Championing the
Changemakers

In this ninth installment of my ten-part series on resilient design I'm focusing beyond individual buildings to the community scale. Following a natural disaster or... Read more

Editor's note: Since the original posting of this blog, we have revised our opinion of Eleek, and written more about its cast aluminum hardware... Read more

Time and again we’ve seen hazardous chemicals in building materials replaced with ingredients that we later learn are no better than the originals. In a move that could help change that pattern, well-known standards developer and product certifier NSF International has announced a new chemical evaluation program using the GreenScreen... Read more

When the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs) were introduced in 2009, it quickly became clear that MPR #6 would be perhaps the most controversial and the most difficult to comply with. Under the requirements of MPR #6... Read more

The federal government has been one of the biggest supporters of LEED certification in the last few years, with the General Services... Read more

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

The Active Design Guidelines developed by New York City collect many of these design strategies—for cities, neighborhoods, and individual buildings—into a free reference guide. Baani Singh, Assoc. AIA, who is healthy LEED and green development coordinator at New York’s Center for Active Design, points to alarming rates of obesity: 40% of... Read more

Aging water infrastructure could seriously imperil both public health and the economy if current investment trends continue, according to a new report released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

In the second report in its “Failure to Act” series, the group lays out the economic consequences of increasingly unreliable... Read more

Building science is an integrated blend of technical disciplines, including physics, chemistry, biology, climatology, and even ecology. It involves understanding everything from molecules and materials to mock-ups and models. Deep understanding and integration of all these disciplines takes time; maybe that is why many of our building... Read more

Every week or two, EBN’s inbox lights up with the latest research breakthrough that could slash the cost of photovoltaics (PV) by dramatically increasing efficiency. While these laboratory “eureka” moments are genuine, developing them for the marketplace takes time. In the next few years, solar industry experts say it is not novel technology... Read more

As they enter their 20s and 30s, says the report, members of Generation Y are concerned with “rightsizing”: living in smaller, more affordable spaces in exchange for easier commutes and access to resources. At the same time, their parents (the Baby Boomers) find themselves entering retirement with dwindling savings and downsizing from suburbia... Read more

By Peter YostHydroGap, manufactured by Benjamin Obdyke, is an innovative new weather-resistive barrier (WRB), drainage space, and air barrier all rolled into one. This polypropylene-based, nonwoven housewrap has thermoplastic olefin (TPO) spacers that create a 1 mm (1⁄32") free-draining air space between cladding and sheathing. Because the... Read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved three hydrocarbon refrigerants for use in household and small commercial refrigerators and freezers: isobutane, propane, and R-441a (a proprietary, blended hydrocarbon also known as HCR-188C). The three chemicals, often referred to as “natural” refrigerants, are alternatives to the... Read more

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has provided $95.8 million to fund sustainable community planning and economic development throughout the U.S. Twenty-seven communities and organizations will receive the grants, which fall into two categories. Community Challenge grants support upgrades to pedestrian or... Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the third in its series of guides for 50% energy reduction in commercial and public buildings toward the goal of net-zero energy use. The “Advanced Energy Design Guide for Medium to Big Box Retail Buildings” is aimed at designers, contractors, and facility managers in the retail sector.... Read more

To read what manufacturers and distributors say about it, you'd think autoclaved aerated concrete... Read more

Periodic drought is something that a significant portion of the U.S. will have to get used to in the coming decades. Climate scientists tell us that while precipitation will increase overall with climate change, certain regions, including the American... Read more