BuildingGreen Report

News Brief

December 1, 2005

The magazine

Scientific American has recognized the U.S. Green Building Council, based in Washington, D.C., along with the architecture firms FxFowle, P.C. (formerly Fox & Fowle), based in New York City; William McDonough+Partners, based in Charlottesville, Virginia; and Foster and Partners, based in London, among its annual “... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2005

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the winners of the fourth annual Leadership Awards program in conjunction with its Greenbuild conference in Atlanta. Designed to “recognize outstanding individuals and organizations that signify vision, leadership, and commitment to the evolution of green building design and construction,” the... Read more

News Analysis

December 1, 2005
When homeowners begin moving into the Drake Landing Solar Community in Okotoks, Alberta, in early 2006, they will usher in what many hope will be a new trend in housing developments. All 52 homes in Drake Landing, developed by the Calgary-based Sterling Group of Companies, will meet the R-2000 program requirements (reducing energy use by about 30... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2005

On November 8, 2005, Scientific Certification Systems, Inc., of Emeryville, California launched its Indoor Advantage program, which appears aimed to compete directly with Greenguard® (see EBN

Vol. 12, No. 10) in certifying products and materials for their low indoor air emissions. The program includes two levels: Indoor Advantage™ and... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2005
Global Green Announces 2005 Winners—Two organizations supporting green building are among the 2005 winners of the

Designing a Sustainable and Secure World Awards, presented by Global Green USA, the U.S. arm of Green Cross International. The

Hearst Corporation was recognized in the “green building design” category for commissioning the... Read more

News Analysis

December 1, 2005

In an announcement that sent shockwaves through the green building industry, the Dow Chemical Company announced on November 15, 2005, that Dow BioProducts, a division of Dow Canada, is shutting down. The Dow BioProducts plant in Elie, Manitoba, will stop producing its Woodstalk™ brand of products on December 8, according to Myra Dunn, the... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2005
Robert Watson, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York City, is stepping down as chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® steering committee. Watson is credited with tirelessly championing the LEED Rating System almost from its inception. He was joined for the past two years by Keith Winn of Catalyst Partners... Read more

News Brief

We at BuildingGreen have announced the Top-10 Green Building Products of 2005, representing our pick of the most exciting additions to the GreenSpec Directory over the past year.

December 1, 2005

BuildingGreen, Inc., publisher of the GreenSpec®Directory and Environmental Building News™, announced the fourth annual Top-10 Green Building Products during the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference and Expo in November. The Top-10 represent the most exciting products added to GreenSpec in the past year. A press release about... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2005

Sustainable Hotel Siting, Design, and Construction

, published by Conservation International and the International Business Leaders Forum, is intended to help the travel and leisure industry build more environmentally friendly hotels. The book was produced with the support of nine of the world’s leading hotel chains, including Hilton,... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005
EBN

Advisory Board member Russell Perry, AIA, is now at SmithGroup’s Washington, D.C., office, after 11 years with William McDonough+Partners (WM+P). While at WM+P, Perry was project leader for several high-profile, aggressively green projects, including Ford’s River Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan, and the National Collections Centre at... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005
EpiCenter, the Artists for Humanity, Inc., 23,500 ft2 (2,180 m2) headquarters in South Boston, Massachusetts, has achieved 53 points in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Rating System, earning the project a Platinum rating. Dedicated to “providing programs for youth empowerment through art and entrepreneurship,” the building includes fine... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

Among U.S. and Canadian members of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), 70% are implementing green concepts within their organization’s facility, according to a May 2005 online survey performed by IFMA. Full results are online at www.ifma.org/tools/research/survey_results.cfm.

News Analysis

November 1, 2005

The WatterSaver heat-pump water heater from ECR International (sold under the Dunkirk brand) has been taken out of production due to tepid consumer response despite offering significant energy-savings potential. “We hate to see it go away, but it just didn’t grab enough of the market,” Karl Mayer, OEM sales manager for ECR International, told... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005
Environmental Design and Construction magazine (ED+C) has announced the winners of its third annual Excellence in Design Awards. More information about the winners, including finalists and honorable mentions, is online at www.edcmag.com.

• The

Alberici Group Corporate Headquarters, 8850 Page, designed by Mackey Mitchell Associates, won... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recognized the nonprofit Green Building Initiative™ (GBI) as an accredited national standards developer in September 2005. Following its accreditation, GBI submitted an application to establish its Green Globes™ commercial buildings rating system as an American National Standard. For more on GBI... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

Green Builder® Media, LLC, plans to publish the first issue of Green Builder Magazine in January 2006. With 90,000 copies mailed to builders, contractors, and remodelers, and an additional 20,000 distributed at the International Builders Show, Green Builder will launch as the third largest magazine in the homebuilding industry, according to the... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

Architecture for Humanity (AFH) was one of five recipients of the 2005 Index Design Award, honoring the best examples of “design to improve life for vast numbers of people.” AFH was recognized for its work with the Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies in Somkhele, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, to design and build a soccer club that... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005
Green Dollhouse: Creating a Doll’s Eye View of a Healthier WorldEcotone Publishing Company, Kansas City, Missouri, 2005. Softcover, 72 pages, $19.95.

Wonderful Houses Around the Worldby Yoshio Komatsu, Shelter Publications, Bolinas, California, 2004. Flexcover or softcover, 48 pages, $14.95/$8.95.

Green Dollhouse documents the... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2005
Students from 18 schools in the U.S., Canada, and Spain converged on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in September 2005 to reconstruct the solar-powered homes that they had been designing and building on their own campuses over the past two years. The homes opened to visitors on October 7, and the final phase of the U.S. Department of Energy... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

The Greenguard™ Environmental Institute, a nonprofit certifier of products with low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), has created the Greenguard Standard for Children & Schools™, which sets emissions criteria for building materials, furnishings, finishes, and cleaning products to be used in schools and daycare facilities.... Read more