GAB Report library

2016


  • 2016 ZNE School Leadership Awards

    2016 ZNE School Leadership Awards

    California leads the U.S. in the transformation of K-12 schools and community colleges to achieving zero net energy (ZNE) performance that combines energy efficiency and renewable energy resources to produce at least as much energy as they consume annually. California’s K-12 public schools’ energy bills total more than $700 million a year. Schools built and renovated…

  • Building Below Zero: The Net Zero Plus Transformation

    Building Below Zero: The Net Zero Plus Transformation

    Thank you PBS for spreading the word – net zero buildings are front and center now. American public TV station PBS recently aired “Building Below Zero: The Net Zero Plus Transformation,” a documentary written, produced and directed by Jim Jackson. Actor and environmentalist Ted Danson narrates this examination of moving beyond net zero to net…

  • International Zero Net Carbon Conference in China

    International Zero Net Carbon Conference in China

    The What: Architecture 2030 and CEDAAB are hosting an important international conference on China’s move towards a Zero Net Carbon built environment. China ratified the historic Paris Agreement on climate change on September 3, 2016 and committed to taking a global leadership role in addressing this crisis. China is currently urbanizing at a rate unmatched in human…

  • BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Green Products for 2017

    BuildingGreen’s Top 10 Green Products for 2017

    BuildingGreen’s team announced its 2017 Top 10 Products List at last week’s Greenbuild in Los Angeles. For the past 15 years, BuildingGreen has recognized green building products that significantly improve upon standard “business-as-usual” practices. These products help transform the industry by conserving energy and water, reducing emissions, and fundamentally changing how we approach our building…

  • Catalyzing the Future of Zero Energy Buildings This Week

    Catalyzing the Future of Zero Energy Buildings This Week

    The What: Join the 2016 Getting to Zero National Forum this week to help catalyze the future of zero energy buildings and participate in three jam-packed days of tours, workshops, networking opportunities, interactive sessions and thought leadership about the growing trend toward zero net energy (ZNE) buildings. Luminaries in this field will set the stage with a vision…

  • Why Green Building Materials Are Here to Stay

    Why Green Building Materials Are Here to Stay

    Editor’s Note: Contributing author Megan Ray Nichols created and writes for her own blog Schooled by Science. Green building practices and materials are growing in popularity in the United States as well as throughout the world. Indeed, given the increasing need for sustainability and the finite nature of the world’s resources, almost all buildings will…

  • Open-sourcing: Taking Sustainability to Another Level

    Open-sourcing: Taking Sustainability to Another Level

    Can you imagine receiving free tools and instructions to build your own house and building materials, and possibly start your own village? Open Building Institute, founded by TED fellow and founding member of the Open Source Hardware Association, Dr. Catarina Mota, has teamed up with Open Source Ecology to open source blueprints and tools for…

  • perFORM Design Competition Extended

    perFORM Design Competition Extended

    Calling all emerging architectural professionals! The deadline for the third annual perFORM Design Competition has been extended to Friday, July 15, 2016. Design a Net Zero Energy, mixed-use, multifamily building in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle. $6,000 in awards will go to winning entries by architectural interns and students based in the US and…

  • ZNE School Retrofit Workshop

    ZNE School Retrofit Workshop

    The What: Join a no-cost ZNE School Retrofit Workshop to learn how existing K-12 schools and community colleges can enhance spaces for academic success and achieve ZNE through whole-building retrofits. Zero net energy (ZNE) K-12 schools and community colleges support better quality of education for students by providing access to natural ventilation that brings in fresh air and…

  • Hua Nan Bank Goes for the Gold

    Hua Nan Bank Goes for the Gold

    The Xinyi Central Business District in Taipei, Taiwan is home to a handful of buildings designed by well known architecture firms including C.Y. Lee & Partners of Taipei 101 fame, Paris-based Vincent Callebaut Architectures, U.S.-based Richard Meier and Partners, and Taipei-based KRIS YAO | ARTECH. Recently I had a chance to tour the office headquarters…