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Endless Suburbs, Abundant Resources, and Sustainable Design?
Hiking around Lake Louise on a recent trip to Calgary, Alberta, I took in breathtaking views of big blue skies and the Canadian Rockies and felt grateful of the precious natural resources that this land offered. Upon my return to the reality of the urban city and endless suburbs, I had the opportunity to experience…
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Maximizing the Green Footprint: How Much Green Impact Can You Make?
In our article The Story of the Fireside: Seeing the Green in Value Engineering, we discussed how value engineering helps one take a systematic approach to evaluating a building system or product from different perspectives. This feature takes a closer look at the three types of green product categories and how you can evaluate them.…
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Simplify Solar with the First Curved Solar Roofing Tile
After two long days of non-stop hustling between seminars and product exhibits at the AIA (American Institute of Architects) 2009 National Convention and Expo, I was on my last stretch of speed walking through 800 plus vendor stalls. Fatigued and with a growling stomach, I was about to call it a day until I saw…
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Protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices
The Energy Star website is a terrific source for energy information covering everything from appliances to buildings and IT equipment. Tools and resources range from advice on energy efficiency in home improvements to energy management guidelines to various financial calculators. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.…
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Gallery of LEED Platinum certified buildings
There are at least 114 LEED Platinum certified buildings in the world. View a gallery of these projects at Cyan PDX. Let’s keep the momentum going! What do the greenest buildings in the world look like? Where are they and what makes them special? We hear these questions all the time and until now, we’ve…
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Can we meet the 2030 Challenge of being carbon-neutral by 2030?
Edward Mazria’s non-profit organization Architecture 2030 challenges the global architecture and building community, asking them to adopt design goals of reducing fossil fuel, GHG-emissions, and energy consumption in all new construction and renovation projects. Buildings are the major source of global demand for energy and materials that produce by-product greenhouse gases (GHG). Slowing the growth…
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Self-Healing Concrete
Self-healing concrete for safer, more durable, and greener infrastructure? Professor Victor Li at the University of Michigan has created concrete that can bend and heal itself. A concrete material developed at the University of Michigan can heal itself when it cracks. No human intervention is necessary–just water and carbon dioxide. A handful of drizzly days…
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Evaluating Whole Building Carbon Emissions
Two years ago, the Society of Building Science Educators* (SBSE) partnered with the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE), Educator/Practitioner Network, and Sustainability Discussion Group to spearhead the Carbon Neutral Design (CND) Project. This year at the 2009 National AIA Convention, Dennis A. Andrejko, FAIA, moderated a discussion of the CND…
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Cycling for Transportation: More Than Just Nice
Ah, a windmill and bicycles. Where else could this idyllic scene be other than the Netherlands? This windmill in Amsterdam is indeed a quaint historical relic, but the bikes most assuredly are not. In fact, they are the dominant mode of transportation in the modern-day city by the banks of the Amstel River. What, you…
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Sripadanna Residence: Going for the (LEED for Homes) Gold
Is it possible to achieve a 20 °F difference between indoor and outdoor spaces using passive design when it’s a blazing 100 °F outside? Yes, it is possible, and architect Hari Sripadanna has proven so in his house.The Sripadanna Residence is located in Saratoga, California, an area which experiences hot weather in the summer and…
