Feature
Susan Maxman is the first AIA president to make sustainable design a priority.
Q.Where would you say architects as a group stand on environmental issues?
A.Architects tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is important that we take the lead on these environmental issues. The architecture schools in particular tend to be conservative. They just aren’t... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
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Looking for another study option? See BuildingGreen's WELL AP Exam Study Guide and Practice ExamsThis one-hour crash course will review the concepts and key facts within the WELL Building Standard that are covered most extensively on the WELL AP exam. By... Read more
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Hi SCL,
I realize that there are already a couple of threads on this topic, but I didn't see anything from the past year. We have been trying (unsuccessfully) to work with large rental companies to request jobsite trailers that are at a minimum energy efficient, and ideally solar/battery ready and/or built to passive house or similar... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Solar Thermal Hot Water, Heating, and Cooling.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Explain active and passive; direct and indirect; and low-, medium-, and high-temperature solar thermal systems.
2. Distinguish between the three most... Read more
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Hi folks,
I’m sure most of you know Gail Brager, or at least know of her. For those who don’t, she helps run UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment and is a long-time champion of all the things that make buildings work for their occupants. Perhaps most notably, she was a co-author of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort option in ASHRAE... Read more
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Has anyone done inherent bias training in their firm, and if so, how'd it go? Do you have someone you'd recommend as a trainer/facilitator? Thanks!
Forum topic
I am new to the SAL and honored to be included. I'm Summer, managing partner at Ecoimpact Consulting. I manage a small staff of sustainability consultants who focus primarily on LEED project administration and documentation services. Day to day, I am working on implementation of the technical requirements of various LEED rating systems (in the... Read more
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Extremely proud to say that the just-announced winner of the international 'Next Generation Facade' design competition is a team led by the 2017-18 EDR Research Fellow, Liz McCormick. The facade normally separates inside from outside. What if the 'facade' was a place you occupied, where you worked? What if different parts of the facade... Read more
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Good morning. If you're worried like I am by today's new IPCC Report and would like some helpful explanation I recommend reading climate scientist Zeke Hausfather's lengthy Twitter feed summarizing key aspects with graphics. It's here https://twitter.com/hausfath/status/1424642708291821569?s=21
of course we need to see this as an even... Read more
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Hello friends. On a current school project, an abuse resistant wall covering has been proposed as an alternative to our typical MDF wainscot. The proposed product has been used successfully in healthcare, and switching to it will save the project almost $1million, which is no small amount when the project is over budget and 7-figure cost... Read more
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Hi folks,
A press release about this just showed up--most of what they're including in their "Clean Construction Declaration" involves reducing embodied carbon in materials, but they're also calling out construction equipment:
"Procure and, when possible, use only zero emission construction machinery from 2025 and require zero... Read more
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I have been asked to recommend folks to join the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence. The AIA Framework for Design Excellence is basically the top ten toolkit, that has been rebranded by the AIA and is forming the backbone of much of the policy that the AIA is currently setting.
From the AIA's website:
The Framework for Design... Read more