BuildingGreen Report

Product Review

December 1, 2004
Update: (March 22, 2011)

To the best of our knowledge, Humabuilt no longer exists, and the products it previously produced are unavailable.

Update: (July 27, 2006)

To the best of our knowledge, Humabuilt no longer offers FSC-certified veneers.

The Lake Oswego, Oregon company Humabuilt™ is marketing Wheatboard™-core... Read more

News Brief

December 1, 2004

The U.S. Green Building Council presented its 2004 Leadership Awards during an evening gathering at the Greenbuild conference in Portland, Oregon on November 11, 2004. The Council instituted this awards program in 2002 in order to recognize companies, organizations, and individuals “whose actions have had a significant impact on the development... Read more

News Analysis

December 1, 2004
Following a strong show of support in the member balloting process, LEED® for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) was formally launched at Greenbuild as the second LEED “product.” The first official version of LEED-EB is being called version 2.0—a move that follows the pattern set when the original LEED Rating System was launched and the pilot program... 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 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 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

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 Analysis

November 1, 2004

Caulking installed during the 1960s and ’70s threatens public health, according to a study published in the July 2004 issue of

Environmental Health Perspectives. The warning was spurred by the discovery of high polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels in Boston-area buildings. The U.S. government banned the production of these chemicals in... 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 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

News Brief

November 1, 2004

U.S. buildings are blamed for the deaths of nearly one billion birds each year, a statistic that bird experts will address during the first conference anywhere focused on designing buildings to be more bird-friendly. Chicago’s Department of the Environment, Department of Planning and Development, and Ornithological Society are planning the... Read more

News Analysis

November 1, 2004
After one gets over the surprise that not all urinals need to be flushed with water, nonflushing urinals seem like a no-brainer. What’s not to like about a system that eliminates a large use of potable water in buildings? Well, it turns out that there are indeed some issues, and early adopters of nonflushing urinals are reporting mixed results.... Read more

Product Review

November 1, 2004
There is great appeal to the idea of combining solar power generation with such building-component functions as glazing and roofing. Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) glazing systems, available from several manufacturers, provide the combined functions of daylight transmission and power generation. (For more on BIPV applications, see

EBN... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

A multifaceted approach to controlling asthma can significantly reduce its symptoms, according to a study published on September 9, 2004 in the

New England Journal of Medicine. More than 900 inner-city children with allergenic asthma participated in the study, which compared the symptoms of a control group to those of a group in which... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The International Energy Agency (IEA) Solar Heating and Cooling Programme has presented its

Solar Award to

William Beckman, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin at Madison (UWM). Beckman was recognized for his contributions to the solar energy field, including co-developing the TRNSYS building-energy analysis and... Read more

News Brief

November 1, 2004

The U.S. Green Building Council is seeking applicants for the Mark Ginsberg Sustainability Fellowship. Established in honor of Ginsberg’s work in the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the three-month fellowship will focus on market developments and emerging trends in green building. Details are online at... Read more