Championing the
Changemakers

As we begin to look into Scope 3 emissions reduction strategies, it's important to understand ways to reduce tranportation emissions to project sites. Is anyone aware of best practices or programs for contractor carpooling to jobsites? I know many of my colleagues travel to work together in one vehicle because of parking limitations, however,... Read more

Hello Gurus,

I’m writing to share with you an effort a small group of lighting designers from the Boston area started which is now rolling into a large scale effort.  We’ve put together a Lighting Advocacy Letter to accelerate the sustainability of lighting products. Inspired by the AIA Materials Pledge, the letter is intended to... Read more

I am getting started on a research project to evaluate the feasibility, costs, and benefits of using phase change material (PCM) to passively regulate temperature in Minnesota buildings. If anyone has experience designing with PCM, installing PCM, or occupying buildings with PCM, can you share any lessons learned that would be relevant as... Read more

Hi Sages,

As you may have seen in my message, the Peer Networks Member List is not very helpful to us (yet), because a person can only show up in one network. Many of us are also in SDL or other networks; there are many more of us than show up when you filter that list for "Sages."

Until we can get that fixed, we'll share the... Read more

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

Hello all,

My name is Stephen Messinger.  Thanks for including me in the group.  I am excited to get involved.  Glad to see some familiar and amazing names on this list.  

A little about me: I am born and raised in Massachusetts.  I live in Jamaica Plain (Boston) with my wife Lauren and two amazing daughters (Penelope, 4.... Read more

Hi. Happy Monday! Will BG create the BIT-user intro video found on the landing page? Do we partner on it, or should Southface plan to provide it? Thanks.

Reaching out to the collective knowledge here.  With interest in circular economy and building reuse growing, is anyone leading the charge for the concept of building reuse as a tool for maintaining community identity?  Has anyone seen successful projects with this concept in mind?  I was just in a discussion with a bunch of SDLers, and while... Read more

Hi,

We have a market-rate housing highrise project that is going through VE right now: we need cheaper/lighter rainscreen claddings than precast concrete or GFRC.

If you've gone through this similar exercise, I would greatly appreciate recommendations for cladding manufacturers/products with EPDs available. We are open to metal... Read more

More sustainable forms of transportation are a key component of green building design and resilient communities.

BuildingGreen-Approved Bike Storage

BuildingGreen approves bike racks that offer security, integrated weather protection, or efficient use of space. Some products may also feature recycled content or powder-coated... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Here are all the details about our two Peer Network events in Chicago on Tuesday, June 21st. If you'll be in town, we hope to see you!

From 1-5pm we'll have the Chicago/Midwest Region Mini-Summit, open to members of any of the five Peer Networks (Sustainability Consultants, Community Design Leaders, Contractors... Read more

Curious if folks know of any resources on hempcrete, specific to durability.  We have a one-story carbon-neutral operational energy project where the design team and client have bought into the aesthetics and carbon-sequestering potential of hempcrete, and amazingly it is looking to be no more expensive than a more typical concrete wall... Read more

For those of you working in jurisdictions with both prescriptive and performance-based commercial energy code pathways, roughly what percentage of your projects are using the performance pathway? How do your project teams decide which pathway to follow?

In Minnesota we are seeing very few projects pursuing the performance pathway,... Read more

The BuildingGreen/GreenStep exam prep materials are... Read more

Hi Green Gurus (esp. Sustainable MEP leaders...)

I'm looking for suggestions of contacts for MEP consultants, especially in the Chicagoland region, ideally with sustainability highly integrated into the work, specialization in geothermal systems, and indoor agriculture. (doesn't necessarily have to be all-in-one)

For context, we... Read more