Are FSC glulams available? By many manufacturers? Which ones?

Greetings, Green Gurus!  As many of you know, I teach a course at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Architecture, and one of my former students has just graduated from their and MS in Design - Environmental Building Design program.  She is looking for employment at a firm that has a focus on sustainability.  Unfortunately we... Read more

Thank you to everyone who signed on to the Materials Pledge letter.  It was officially released on April 15th with 56 signatory firms.  The Materials Pledge will soon have a new home online and a way to continuously add more signatory firms.  I'm keeping a list for now and there are already four more firms who want to join.  I will let everyone... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Why High-Performance Assemblies and Why Now? (recorded webcast)

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


1. Understand how water moves on and through buildings.
2. Describe the details of continuous air, water, and thermal barriers and... Read more

Greetings friends.  Our leadership has decided to create a partner-position to my role but in the engineering group of our firm.  This person would be a key ally in my work improving the high performance and sustainability of our projects with a focus on high-performance mechanical systems, net-zero, electrification, etc...  If you are... Read more

The Sustainable Community Design Leaders Peer Network brings together planners, architects, landscape architects, and allied leaders who are committed to leveraging the... Read more

We are hiring! Please share with any potential talented and passionate candidates.

https://archinect.com/jobs/entry/150052970/sustainable-design-specialist

ps. And, yes we recently rebranded for our 40th anniversary for those who may be confused :) 

So nice when nice happens to nice people.   And smart ones too!  Congrats to Sarah Gudeman, Blake Stanton, Stanton Stafford, Kathy Wardle, and everyone else in this year's class.

https://www.gbci.org/green-business-certification-inc-celebrates-2021-cl...

Hello SDL-ers - 

The SDL Climate-Smart Wood Group hosts a monthly online forum for builders all over North America who care about wood - and if that sounds like you, you're invited! As builders, we want to advocate for the conscientious use of wood as part of a holistic commitment to climate justice and resilience. We have been meeting... Read more

Hi All,

I will be catching up on learning units over Thanksgiving weekend and I am wondering if anyone else is experiencing the challenge of credential maintenance of their CPHD? Ideally we would have a client go for Passive House accreditation on a project, but lacking that, how are folks maintaining their 20 credits per year? For... Read more

Have you ever been accused of being "self-righteous," or "judgemental" in your role as and SDL? Anyone have tips and tricks to avoid this trap? 

Hi, this is a somewhat niche/specific question - we are working on an all-electric school (middle and high school) that includes a chemistry lab. The lab was going to have portable sources for flame experiments, but there is concern that the portable sources would be unsafe for middle school students, so they are asking for a hard-pipe natural... Read more

Hi All,

I wanted to share an exciting opportinity with this esteemed group: Placetailor is seeking out a Mechanical Engineer to add to their growing team. They are located in Boston, MA and focus on Passive House, Low-energy Design, and they have for two years running meet the tenets of the AIA 2030 Commitment! This is an exciting place... Read more

Ace Brockwell

Hi Brilliant People: 

I'm hoping you can help me with a quick research question. A local colleague is trying to make the case to replace an existing old slate roof with slate vs. "slate look" asphalt shingles on a local public historic building. The bids are 6X higher for slate over the alternative 25-30 year solutions. They understand... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Integrated Design Meets the Real World.

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


1. Define the integrated design process and describe what makes it different from the conventional design process.
2. Describe the charrette process and list... Read more