GAB Report library
Sustainability
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Size Matters, Along with Good Design and High Performance
On Earth Day, Seattle- and Portland-based construction company Hammer & Hand unveiled the winners of perFORM 2014: A House Design Competition. The competition challenged emerging architecture professionals to fuse high design with high performance building in the design of a single-family house in Seattle that achieves Passive House-like levels of energy performance while being resourceful,…
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JW Eco-Technology’s Innovative Load-Bearing Permeable Pavement
With increasing urbanization and development, increasing floods and droughts due to climate change, and diminishing fresh water resources, stormwater management is a real and urgent topic of discussion. Recently I came across a promising permeable pavement solution at the Taiwan International Smart Green City Expo/Taiwan International Green Industry Show — the JW Pavement Eco-Technology. Without…
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Sustainability Around the Bay
The 2014 AIA SF Design Awards Gala last month honored San Francisco Bay Area architecture firms for their work in creativity and bringing positive impact to the built environment. Four projects winning in the Energy + Sustainability Category represent a strong testament to our industry’s commitment in making progress towards building net zero energy buildings. Two…
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2014 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project Winners Announced
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have just announced this week their selection of the 2014 Top Ten Green Projects, examples of sustainable architecture and ecological American design projects that protect and enhance the environment. The projects include new and adaptive re-use buildings, ranging from government offices to…
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Fire Safety Without Harmful Chemicals Webinar
The What: The Sustainable Furnishings Council will be offering a free webinar on the topic of Fire Safety Without Harmful Chemicals. Flame retardant chemicals can be found in upholstered furniture as well as building materials such as insulation (expanded and extruded polystyrene (EPS and XPS) and polyurethane and polyisocyanurate). Learn from expert Dr. Arlene Blum…
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Buildings That Follow the Sun
Can building floor plates rotate in response to sun movement? Sir Richard Branson seems to believe it’s possible. He recently introduced Virgin Buildings, a new generation of ultra-green skyscrapers aimed to positively change the landscape for the environment, architecture, and cities around the world. Sir Branson envisions Virgin Buildings to provide their own food, water,…
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No Border School Project Empowered by Traditional Construction
Editor’s Foreward: Portuguese architects João Guimarães and Miguel Magalhães of Aware Collective have designed No Border School, a 208 square meter modular and sustainable school for Burmese refugee children in Mae Sot, Thailand. The project is awaiting funding and I hope they will be able to realize such a thoughtful project which could have a…
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The Ideal Home Show Tree House
Back in October 2013, Blue Forest, a UK-based tree house design and construction company, was approached by Quiet Mark to design and build an ambitious and extraordinary next-generation tree house as the central feature for London’s Ideal Home Show 2014. After a few months of design and planning, The Quiet Tree House by Quiet Mark…
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Women In Green is Still a Hot Topic
Editor’s Foreword: This article reports on the Book Circle’s February meeting hosted by the Organization of Women Architects and Design Professionals (OWADP) based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The book featured and discussed was Women In Green, Voices of Sustainable Design. It’s not often that one has the chance to read a book, and…
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11th Annual Water Conservation Showcase in San Francisco
The What: The 11th Annual Water Conservation Showcase brings together designers, building professionals, decision makers, and community members to discuss the latest in water conservation strategies, technologies, policies, and resources. There will be in-depth presentations including several of them focusing on drought issues. There will be more than thirty representatives from the manufacturing sector Aquacell and…