Championing the
Changemakers

Hi all - back in May I asked you for help reviewing our series ahead of publication. The first 5 posts are up, with the 6th a day or so away. Thanks to everyone who has helped out! 

It's a fail-forward effort to help us figure out what we are missing in our climate action on our projects and advocacy. Enjoy, and let me know if and how... Read more

Hi All! 

We have had a few multi-family projects consider this single package vertical unit with integrated ERV, but we haven't pulled the trigger for fear of the unknown. Our local engineers aren't sure how it actually performs and worry it may not meet code requirements for separation between exhaust and intake. Has anyone else used... Read more

Conventional overhead air distribution systems rely on energy-intensive air mixing, but underfloor systems take advantage of natural convection and stratification.

BuildingGreen-Approved Access Flooring Products

We list access flooring products that are specially designed to facilitate effective, energy-efficient underfloor air... Read more

Good evening,

I am looking for suggestions to replace"wood" siding at the 25-year-old Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies and as always there is no solution that does it all. There seem to be three main options: wood, composition siding, or fiber cement siding. I am looking for something with low embodied carbon, little maintenance,... Read more

We are pursuing sustainability goals (and documentation of those goals) outside of any certification/rating system for a current project.  However, we have set up a criteria list of goals by following strategies/credits from many of those systems (LEED v4 EPDs, SITES v2 threatened tree species, WELL v2 mindful eating, etc.).  This approach is... Read more

Within the confines of the BuildingGreen safe space, I wanted to share the Forced Labor in the Building Material Supply Chain Mitigation Framework I shared at the 3/1 First Friday Fika. The intent is for this document to become public, but we are working through some permissions and final editing logistics. The project was collaborative... Read more

Hi all, 

The San Francisco Department of the Environment is hoping to gather info from designers and specifiers about construction surplus materials. Their survey is 8 questions total and not limited to those in the SF area. 

Pasting info below if you have a chance to participate! 

Calling Designers and Specifiers:

... Read more

Has anyone used the new 3M Smog-Eating Granules on a roof before? Malarkey and Soprema are offering this as an option for their roof shingles. Seems like a great technology for urban areas, but I'd be curious to see if anyone here has actually successfully specified and installed it.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/roofing-granules-us/... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Can We Replace Foam Insulation?

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


1. List four ways in which foam is environmentally problematic and provide four examples of foam replacements.
2. Discuss the industry's relationship with foam... Read more

Hi,

Has anyone been asked by a client to track welding rods on any projects? We were recently asked to do this. I was asked why the client would ask us to do this. I don't know if it has to do w/ "real property" and is a property tax-related reason, or if it is an environmental/sustainable reason. There is piping associated with the... Read more

Dear All!

I recently met a passionate new hire at an architecture firm in NYC.  Her firm is reluctant to taking meaningful steps towards increasing sustainable impacts of their projects.  (Their work is in market rate of all types.)  This new hire is frustrated with the lack of sustainable adoption and understanding.

What would... Read more

There has been some great press in the last couple of days related to Healthy Building Network's (HBN) newly released report "Chlorine & Building Materials Project".  That report is over 200 pages long, but there is some great commentary available that makes the top issues much quicker to grasp.

Chlorine is used to make PVC and PVC... Read more

Healthcare Design, one of the most respected and widely recognized trade journals in the health care AEC space has released the names of its 2022 HCD 10 winners.  The mission of The HCD 10 is to recognize and celebrate the broad spectrum of outstanding professionals in that industry and the influence they have on healthcare design.

One... Read more

Hello friends,

We are looking for recommendations for solar photovoltaic consultants to support one of our projects. We have used SEI in the past, but would like to develop a deeper bench and approach it from another angle. We aren’t too concerned about the consultant’s location, but are looking for someone that is on top of the current... Read more