Have any of you heard of anyone ever using phase change material (PCM) "movable partitions" as a resiliency strategy to mitigate indoor overheating during a heat wave in passive buildings? You'd keep them stored in a basement or cool room, and deploy them into habitable spaces during the heat wave to keep the space cooler than the exterior... Read more

I'm working with a project team that is looking into bird control options to prevent nesting/roosting/pooping on the scrim that is designed to scrim their building's facade.  They are looking at electrified tape, repellents, laser systems, etc -- Options that don't dramatically impact the building design.  The products they're looking at claim... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

A close colleague of ours, Frances Yang of Arup, is distributing a survey developed in partnership with the Healthy Building Network (HBN).

The survey asks for which product categories you need more health information. Answers will help inform which product categories HBN next incorporates into its HomeFree and... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of What Makes a Product Green Today?

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


Hello all, 

Wondering if anyone has experience with lead limits in electrical cable and wiring? 

LEED for Healthcare allows a limit of 300 ppm of lead in electrical wire and cabling - my search for compliant products has been all dead ends. (MRc PBT Source Reduction - lead, cadmium, and copper)

Acceptable regulations for... Read more

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

Hi All,

My team member is leaving Webcor, and unfortunately that means we have to fill her big shoes with someone new! I thought I'd reachout here and see if you know anyone of high caliber looking for a Sustainability Manager position? Someone with LEED PM experience preferred, and a bit more technical background with MEP/ZNE ideally... Read more

Gypsum is calcium sulfate dehydrate, which is mined or produced as a byproduct of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) from coal-fired power plants. FGD gypsum may contain trace contaminants from coal processing, but not enough to represent a hazard to users. Years ago, some imported products created indoor air quality problems that required... Read more

Dear all,

For a specific existing building application, we are looking for a half inch insulating glazing unit, preferably with low-e coating. Based on my research, 5/8" seems to be doable (1/8" glass + 3/8" air gap + 1/8" glass) but I'm yet to find a viable 1/2" solution. Have you come across any on your projects? Thanks for your... Read more

We have a client who is asking us to design a roughly 10 ksf Wellness Center for PHIUS 2021 certification.  The program includes several high density assembly type spaces - roughly 300 person peak occupant load for the building.  The Criteria Calculator that the architect showed us puts the building peak cooling load at 4 BTUH/sf (3000 sf/ton... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of LEED 2009: The Missing Manual.

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


1. Stay abreast of changes to LEED NC-2009.
2. Understand the more ambiguous aspects of LEED NC-2009.
3. Explain key interpretations of LEED NC-2009.
4.... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Here is the information for December's Peer Networks Webinar, Architects in the Blue Zone: The AIA at COP26. We hope you will join us!

Register HERE

Architects in the Blue Zone: The AIA at COP26
Wednesday, December 15th, 2021
4pm - 5pm ET (1pm - 2pm PT)

Description

The American... 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

Hi everyone -
Some of you already have heard some or all of this news, but I thought I'd share today's press release with the whole group.
The headline is: 
SERA is VERY excited to announce that David Johnson, formerly the managing partner of Bill McDonough's San Francisco office, is now heading up SERA's bay area office.... Read more

Hi all, how many of your companies have started ESG reporting? If so, are you working with a consultant to calculate your impact of business operations? Or are you calculating it yourself? Are you purchasing offsets? I've been getting a lot of cold calls about this, mainly from a UK-based company. We are not yet at this point, but it seems like... Read more

Greetings, all:

AIA COTE Advocacy is working with AIA Gov't Affairs to assemble a directory of COTE-friendly AIA Members who are passionate about environmental advocacy and VOTERS in targeted congressional districts. We are organizing in-district meetings after the mid-term elections focused on the members of the Senate Energy &... Read more