USGBC Opens Green Building Information Gateway, GBIG.org

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has launched a massive online database of buildings called the Green Building Information Gateway, or GBIG. Many of the buildings with the most robust data in GBIG are LEED-certified, but despite its USGBC pedigree the database is not limited to LEED. The tool allows users to:

• find green buildings around the world by entering an address

• view green building data by city and find all green buildings within an area

• view project data by green building strategy (such as building reuse or daylighting), including how LEED credits or other certifications were achieved

• see timelines of green building “activities” like LEED, Living Building Challenge, or Energy Star certification

• compare green attributes among buildings

• look at energy performance data of buildings for which it’s available—such as those required to report energy data in New York and other cities

“The launch of GBIG represents years of research, information-gathering, and testing,” said Chris Pyke, vice president for research at USGBC, in a press release. “Green building has gone from an era of ‘firsts’ to a global movement connected by data.”

Among the many “collections” assembled in GBIG are:

• projects with publicly accessible 3D building models• buildings organized by type, such as sports venues and K–12 schools• projects for which a McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge Report is available• High Performance Buildings Database projects displayed on BuildingGreen.com

For more information:

Green Building Information Gateway

www.gbig.org