BuildingGreen Report

Product Review

As resilience becomes a greater focus, the market for rainwater harvesting systems and components is growing. The companies described here provide a good starting point.

May 31, 2012

Rainwater capture seems more important every year as one region or another struggles with drought or other reasons for water shortage—which can even be caused by flooding (see “Resilient Design: Smarter Building for a Turbulent Future”). For this product survey, we sifted through numerous articles and our product database as well as through... Read more

News Brief

May 31, 2012

Increasing demand for renewable energy creates pressure to develop previously open land, but a new initiative points out an abundant source of land ripe for transformation: the nation’s nearly half-million vacant, contaminated sites.

Through “RE-Powering America’s Land,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of... Read more

Blog Post

May 30, 2012
Although exterior paints have moved beyond lead and the most toxic solvents, new coatings contain biocides that may pose a different set of concerns. Biocides play an important role in a paint's durability by protecting it from mildew, but biocides cannot make up for poor application practices.Photo: Bob Cusumano, Coatings Consultants, Inc.

... Read more

Blog Post

May 29, 2012
Innovative energy-savings products from the AIA National Convention this month. The energy-saving Haiku ceiling fan in bamboo. Click to enlarge.

Photo Credit: Big Ass Fans

 

Last week, I wrote about a number of innovative window and glazing products I came across at the AIA Convention in Washington, DC... Read more

News Analysis

May 29, 2012
Google is way out front of other organizations—both public and private—when it comes to screening materials for hazardous ingredients in its workplaces.

Since November 2010, Google’s facilities teams have been methodically adhering to stringent building product selection criteria for all of the company’s North American projects. To... Read more

Blog Post

May 23, 2012
Glazing and window manufacturers showed off some highly innovative products at the 2012 AIA Convention in Washington, DC Pythagoras Solar's new BIPV glass was one of two innovative glazing products on display at the Guardian booth at the AIA Convention. Click on image to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

I just spent... Read more

News Analysis

May 22, 2012
Results from year two of the program show increased participation but surprisingly little change in the results.

by Nadav Malin

At its annual convention in Washington, D.C., the American Institute of Architects released its second annual report documenting progress toward AIA’s 2030 Commitment. Developed to support... Read more

Blog Post

May 19, 2012
New EPD summaries give a snapshot view of LCA data, but are limited by their document-centric paradigm. This two-page summary of an EPD is a new format that seeks to make life-cycle assessment-based information easier to use.Image Credit: UL Environment

Environmental product declarations (EPDs) are, in theory, the answer to our... Read more

Blog Post

May 17, 2012
The opening keynote at AIA 2012 dishes up a surprisingly politicized main event but transitions smoothly to end on a high note. Welcome to AIA 2012 in Washington, D.C.Photo Credit: Paula Melton

A lot of things come to mind when I think about the annual AIA Convention; electoral politics isn't one of them. But today's opening keynote... Read more

Blog Post

May 16, 2012
BuildingGreen goes to town! On our way to D.C. for this year's AIA Convention, we stopped in NYC for a tour of the Bank of America tower that took us from the subterranean depths to the highest heights.

For a number of reasons, the Cook+Fox-designed Bank of America tower at One Bryant Park is an object lesson in how difficult it can be to... Read more

Blog Post

May 16, 2012
As the small wind turbine market feels the pain of temporary holds on state incentive programs, turbine certification could bring the stability and improve the market’s reputation. New Jersey placed a rebate incentive program on hold due to catastrophic mechanical failures of multiple small wind turbines.Photo Credit: World Future Energy Summit... Read more

News Brief

May 16, 2012

As architects from all over the country descend on Washington, D.C., this week for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) annual convention, the Honest Buildings real estate network is releasing data on more than 15,000 commercial and mixed-use buildings in the D.C. metro area.

The Honest Buildings online platform is... Read more

Blog Post

May 15, 2012
BikeSharing in Toronto. There are dozens of storage areas like this where members of Toronto's bikesharing organization can check out a bike.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

While challenging, it is possible to get away from our dependence on fossil fuels when it comes to our transportation needs

Last week I laid out some... Read more

News Analysis

May 14, 2012

The dangers of flame retardants have been understated and the benefits exaggerated, while groups promoting them may not be what they seem, according to the Chicago Tribune in a recent investigative series. In reviewing thousands of government, scientific, and internal industry documents, the Tribune found evidence of long-term... Read more

Blog Post

May 10, 2012
Now in its seventh year, the annual gathering of Living Building Challenge project teams and their kin—known as Living Future—has really hit its stride. Reinventing the materials supply chain is not for the faint-of-heart!Photo Credit: Eden Brukman, ILFI

The annual Living Future event rotates between Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland... Read more

News Analysis

A new report suggests that Green Globes is slightly more robust than LEED when it comes to fulfilling federal green building requirements for new construction.

May 9, 2012

 

6/5/2012 UPDATE: GSA has pushed back the dates of the listening sessions. Please read below for more details.

5/11/2012 UPDATE: This article has been updated to incorporate comments from GSA, including opportunities for public comments that will influence the outcome of the review process.After almost a decade of... Read more

Blog Post

Seals at window openings and other penetrations need to be done right the first time. Are your seals failing because of the most common application error—forgetting the bond break?

May 9, 2012

This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.

It's great they remembered the backer rod in this attempt to seal the joint, but with the depth of the sealant so skinny compared to the width, it's probably going to fail. Read on to learn why.

Continuous air and... Read more

Blog Post

May 8, 2012
Eliminating our use of fossil fuels is an admirable goal; how do we do that? Eliakim's Way all-electric homes on Martha's Vineyard use roof-mounted PV modules to generate most (or all) of their energy needs on an annual basis.Photo Credit: South Mountain Company

There are a lot of things not to like about fossil fuels. Most obviously... Read more

Blog Post

May 2, 2012
Making plastic from corn, soy, or sugarcane has some advantages--but fixing the petroleum problem barely touches what's wrong with PVC.

What if all of the common plastics in use today were made from renewable materials rather than from fossil fuels? Would they start looking better in the eyes of environmentalists?

This is no idle... Read more

Blog Post

May 1, 2012
The BuildingGreen office today. This historic building that once housed the drafting and tuning rooms of the Estey Organ Company, has unique slate-shingle siding. Photo: Alex Wilson. Click on image to enlarge. Reflections on the founding of BuildingGreen and our evolution as a company.

Last week, I reflected on Earth Day and how concern for... Read more