Championing the
Changemakers

Hello friends,

Anyone who will be attending NESEA's BuildingEnergy Boston conference next week is invited to an informal Green Gurus meetup! Stop by the Built Environment Plus booth (#4 on the map) at 6pm Monday (during the second half of the trade show reception) to say hi to some fellow Sustainability Leaders. SDL member Keihly Moore... Read more

Hi folks,

I’m sure most of you know Gail Brager, or at least know of her. For those who don’t, she helps run UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment and is a long-time champion of all the things that make buildings work for their occupants. Perhaps most notably, she was a co-author of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort option in ASHRAE... Read more

Wondering if anyone has a slide presentation on the Framework for Design Excellence that they would be willing to share (to present to students). Rather than defining my request as lazy I'd like to offer up the qualification of efficiency.  

Fluid-applied flooring (FAF), or resinous flooring, is made from various hazardous chemicals that can be released into the building, especially during application.

BuildingGreen-Approved Flooring

BuildingGreen selects FAF that meets CARB emissions standards AND either contains recycled content or offers other positive... Read more

...for all the folks on the west coast.

It’s smokey out there. For anyone looking for a cheap and relatively effective way to clean your indoor air, here is an article on a DIY box fan filters. 

https://www.texairfilters.com/a-variation-on-the-box-fan-with-merv-13-filter-air-cleaner/

This PSA is from our friends at NEEA (... Read more

Hello everyone,

Here's a reminder that our call for this month will be taking place next Tuesday, November 12th at 2:00pm EST.

Please feel free to join us!

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://zoom.us/j/248664490

One tap mobile
+16699006833,,248664490# US (San Jose)
+19292056099,,248664490# US (New York)... Read more

Hey Team,

I'm in a Living Future session where a number of manufacturers are talking about the low uptake they're seeing in their take back programs. Contractor friends... What barriers (if any) are you running into in using take back programs? How might we as architects help increase utilization of these programs?

Aley

Hi all,

All members of the WA Building Code Council received an email from Tim Attebery of the Washington State AGC and I'm trying to make sense of the role of the AGC and whether it is representing the consensus option of general contractors in Washington or not. The letter is very much against the energy code advancement, which... Read more

Extremely proud to say that the just-announced winner of the international 'Next Generation Facade' design competition is a team led by the 2017-18 EDR Research Fellow, Liz McCormick.   The facade normally separates inside from outside. What if the 'facade' was a place you occupied, where you worked? What if different parts of the facade... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Biobased Materials: Not Always Greener.

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


1. Explain why "biobased" is too general a term.
2. List the primary concerns associated with biobased building materials, finishes and furnishings, and wet-... Read more

Hi all,

We're seeing more interest and desire for outdoor work spaces, and as we consider the design implications around working outdoors, teams have been asking about wind comfort. We've tested Ingrid Cloud and now SimScale. I'm curious if anyone would recommend any other CFD tools that are geared toward architects? Also curious if... Read more

Hi folks,

Mahesh announced today that he's leaving his position as CEO of USGBC, GBCI, and ArkScoru, effective Nov. 1. An interim CEO will be announced tomorrow.

I think that Mahesh did some great things for the organization(s)--and he had some really loyal team members. He could also be challenging to work with--as I learned... Read more

We are excited to open registration for the Sustainable Construction Leaders Summit 2019! This year’s Summit will take place Tuesday, Nov. 19 in Atlanta in conjunction with Greenbuild. The Summit agenda will be shaped by the steering committee and collective feedback from the group. The day will culminate in a networking event with members of... Read more

Dear all,

A mechanical engineer on a healthcare project we are working on has asked for help in dividing the ventilation calculations between ASHRAE Standards 170 and 62.1; can anyone here help shed some light on it?

"This is the first time I am working on LEED for a hospital and I am not sure how the template wants me to show... Read more