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 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

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 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 Analysis

November 1, 2005

The International Code Council (ICC), an organization focused on building safety and fire prevention, disappointed the green building community when it voted in late September 2005 not to adopt member-ratified changes to the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that would have strengthened standards for wall insulation. The... 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 Analysis

November 1, 2005

The Fusiotherm® and Faser® lines of polypropylene pipe and pipe fittings made by Aquatherm Piping Systems, LLC, were awarded ESR 1613 listing by the International Code Council (ICC) in September 2005. This listing, according to Aquatherm’s Jim Brock, certifies that Aquatherm pipe and fittings meet all of the relevant plumbing codes. The... 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

News Brief

November 1, 2005

California’s updated Title 24 building efficiency standards, approved by the California Energy Commission in late 2003 (see

EBN

Vol. 13, No. 1), took effect on October 1, 2005. The strengthened standards include a range of changes for both residential and nonresidential buildings. Mandatory changes involve indoor and outdoor... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

The U.S. Green Building Council has named Tom Hicks vice president of the LEED® Rating System. Hicks has served as director of LEED for Existing Buildings since November 2004 and before that spent nine years as principal architect and program manager of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star® commercial building rating system.... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is inviting submissions for the 2006 National Green Building Awards, to be presented at the National Green Building Conference, March 12-14, 2006, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Entries are due December 23, 2005. For details, visit www.nahb.org/greenbuildingawards.

News Analysis

November 1, 2005

Waterless Co., LLC, manufacturer of No-Flush™ urinals (see

EBN

Vol. 7, No. 2), is offering $500,000 in discounts on its urinals to building owners, schools, colleges, cities, counties, state agencies, the military, and other facilities in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For more information, visit www.waterless.... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

In balloting that closed on October 28, 2005, the membership of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) voted overwhelmingly to approve version 2.2 of USGBC’s flagship LEED® for New Construction (LEED-NC) rating system. While other versions of LEED have been released in the interim, this vote endorses the first substantive update of the NC... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2005

The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) is preparing to release its Sustainable/EPP Flooring Standard© for all hard-surface flooring, following a public meeting in Dallas, Texas, on November 1. MTS is also holding organizational meetings for two new standards it is seeking to develop: the Integrated Design Process... 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 Brief

November 1, 2005

The Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, has announced the establishment of the Haworth Chair in Integrated Design, funded by Haworth, Inc., under the “Project

evolve” partnership with Direct Energy Business Services. The announcement did not specify whether the Haworth Chair holder will be... Read more