Championing the
Changemakers

How much does every designer need to know? How to support that basic literacy?

Guiding Questions:

Folks, would love to hear what software you're for in-house daylighting/energy performance modeling at the SD/DD level. My IT folks have been pushing us to try out Autodesk's Insight again after a not so impressive pilot we did a few years ago. Has it gotten better? Was it us? What programs do you feel good about? Which ones really make you mad... Read more

My company is looking for ways to introduce and train employees on jobsite recycling and composting. There is definitely a culture shift that needs to change in order for it to happen, but we are looking for any success stories to help us on our journey.

1) Has anyone been successful in setting up recycling/composting programs for... Read more

All,

Our firm has been struggling to find carbon reduction strategies for concrete that move us beyond a fly ash only approach. Frankly, the knowledge just isn't there internally or with our consultants. We've known that there are a few folks out there that have a deep bag of tricks, but we haven't had the chance to work with them... Read more

Our firm is looking into our hiring process with JEDI objectives and looking for examples that have been successful. Just like any other firms, we utilize career fair opportunities from local Universities, we have scholarship & endowment programs for several institutions, which became a major pipeline. We are working on evaluating all... Read more

Hi all,

For your planning purposes for next year, here’s info on an in-person event coming up in 2024:

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting an all-peer-networks workshop for SMEPL, SDL, and SCL members at Miller Hull’s office in Seattle on July 15, 2024. We’re still working out the details, but given the recent... Read more

This just in from Liz York at CDC: There's a webinar on Friday 11/2 at 3-4 ET on Building Design and Pandemics. For those who signed the petition to WHO urging action on aerosol emissions and have been following the ups and downs of those advisories, this is an especially welcome chance to hear from experts and ask questions. 

Centers... Read more

We are cautiously rekindling the age-old debate: how are we balancing modeling software for design /visualization and performance analysis during early phase of design.  

We are heavy SketchUp users for early design, and most of our staff have access to COVE tool for early performance analysis. Problem is, I’d rather use Revit to COVE... Read more

CEUs are available for reading all the building-envelope product guides and primer. Click here to learn more and take the quiz.

Water and air that penetrate building assemblies can damage materials, cause energy loss, and lead to mold, mildew, or other problems. The products used to address these may contain materials that are... Read more

Sustainable Design Leaders in NYC

New York City has been discussing implementing PACE Financing for years but has not taken action. Over 48 municipalities in New York State have PACE financing for Commercial (including multi-family) properties, it's time NYC does as well. I recently learned from colleagues in the City that all of the... Read more

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting is an increasingly common expectation throughout financial sectors, and the real estate industry is no exception. 

This live webinar with our friend Chris Pyke, Ph.D., a senior vice president... Read more

All - 

We have corporate clients that are starting to request antimicrobials in response to Covid-19. I assume we are not the only ones seeing an increase in these requests. Knowing that the evidence supporting antimicrobials has limited to no efficacy, how are you approaching these conversations? We want to continue to advise based on... Read more

Hello - Other than hiring an acoustic consultant, I am wondering what in-house tools you are using internally at the design stage for modelling acoustic performance? 

Thanks, Mona

Just highlighting a tool from Circular Ecology (the group that brings you the Inventory of Carbon and Energy data) for measuring Scope 1 and 2

https://circularecology.com/organisational-carbon-footprint-tool.html

I am looking for examples of adaptive reuse projects that have addressed current or future flooding by elevating floors from the existing condition.

We have a client thats going through a TI remodel in a building thats a LEED Core+Shell certified building. One of the questions we are trying to figure out is are there things we need to be doing to not imperil the building's certification. 

I think the answer is that the landlord had to write tenant guidelines at the time of... Read more