Hello SD Leaders!

Two weeks ago a group of us gathered for the Winter 2020 Sustainable Design Leaders Summit. Those of us from BuildingGreen that were on site, greatly appreciated everyone's time and energy. It's always a pleasure to work along side you all!

Here is the summit report!

Reminder: We are giving a priority look... Read more

My colleague, Kira Gould, from the AIA National COTE communications committee, has a great question I am reposting here...

AIA National COTE: In the early 00s, COTE supported an initiative through which we created a Guide to the Green RFP and collected sample RFP language. That now dated guide is no longer findable in our resources and... Read more

First, special shout out to Carolyn Day from Perkins Eastman for getting permission to use their Pro-zoom account for this Greenbuild wrap-up social session, because...frankly...Greenbuild just wasn't the same without all of you.

So, while we can't be together in person, that doesn't mean we are stuck by ourselves. Grab a refreshment and... Read more

Older buildings—especially those from the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s—need our help. Many leave something to be desired in terms of aesthetics and comfort. But the truth is that they are part of the urban and suburban fabric now, and they aren’t going anywhere. As tempting as it might seem to tear them all down and replace them with high-performance... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Eight Tips for Passing the LEED v4 AP BD+C Exam.

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


1. List important tables and calculations from the reference guide.
2. Explain what's pertinent about credit options and documentation.
3. Detail... Read more

Hi All,

I have a commercial restauranter in Colorado who is (reluctantly) considering induction cooking. Does anyone know of any good resources out there that can help make the case for this? That would include testimonials, research, videos, testimonials, or whatever else can help get a commercial kitchen comfortable to moving to... Read more

Hello everyone. I am seeking some guidance on crafting an arguement for why my firm should support a change to the Washington State Energy Code which would mandate electric heat pumps for commercial builidngs.  AIA WA is working on the state commercial energy code update under consideration this spring.  We have been invited to sign on to an... Read more

The AIA conference is coming up soon as well.  It is scheduled for June 19-23 in NYC. I have heard about a lot of great sessions and I am thinking it would be helpful if we could collect info here.  Please respond to this message with info about your session and I will compile all of this into a handy reference document.  I will start with my... Read more

As with window and glazing products, the energy performance of skylights and roof windows varies greatly among different products and should be carefully considered.

BuildingGreen-Approved Skylights

BuildingGreen approves products that feature advanced thermally broken frames that dramatically reduce thermal bridging and improve... Read more

Hi friends! Despite thinking I had joined this forum on Day 1 - I hadn't! Just a quick hello and great to join you all. For anyone I don't yet know - my key focus through Sustainable Performance Institute is in helping companies institutionalize sustainability in their culture, systems and processes and helping them embark on a path of... Read more

Since starting at LPA last fall, the number one question I get from people outside the firm is how we are hitting (2018-2019) or getting so close to hitting the 2030 Commitment goals. 

Here is a chance to see for yourself! LPA is seeking a Sustainable Design Specialist to join our RED team (Research Education Design) - location open to... Read more

Hi all, 

Thank you again to those of you who attended the Spring 2024 SCL Summit! We had an amazing day of learning from one another, including from our presenters.

The slides for the 5-minute presentations are below, as well as the BuildingGreen slides from the Summit. Please be aware that we have permission from all of the... Read more

Small Firm Sustainable Design Leaders –

I find it hard to believe calls for session proposals are already out for next year’s AIA Conference on Architecture.  I feel like I just got back!

At my firm, we try to have all principals and associates to submit a proposal each year.  I had a couple of take-aways from this year’s... Read more

Use BuildingGreen campus-wide to integrate the latest innovative building technologies into course content.

Hi: SD Leaders.  It was so nice to see so many of you at Greenbuild in Chicago. By now I'm sure all have seen the announcement of the release of the Fourth National Climate Assessment Report vol 2. (https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/) It's well worth a deep read - so much important and extremely informative material. I want to draw your... Read more

Hello all,

Does anybody know of a substitute for Ecotect's solar tool? I use it to very quickly test shade options and I love how I can easily test horizontal and vertical elements, tilting and rotating them. I can have a window with the façade on one side and the sun path with the shadow mask on the other side. It is easy to use and... Read more