Hello everyone - 

I'm writing today to let you all know that as of this month, I am retiring from SERA, and that I'm going to be beginning a new journey as a consultant/volunteer!

I'm going to continue dedicating my time to policy and advocacy work (focused on decarbonizing the built environment) but now I'll be doing it as a free... Read more

Hello, fellow SDLs, 

I wanted to share an opportunity for you - or those in your network - to join a passionate team of architects and designers based in Anchorage, Alaska. I'm told that you'd be asked to join the full team in Anchorage a few times a year for team building events but otherwise you can WFW (work from wherever!).

I... Read more

Go to your profile, where you will find the TEAM MANAGEMENT section in the left side bar. Click on Team Members.

You can invite up to 9 more colleagues for a 10-person team to start their Premium Subscriber access through the Team.... Read more

Checking in to see if any of you have had good job site success with plastic water bottle recycling. Due to the LBC recycling requirements, we have to source separate onsite, and we're trying to has a separate plastics bin. For the most part, water bottles is going to be on of our biggest contributors.

Office furniture’s materials and components can come from unsustainable sources, and use adhesives that emit formaldehyde or other volatile compounds.

BuildingGreen-Approved Furniture

BuildingGreen approves tables, desks, and other office furnishings certified to BIFMA’s multi-attribute level 3 standard, which requires low... Read more

Hi everyone,

We're pitching a green wall to a client for a project in NYC and are looking for recommendations on systems/companies.  We've done them locally, but the company we've worked with only services the Boston area.  There are so many companies out there now that we'd rather go with one that's recommended.  Thanks in advance for... Read more

We just wrapped up an awesome Winter Summit at Gulf State Park in Alabama. I'll be posting flip chart pages and notes here--we can use this forum to continue the conversations. 

Apologies for the flurry of emails, but it seems best to start separate threads for each topic. If you'd rather limit the flow, you can switch to daily digest... Read more

Hi everyone - in doing a carbon footprint for our firm, does anyone know if buildings that we design as Architects considered scope 3 emissions, or are they beyond the boundary of emissions? LMN's buildings, despite best efforts, are cumulatively multiple orders of magnitude above our scope 1 and 2 emissions. We have never included these... Read more

As BuildingGreen’s Products & Materials Specialist, Brent excels at deep, unbiased, and nuanced technical research on the health and environmental impacts of green building products and materials. Some areas of focus include:

product and material constituents, including their risks

product certifications

third-... Read more

Under a high carbon scenario, most of North America will be 2 degrees C hotter by 2050. Meantime, we're designing buildings that will still be around in 2050, to codes that don't yet factor in chronic risks associated with climate change. I want to explain these risks to my colleagues; I'm hoping some of our green gurus can help answer the... Read more

Hi all,

I'm curious if anyone has insight as to the "New Federal Building Performance Standards" that were announced in May of 2021 and then referenced again when E.O. 14057 came out. The memorandum for heads of agencies that was sent out with E.O. 14057 said that the CEQ would issue these standards, but I can't find a commitment to when... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Death and Rebirth of DC Power. 

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


Explain when and how to integrate DC power into buildings, and the benefits of doing so.

Understand the history and background of AC and DC power in the U.S.

... Read more

Folks, it is with a heavy heart that I write this: Lance Hosey passed away unexpectedly on Friday. 

Many of you know him from the early days of the SDL group, or as an outsized presence at any of the many conferences where we overlap. He's been a list-maker, poll-taker and all around troublemaker in my life for over 20 years; I know I am... Read more

Dear SDL,

After almost 12 years at Sasaki, I have finally decided to leave for a path slightly-less-traveled. My own development project in Boston (passive house, ZNE condos) is in construction and I will be focusing my attention on that over the course of this year, and then hoping to continue doing similar integrated... Read more

Resilience Resource Database

The Defining and Measuring Resilient Outcomes Working Group has been developing a Resilience Resource Database as a repository for resources related to the topic of resilience in our built environment. 

This database and map are endeavoring to show resources for resilient design across the country to... Read more

The Path to Zero Carbon is a series of rigorous, deeply researched white papers produced by Kjell Anderson and others at LMN Architects in collaboration with subject matter experts from across the industry--including some of you! Architecture 2030 is exploring capacity and funding needs to host and convene experts to regularly update the series... Read more

Hey group,

I'm part of the contractor team on a large commercial project pursuing LBC v3.1 Petal Certification, with one of those petals being materials. This requires the team to meet Imperative 10 Red List.

The ownership group has taken the responsibility of red list vetting as a task of their own. The construction team is to... Read more