Our high performance consulting team is frustrated by project teams that regularly fall back on outdated rules of thumb in their system and equipment sizing. 

What challenges do you face in your work flow to limit oversizing and promote right-sizing?

By the way, Roger Chang, our literature search on the subject turned up an eleven... Read more

We are looking into different building skin materials from including GFRC and FRP (amongst others) as alternatives to precast. I remember years ago (when I was at LAS) we had retrofitted a Federal Courthouse with FRP for blast resistance. I kind of remember that at the time it had some pretty high offgassing concerns. I haven't been able to... Read more

Hi folks,

Wondering if this group has insights about the low-embodied carbon product "Vertua" from Cemex, which appears to be a proprietary concrete product launched in 2020.

Our client wants to use CarbonCure; but our likely concrete sub is saying Cemex (where they typically source their concrete) offers an alternative called... Read more

Hello everyone,

Over the past couple of years the Climate Smart Wood Group has met monthly to discuss all things related to the use of timber in building design and construction.  From forestry practices, to supply chain and sourcing information, to design experiences and examples, the group has operated as an open forum for advancing... Read more

We broke up into 5 discussion groups by market sector:

Here are the proposed "guiding questions":

We are looking to refine our general office specifications to weed out harmful materials and to prioritize sustainability for all of our clients. Have you had good experience with outsourced specification writers who are helping to push sustainability forward? Who do you recommend? Bonus points if they are familiar with Massachusetts codes and... Read more

Greetings friends.

Many of you have heard about the CARE Tool, (formerly the 2Build or not 2Build Carbon Calculator.) We are now in the final stages of bringing it online as a free, open access tool hosted by Architecture 2030. We are finalizing and aligning data and working with a web developer (the same one that brought us... Read more

Hello All,

ASHRAE and ICC released a draft standard for operational and embodied GHG evaluation.  It's on a fast track to be completed in time for the next code cycle.  This 30 day advisory draft includes dozens of questions looking for feedback from experts like all of you.  Please take a look and provide comments.  I've uploaded the... 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

Not a green design question but a green firm design question... Finalizing the renewal of our Just certification, we're taking a fresh look at all our benefits & policies. We have already reviewed industry-wide survey data (AIA and PSMJ) but are interested in how the firms we admire (i.e., *you*) are approaching benefits in the transformed... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Behind the Logos: Understanding Green Product Certifications.

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


Hi folks,

It was fun going back over all the great conversations we had and pulling them together in this report. Please feel free to share it with anyone--no constraints on that!

Also, we'll have a webinar next Friday based on this report-- March 8 at 2pm eastern:

I'll show the report and share key takeaways from the 12th... Read more

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This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions for your use of all webpages under both the BuildingGreen and LEEDuser names and domains, published by BuildingGreen, Inc. (collectively, the “Site”), including The BuildingGreen Report (formerly Environmental Building News) and BuildingGreen... Read more

Hi all,

Here's a good follow up to Maria's steel question on Monday.  We have a Midwest project that unfortunately (from a carbon perspective) is required to use a traditional, thick precast facade.  We’re working with the contractor and potential future (not yet bid out) fabricators to determine an appropriate % of pozzolanic material... Read more

Has anyone here had success in comparing life cycle impacts for different window system options? We have been trying to compare different options but have only been able to source one expired EPD for an actual window (frame + glazing). Is the typical approach to separately compare glass and framing options? Are we missing something or is there... Read more