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

Hi all!

I've heard several people talk about developing tools for assessing/codifying a client's values for a project as part of an integrated design process (ie. a set of questions, survey, etc.). Would anyone be willing to share?

(Z, are you listening? I specifically recall you mentioning a tool like this...)

Thanks!... Read more

Hey SDL,

I'm curious if anybody out there has developed specification language requiring a certain level of airtightness (as assessed via one or a series of blower door tests) for a commercial project when it is not going for a Passive House certification and a blower door test is not required by code--basically, something in the... Read more

Hello Folks,
What is your experience with successes and failures in the design process? As a starting point I have listed my Top 5 for success, and my Top 5 for failure. We'd love to see your reactions and look forward to the discussion when we all meet next week at our monthly check-in.

Top 5 reasons for when integrative design... Read more

Hi all,

HOK has ~75 WELL APs whose credentials will expire in 6-12 months, so we're starting to look into a more robust CMP program.  Do you have great sources of health + wellbeing education, particularly WELL-specific CEUs, that you would recommend (emphasis on free or very low cost)?  We are currently using GBES, BuildingGreen, and... Read more

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

I was wondering if any of you have experience with integrated PVs and/or solar glass. If so, can you could recommend manufactures for each? We are working on a multistory freestanding building in an urban site for a mid-Atlantic city. Because our site and roof area are limited we are looking to maximized the areas where we can generate power.... Read more

Friends of EPIC –

Hey, everyone. As some of you might have heard, we’ve been working for a while with Autodesk to get c.scale (the data model behind EPIC) built into Forma – Autodesk’s AI-powered planning tool. Forma is packaged within Autodesk’s AEC collection and most firms using Revit should already have access. This integration is... Read more

Hello Everyone,

Here is the 2019 SCL Demographics Report, thank you to everyone who submitted responses. Enjoy!

The SCL Salary Survey Report will be coming next and please note that the Salary Survey is only distributed to those who participated.

All the best,

RoseAnn

Protection against corrosion is the primary function of steel coatings, which often contain corrosion inhibitors, volatile solvents, heavy metals, and other hazardous chemicals.

These coatings are specified when steel is used structurally, outdoors, or in high-use areas. In these situations, hazardous coatings are often applied off-site... Read more

Hi Everyone.  Hope you and your families are all healthy and safe.

We are starting to figure out how we are going to implement the Contractors Commitment at my company, and we're using the opportunity to simultaneously set corporate wide and jobsite metrics and goals for sustainability tracking.

Each year we issue a sustainability... Read more

Hi there colleagues!

Out of curiosity, do you plan on attending Greenbuild in person in San Diego in September? My staff asked me if we were going and my answer is partially contingent on the extent to which attending would mean getting to see some of our favorite people (read: all of you). Looking forward to taking the temperature of... Read more

Hi All,

Someone just told me that 80% of his previously certified Energy Star Projects no longer earn certification with the update baselines.  Have any of you started digging into this yet?

-Meredith

Hi Fellow Design Professionals: It would be great if you could participate in this important research on the status of professionals addressing extreme heat.

Thanks.

MAL

Planning for Extreme Heat Survey

Our research team from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University is studying how planning... Read more

All,

I recently met Sahil Tadwalkar who is a Stanford MS Candidate in Civil Engineering. He and his group are interviewing design and construction industry professionals to understand issues and challenges around specifying and using low carbon solutions on projects. Interesting stuff! I encourage you to contribute by setting up an... Read more

Hi there SD Leaders,

We're running an LCA on one of our projects that's about to start construction that has had serious embodied carbon goals and I got a result that really surprised me. I haven't been able to find any obvious/glaring issues with the work, but these results are strange enough that I'm not feeling confident. I'm hoping... Read more