I’m a volunteer member of the ASHRAE 209 ("Energy Simulation Aided Design for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings”) Committee.  Are you familiar with ASHRAE 209? It was first published in 2018, and it outlines a process for incorporating energy modeling into the design process. 

From the forward: 

 ASHRAE Standard 209... Read more

Hi Fellow Design Professionals: It would be great if you could participate in this important research on the status of professionals addressing extreme heat.

Thanks.

MAL

Planning for Extreme Heat Survey

Our research team from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University is studying how planning... Read more

Anne Hicks Harney, FAIA, has more than 30 years of experience, focusing on high-quality design imbued with a solid technical and sustainable foundation. At Long Green Specs, she provides sustainability-focused construction specifications and building material expertise to architectural firms across the country. She was chair of the AIA... Read more

Just had a contractor call who said they had a university client interested in using natural-gas-fed fuel cells as an alternative to grid power in some applications.  They were interested in an intermediate scale: 300kW.

Anyone with any experience with these devices? 

Faucets with high flow rates waste water—not to mention the energy used to treat and deliver it to our buildings—and the additional water stresses our wastewater treatment systems.

Greetings to all of the sustainability leaders in the Green Commons!

Note: This is a message about politics, which we generally try to avoid in our safe space--but in this case it’s directly tied to climate action so I feel good about sharing it. Feel free to let me know or check in with the BuildingGreen folks if you have concerns or... Read more

I'm definitely slow on the draw here, but happy to be congratulating you, Allen! What a great recognition of your work as a firm! And I love that the story about it highlights the firm's diversity.

Also worth noting--just 'cause no one here has said it yet--how cool it is that Ed Mazria won the Gold Medal this, and that AIA updated it's... Read more

Hey Everyone! My firm is a part of the local Passive House group helping organize the local Humid Climate Conference on May 2nd - 3rd. I wanted to make a post in the chat for those interested to sign up.

The theme is "Barriers To Better Buildings" and it's going to be a really strong, humid climate focused conference. We've nearly got... Read more

Hi all, are there requirements to include/submit backup documentation to the CC excel template? Or is it just the template itself that gets submitted? The question is coming up from our leadership over what documents are public vs internal.

I am looking for a healthy and safe mold preventative product to use on wood construction to prevent mold growth as this full wood building (truss, framing, exterior sheathing) will be exposed to moisture via the elements until the roof gets put on in earlywinter.

Please share your feedback, thus far we have found what looks like a lot... Read more

Hi All,

FSC is working on some exciting new research to help further quantify the carbon impact of forestry management and they are looking for your feedback.  If you are interested in providing your voice or just staying informed of what is happening in this space, please see the details below and register to attend.

FSC Forest... Read more

Hello! We are currently working on an LBC Petal project pursuing the Materials Petal. Does anyone know whether H1 lubricants are inherently Red List Free given they are food grade lubricants? We are trying to figure out whether NSF H1 registered lubricants need ingredient reporting or whether the NSF registration works similar to Delcare, RoHS... Read more

We have a project that is looking for plaster/stucco/textured wall products that are sustainable, or “more sustainable.”

I know these products exist, but I haven’t had to spec or work with any, so I’m reaching out.

The project is in MA, so I'm also soliciting recommendations for products and/or companies who are experienced using... Read more

Hi Sustainability leaders,

Realizing that many of us are now stuck and home and may be feeling isolated, we thought it would be fun to offer an open hang-out time for anyone in the Peer Networks. If you'd like to connect, share some thoughts, hear from others, or just get to know other Green Gurus, join us on Zoom this Thursday. If it... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Urgency of Embodied Carbon and What You Can Do About It​​!

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


Define “embodied carbon” and explain why embodied carbon is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, which threaten health and safety... Read more