News Analysis
It isn’t just environmental zealots who are up in arms about the U.S. Forest Service’s policies on managing the nation’s timber resources. The Association of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics has jumped into the fray—from the inside. Jeff DeBonis, the Association’s founder and executive director,... Read more
Feature
Carefully stake the building site and driveway, remove trees that are within the excavation area or too close, then erect a fence to keep heavy equipment off fragile soils and away from nearby trees.
Protecting trees and the local ecosystem when building on previously unbuilt land is a vitally important—yet often overlooked—part of environmentally responsible construction. Healthy trees and shrubs can reduce a home’s environmental impact and directly benefit homeowners in a number of ways:
•Enhancing comfort by shielding the house... Read more
Feature
Ozone depletion and global warming are two of our most serious environmental problems—and foam insulation materials containing CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) contribute significantly to both of these problems. The environmentally concerned builder or designer should make it a highest priority to avoid them. Even many of the non-CFC alternatives... Read more
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
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental... Read more
Op-Ed
Introducing the first issue of our newsletter.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment. In North America, buildings and the building industry account for about 30% of carbon dioxide emissions, 35-40% of ozone depletion, 20-30% of municipal solid waste, vast quantities of natural resource consumption, and dramatic loss of open space each... Read more
Forum topic
I am looking for case studies/trying to identify buildings using concrete mixes with upwards of 30% replacement of cement by SCMs. I've been in conversations with some structural engineers who are interested in lowering embodied carbon in upcoming projects, but would like to see examples of where this level of replacement has been successfully... Read more
Forum topic
Is anyone else working on a project doing Living Building Challenge v4.0 Energy Petal? We're working through the Imperative 08 Net Positive Carbon Resiliency Strategy requirements that ask for the project to be habitable for a week in the event of an emergency. We're curious how others are defining "habitable" and what systems assumptions... Read more
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Forum topic
Hi SDL Group -
Our firm has been presented with a potential opportunity to share with USGBC National Representatives details about a few of our voiced concerns in the context of specific project administration efforts.
For us, these relate to two specific factors:
Logistics / Technology: We are seeing inconsistent review... Read moreAuthor
Mark oversees strategic marketing and product development for BuildingGreen. In this role, he works closely with our Editorial, WebDev, and Consulting teams to conceive, plan, direct, and budget integrated marketing programs that support our outreach and meet customers’ needs.
Joining BuildingGreen in late 2021, Mark brings... Read more
Forum topic
Is there a way for southface staff or guest experts to "pin" or "tag" the "right" answer in a forum question? It might be useful to designate the right answer and pin it to the top of a forum thread. I don't want the answer selected via crowd source but by staff or volunteers. Thanks.
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of How to Make Integrated Project Delivery Work for Your Project.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. State three problems that Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) promises to solve.
2. Dispel four misconceptions about IPD that have... Read more
Forum topic
Dear SD Leaders,
A friend is looking for a High Performance and Sustainability Leader to join their mid-size architecture company in New York.
If you know anyone that could be interested in this position could you please kindly send them my way?
Thank you
Marzia
Product Guide
Early laminate flooring had problems with premature surface wear, moisture damage, and hazardous formaldehyde emissions—and some products may still have these problems.
BuildingGreen-Approved Flooring
Laminate flooring products listed by BuildingGreen have high recycled content (greater than 70%) or FSC-certified content and:... Read more
Forum topic
Hi Everyone, just as governors are regionally deciding how to reopen their economies, it's probably time we started thinking about what getting back to work looks like for us. And, just as governors are leaning on each other for ideas and coordination, we can benefit from discussing strategies as a group. To that end, I wanted to get your... Read more
Forum topic
Greetings, colleagues!
Here's an opportunity for this community from AIA COTE Advocacy: US Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, is looking for input from national stakeholder groups to help develop new federal climate legislation. Congressman Tonko... Read more
Forum topic
I was sitting in on the USGBC's monthly Advocacy call this afternoon and heard about a state-local policy proposal to use property tax incentive for GHG reductions. Through a state-local partnership, owners of existing residential and commercial buildings who invest in qualifying outcome-based improvements would receive a property tax... Read more
Forum topic
If you haven't seen it yet, today's U.N. report "Making Peace With Nature" tackles climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution jointly within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The analysis is anchored in current economic, social and ecological reality and framed by economics and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable... Read more
Forum topic
Hi folks! Our AIA Seattle Committee on the Environment is hosting a series of decarbonization talks that might be of interest to this group. The next one is coming up next Thursday with the University of Washington.
Details and free registration here: https://aiaseattle.org/event/cote-university-of-washingtons-pathway-to-d...

