News Brief
Carol Venolia, Publisher/Editor
If “progressive construction” can be defined as pushing the tools and techniques of conventional builders in the direction of less environmental destruction, then Building With Nature’s material goes beyond progressive, into the forefront of visionary thinking about construction. This bimonthly newsletter, now... Read moreNews Analysis
A study published in the June 5, 1992, issue of
Science by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Arizona suggests that smoke emitted into the atmosphere from human activities may be having a significant effect in counteracting... Read more
Explainer
Product Review
Builders concerned about out-gassing of formaldehyde from medium-density fiberboard (MDF) have long used Medex in cabinets. This exterior-grade product, originally developed for highway signs, is considerably more expensive than conventional MDF or particleboard, however. Now Medite II fills the need for a... 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
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
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
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
Forum topic
Hi Green Friends - I hesitated to post on April Fools, but wanted to get the link out for folks to share with their netowrks I'll be teaching a workshop at the Pacific Energy Center on May 11 on Electrification Retrofits of Exisitng Non-Residential Buildings. I'll be bulidng on the great work our sub-committee led by Allison has been... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all - at the suggestion of Nadav and some of the Sustainable MEP Leaders, I'm reposting a thread I started a couple days ago in the SMEP forum.
In response to increasingly aggressive (and effective) targeting of building owners (particularly schools), a group of researchers have put their support behind a letter warning against the... Read more
Forum topic
Hi SDL!
Our CM recently offered up the possibility of substituting Pozzotive into our structural and paving concrete mix (www.pozzotive.com) on a large public building. Apparently it is on a level with the cost of standard cement.
We are eager to reduce the project's embodied carbon, and this seems almost too good to be true.
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Programming Buildings for Health: WELL, Fitwel, and Beyond!
Important: This quiz covers all related articles within this topic. Scroll to the bottom of the article page to find links to all the articles covered by this quiz.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be... Read more
Forum topic
Hello Green Gurus!
Quick introduction as this is my first time posting - Louis Koehl, AIA, CPHD, Director of Sustainable Design at Handel Architects, based in NY. I recently joined the SDL Forum and met some of you at the regional summit and Greenbuild. I'm excited to continue to connect with such an influential group!
My... Read more
Forum topic
Hi all - I am in need of specification language for wood sourced from tribally owned and managed forests. Does anybody have examples they would be willing to share? I would be so greateful! thank you
Forum topic
Team SCL,
This was a tough week. My husband coined a phrase "20% laid off."
Unfortunately, 50% of our business is currently impacted by governmental orders stating that our work is non-essential. This is bitter-sweet. I certainly want people to be safe, but we've had to make some tough decisions and in the geographies that were... Read more
Forum topic
We considering PV glazing for a project in SW Louisiana. Anyone have any successful PV glazing projects? Is this ready for primetime?
Basic page
Go to your profile, where you will find the TEAM MANAGEMENT section in the left side bar. Click on Team Members.
TO ADD MEMBERS:You can invite up to 9 more colleagues for a 10-person team to start their Premium Subscriber access through the Team.... Read more
Forum topic
Hi! I’m working on two reports about equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the building industry, and I’m looking for contributions from you or others in your firm. See below for what I’m looking for, and please reply directly to me at paula@buildinggreen.com.
NOTE: Ideally, I’m hoping people will want to provide names and firm names... Read more


