Basic page
Wellness is key to sustainable design. As more and more clients understand the value of healthy built environments, designers need to understand the various wellness rating systems available, and which would meet the project's goals and needs.
WELL and Fitwel have emerged as the two leading wellness rating systems,... Read more
Forum topic
Hi Everyone, just as governors are regionally deciding how to reopen their economies, it's probably time we started thinking about what getting back to work looks like for us. And, just as governors are leaning on each other for ideas and coordination, we can benefit from discussing strategies as a group. To that end, I wanted to get your... Read more
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I wanted to share some thoughts from Brenda Stanfield about the Design for Freedom conference and the work that she is doing to fight the difficult problem of forced and child labor in construction materials.I feel like it is a step up from the LEED social justice pilot credits, which are a great start. Hopefully it helps you in your work. I am... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
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If you are interested in sharing this guide within your organization and adding a copy to your library, please purchase the guide's site license. The site license permits the purchaser to share the PDF Guide file within their company/organization and post it on their... Read more
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What is the lag time for historical embodied carbon data catching up with real-time information as manufacturers source renewable energy? Is our professional time best spent calculating with out-of-date information or more simply calling for manufacturers' elimination of fossil fuel combustion in their production and transportation of materials... Read more
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If you haven't seen it yet, today's U.N. report "Making Peace With Nature" tackles climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution jointly within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The analysis is anchored in current economic, social and ecological reality and framed by economics and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable... Read more
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We have a client for whom we are designing a very high performance manufacturing facility, and they want to communicate their building's performance both dynamically and in real-time within their lobby for guests and staff.
We would like to mine the wisdom of this group to see what recommendations we can muster regarding high quality... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Getting Flame Retardants Out of Foam Insulation.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Summarize why and how flame retardants are used in foam insulation.
2. Elucidate the case for taking the chemicals out of foam insulation.
3.... Read more
Product Guide
Board insulation has good thermal performance ranging from about R-4 to R-8 and is used as an integral part of a building envelope’s continuous insulation system.
Because board insulation is used on the building exterior, it is not always subject to the same material health and emissions requirements as batt insulation used inside the... Read more
Forum topic
is anyone aware of some guidance about citation protocols for when a person/team/org uses an AI tool to generate some base components for a report (which is then heavily edited by humans)?
I'm inclined to disclose in detail which tools were used and how ... but would love to know if there are some industry protocols shaping up about this... Read more
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Dear SDL: I'm writing to urge you to promote project submittals in your firm and region to the 2018 AIA COTE Top Ten (TT) Award. The submittal deadline is 5PM EST January 17, 2018 - coming right up! The TT awards are one of the most recognized design awards for the general public and receive wide circulation through mainstream media. AIA... Read more
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I was recently asked about potentially specifying concrete with wood nanoparticles and concrete with biochar as a way to further lower the embodied carbon and to increase concrete strength. These approaches are something I know nothing about, and wondering if anyone in this group has any experience and/or observations that might be relevant to... Read more
Author
Jill is a mission-driven leader who loves working with people, solving problems, and strengthening the infrastructure of values-driven organizations that are committed to having a positive impact in the world.
She brings decades of experience analyzing and understanding the value of operational efficiency across a variety of... Read more
Forum topic
Does anyone have experience pursing SITES certification on an essentially a zero-lot line project?
We are required to achieve silver certification, but the project scope/phasing recently changed and the entire site/parking area was eliminated and we no longer have a green roof. It still appears we can meet silver certification as so few... Read more
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Hi All - as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) becomes increasingly prevalent, I'm trying to learn more about what types of requests for ESG-related information folks are actually receiving and what types of trainings on ESG would be most helpful. Drilling down a bit, I'm curious as to how ESG data points are moving down the supply... Read more