BuildingGreen Report

News Analysis

December 1, 2004
The U.S. Green Building Council’s third LEED® rating system, LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) was launched at Greenbuild, following its approval by USGBC members. As with the other LEED products, LEED-CI begins its life as version 2, retroactively making the pilot version 1. LEED-CI is intended to serve tenants who have control only over... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2004
by Steven Winter Associates for the U.S. General Services Administration, October 2004; 578 pages, 3.9 MB file downloadable from www.wbdg.orgThe U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which builds and manages real estate for much of the federal government, now requires all new construction and major renovation projects to be LEED®-certified... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2004

The Emerging Green Builders (EGB) chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council announced during Greenbuild the winners of the third annual USGBC Design Competition, intended to recognize students and young professionals in the building industry. More than 130 teams, including more than 270 individuals from 16 countries, competed to design a... Read more

Product Review

This high-design, lightweight, formaldehyde-free panel is made of waste fiber left over after processing sorghum.

December 1, 2004

Kirei™ is a lightweight, formaldehyde-free panel made from waste fiber left over after processing sorghum, a grain crop grown widely in many parts of the world. The product was developed in Japan in the mid-1990s and introduced to the U.S. market in 2003. Kirei is a Japanese character meaning both clean and beautiful, according to Kirei USA... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2004
Bill Browning, a well-known leader in the green building world and member of

EBN’s editorial advisory board, left the full-time employment of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) on July 1, 2004 to work with the John A. Clark Company on the development of Haymount. Haymount is a new town being developed outside of Washington, D.C. with an... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004
Ecoshack has selected three winners from among 101 entries in its

green tent design competition (see

EBN

Vol. 13, No. 7): “Thermal Wing,” designed by Thicket from London, U.K.; “Cocoon,” designed by Robert Schwermer and Dietmar Koering from Cologne, Germany; and “Endemic Synthetic,” designed by Strawn/Sierralta(2) from Chicago,... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The FedEx Corporation and the city of Oakland have announced plans to build California’s largest corporate solar electric system atop the FedEx hub at Oakland International Airport. The 904 kilowatt system will be made up of nearly 6,000 photovoltaic modules comprised of more than 300,000 solar cells from the Sharp Electronics Corporation and... Read more

Op-Ed

November 1, 2004
BuildingGreen has a new directory of residential green building products coming out this fall. Created for homebuilders and homeowners, the 320-page

Green Building Products is a residential edition of the widely acclaimed

GreenSpec

® Directory—with a few important distinctions:

Green Building Products includes... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The attorneys general of ten states and the U.S. Virgin Islands have filed a lawsuit charging that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development relies too heavily on chemical pesticides in public housing developments. According to the Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, passed in 1996, federal agencies are required to use... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2004
People who live in sprawling cities are far less healthy than their counterparts in more compact areas, according to a study performed by the nonprofit

Rand® Corporation, based on information from Healthcare for Communities, a survey funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The survey analyzed health data for more than 8,600 adults living... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The National Hydrogen Association and the U.S. Department of Energy have opened project registration for the

2005 H2U Design Contest. Teams of graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to submit designs for hydrogen power parks. Team entries are due January 14, 2005. (For information on the 2004 winner, see

EBN

... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The New York State Public Service Commission has adopted Governor Pataki’s proposal that 25% of the state’s electricity come from renewable energy sources by the end of 2013. “Our decision today is based on a detailed examination of the costs, benefits, and potential impacts on system reliability of implementing an efficient and forward-... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004
by Jim Augustyn, with illustrations by Hildy Paige Burns. Patty Paw Press, Berkeley, California, 2003; 88 pages, softcover, $14.95. Distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, Vermont. For more information or to order, visit www.solarcat.com.

This lighthearted tribute to cats and the sun was inspired by the... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

Just two years after New York City scrapped its recycling plan, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced in September 2004 a 20-year contract with the Hugo Neu Corporation, one of the country’s leading recycling companies. Under the contract, Hugo Neu, which is based in Manhattan, will build a $25 million, state-of-the-art recycling facility on city-... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

Following endorsement by both houses of parliament, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Kyoto Protocol on November 4, 2004, allowing the 1997 agreement, which aims to limit greenhouse-gas emissions and slow climate change, to take effect for signatories around the world. In order to be set in motion, the agreement required ratification... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Chicago) has announced its first-ever Sustainable Design Awards as part of its annual Design Excellence Awards program, which honors the construction and renovation work of local architects. “Sustainable design represents a movement, not a trend,” said Susan King, chair of AIA... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004
Kimpton Hotels has teamed up with eco-fashion authority Danny Seo to design “Eco Rooms” on dedicated “Eco Floors” at all of their 38 boutique hotels around the U.S. The Eco Rooms will conserve energy and water while playfully educating their occupants about environmental issues; a portion of room charges will be donated to environmental... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) has initiated a boycott of all prison design, construction, and renovation in protest of the prison-industrial complex and its effects on society. ADPSR works for peace, environmental protection, ecological building, social justice, and the development of healthy communities. For... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2004

The Noisette Company, LLC announced in August 2004 the formation of the Noisette Urban Alliance, a network of 15 manufacturers organized to aid in the redevelopment of the 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) Noisette District of North Charleston, South Carolina (see

EBN

Vol. 10, No. 5). The Alliance includes Herman Miller, Inc., Interface,... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The

National Association of Home Builders is now accepting entries for the

2005 National Green Building Awards, which recognize individuals, companies, and organizations demonstrating a commitment to environmentally responsible residential construction. The submission deadline is December 15, 2004, and winners will be announced... Read more