on April 15th with 56 signatory firms. The Materials Pledge will soon have a new home online and a way to continuously add more signatory firms. I'm keeping a list for now and there are already four more firms who want to join. I will let everyone... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Green Gurus,
Here is the information for October's Peer Networks Webinar, How to use the Building Environmental Justice Tool for your next project. We hope you will join us!
Register HERE
How to use the Building Environmental Justice Tool for your next project
Monday, October 24, 2022
2 - 3pm ET (11am -... Read more
Forum topic
Gurus -
I'm looking for (or to build) a set of US district energy projects for developer-led mixed-use/residential neighborhoods/districts. Does anyone have a resource for this or have started something similar?
I am not a member of IDEA but utilize their site quite often. Any other resources come to mind? I'd be happy to... Read more
Forum topic
see IFTF- A New Story to Spark the Future of Climate Action
and chek out their Climate Action Map download
Forum topic
Hive mind,
We recently learned that 3M has discontinued the production of their 3M Daylight Redirecting Film (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/building-window-solutions-us/solutions/dayli...). This product was selected by an architecture client last year as the optimal daylight/glare control strategy for a school project, and we're assisting... Read more
