Hello SCL, 

If you didn't attend last week's SCL Summit, then I'll sum up one of the major takeaways: SCL members NEED TO COMMENT ON LEEDV5. The stakes are high, particularly around waste. 

Luckily, Amanda Kaminsky is making it easy for us. She has drafted a sample comment based on our discussion at the Summit. 

If you have... Read more

Hi folks, I'm reading Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet (Xmas gift) and came across this quote over the weekend which resonated for me, and thought might for this group as well:

"We may feel immense pressure to save the planet in this lifetime, and we may be afraid that we can never do enough. The stark truth is that the planet doesn'... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of "Spec This, Not That: Avoiding Toxic Chemicals in Commercial Building Projects"!

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


Identify 33 common hazards found in building products, along with their health and environmental impacts and where they might be found.... Read more

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 films

Energy... Read more

All - 

I know many of your firms do landscape design, and I wanted to make sure you were aware of a new and pretty impressive conceptual calculator to estimate the carbon impacts (emissions and sinks) of landscape design.  Developed by Pamela Conrad of CMG Landscape with grant support, Atelier 10 and an app developer, the tool allows you... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Why Post-Occupancy Review Is the Future of Design (And How It Can Serve You Now).

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


 

1. Explain the importance of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) for occupants and the opportunities in POE for architects.... Read more

Plans are coming together for this Summit! Here's what we know (at least tentatively) so far:

Location:
Chicago, SmithGroup office

Timing: 
July 9-10, 2019

1:00 p.m. start time on 9th, 3:00 p.m. end on 10th

Working sessions during day and evening of 9th Get together in evening for dinner and show+tell... Read more

Hi folks,

We often hear from you with a suggestion of someone who would be great for the network, and a question about how to refer them. We've now made that easy, with three steps laid out in an Outreach Toolkit that's posted in the left margin of the Member Directory.

So, if you're thinking of someone to invite or come across... Read more

Happy Earth Day! I'm sharing the results of our office Earth Day Mind Map, a collaborative event lead by our Green Team with office-wide participation. https://mm.tt/1471242441?t=4c76rJLKXz 

We are celebrating with a virtual happy hour later today and will use the Mind Map to generate conversation and sharing.

I would love to hear... Read more

Hi MEP Leaders,

We had a great conversation in our last monthly call about the function and purpose of this group, and what we can best do together. You can see detailed notes from that call here. And we'll soon be sending out a reminder about the October call (Tuesday, Oct 8, 2pm eastern).

One of the ideas from that conversation... Read more

Hi Gurus!

This query just came from GSA via the Large Firm Roundtable. It seems that one way we can help is simply to route this to the best concrete and asphalt suppliers we know of, so they can respond.  

Can you pass on some information to the large firms sustainability roundtable? GSA, and the White House, just announced new... Read more

Big news! It’s being announced today that the amazing Lindsay Baker will be ILFI’s new CEO—she’s starting the job next week.

Lindsay is talking about bringing a new focus on advocacy work to ILFI—she had been working on setting up a new organization for that purpose when ILFI recruited her. And she’ll have her hands full figuring out... Read more

BuildingGreen Team Memberships Give your team access to the ultimate green resource for designers.

Is your team ready to increase its sustainability knowledge? A team membership allows colleagues to work and learn collaboratively. We offer 10-person, 20-person, and 30-person team memberships. Make BuildingGreen your team's all-in-one... Read more

Congratulations on the site launch!  One problem, though... you appear to have overlooked the home page orientation video. Currently there's just a placeholder image that doesn't actually do anything. Did your team end up producing a BIT User video?

At Living Future last week a woman from Google asked about cost comparisons and I shared that the City of Santa Monica conducted a study analyzing the costs of a prototypical mixed-use project for a Living Building vs. LEED v4 Platinum vs. code compliant (Title 24, part 6). I thought this group might be interested as well so here is the link... Read more

We are working on a multi-family project in Hartford that is townhouse style so each unit has an exterior door. The client has requested electronic key fob hardware. Has anyone had experience with retrofitting a passive house door with electronic hardware or have they used a door that is already fitted with electronic hardware? 

Hi,

I believe a while back there was communication about a hard hat recycling program. Does anyone have any information about a hard hat recycling program? The contractors in the midwest have finally switched to the new style of hard hats with the chin strap and are requiring all subcontactors to comply by July 1, 2024. I'd like to... Read more