Category: Green Building
green building
GREEN BUILDING
Top 10 states for LEED green building in 2020 show strong adoption by offices, schools and healthcare
The USGBC has released its annual list of the top 10 states for LEED green building with Massachusetts ranking first in the nation. LEED is the world’s most widely used green building program and was created by USGBC to set standards and define best practices for high-performing, healthy, green buildings. The top states in 2020 certified a remarkable 1,171 projects with more than 60% representing offices, education and healthcare facilities.
Read MoreChristiana Figueres, architect of the historic Paris Climate Agreement, to keynote Greenbuild 2020
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Informa Connect are proud to announce that Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will headline the 2020 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. This year’s virtual Greenbuild experience will take place November 10-12 with three virtual summits focused on green business, resilience and global health and wellness, taking place September 10, October 1 and October 22 as a lead up to the main event. Registration is now open.
Read MoreRegistration opens for IMPACT 2020, Ed Begley Jr. announced as keynote
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), creators of the LEED green building rating system, announced that registration is now open for IMPACT 2020. The conference will be held May 5-6, 2020 at the LEED Platinum RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota, and features a keynote from actor, environmentalist and green building enthusiast Ed Begley, Jr. The IMPACT conference is the largest green building conference and expo in the Midwest and attracts building professionals, sustainability leaders and change makers from across the region.
Read MoreMohawk receives Canada’s first zero carbon dual certification
The Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation at Mohawk College has become the first building in Canada to receive Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) Standard certification in both the Design and Performance categories from the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). The high-performance building envelope, consisting of triple-pane glazing and insulated pre-cast sandwich panels, maximizes heating, cooling and natural light.
Read MoreInaugural USGBC Build it Better: Jersey City Conference Convenes Sustainability Leaders from 10 States Across the Northeast
The U.S. Green Building Council will hold its inaugural Build it Better: Jersey City conference on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019 at the Liberty House, 76 Audrey Zapp Dr., Jersey City, NJ 07305. The conference will unite green building leaders across New England and the Mid-Atlantic for the first event of its kind in the region.
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PASSIVE HOUSE DESIGN
River Architects completes the world’s first Passive House Certified cidery
River Architects, a Hudson Valley-based architecture firm specializing in sustainability, celebrates the completion of the world’s first Passive House Certified cidery – Seminary Hill Orchard & Cidery in Callicoon, New York. The 9,300-square-foot building, which opens June 25, 2021, houses an organic hard cider production facility, tasting area, commercial kitchen, and event space.
Read MoreSustainability design expert John Peterson shares commercial, residential design trends
The director of sustainable design and building innovation for MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA), John Peterson, delivered a presentation entitled “Inspired Design Trends for Commercial and Residential Construction” at the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) Virtual Annual Conference. In this session led by John Peterson, participants learned the latest on sustainability demands and the popular ways buildings are being designed to surpass the highest sustainability and energy-efficiency benchmarks.
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What is the Passive House?
Dr. Andrea Frisque discusses passive house, an approach to sustainable buildings that has emerged from Europe and is growing in popularity. Dr. Frisque has over 15 years’ experience in sustainable-design analysis and computer modeling and advanced knowledge in heat and mass transfer, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics.
Read MoreDELTA®-VENT SA receives Passive House Institute certification
Passive House buildings provide optimal thermal comfort with minimal energy costs. To achieve this level of energy efficiency, the quality of the components used in this type of construction must meet stringent requirements. Dörken Systems Inc. is pleased to announce DELTA®-VENT SA, a high-performance, three-layer air- and water-resistive barrier, has received Passive House component certification from the Passive House Institute (PHI).
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Green Hammer Design Build and Rose Villa announce first Zero Energy senior living multi-family project in Portland
The first of its kind in the Portland senior living marketplace, The Oaks Zero Energy Neighborhood at Rose Villa is designed so that each residence meets its own energy needs through a combination of ultra-energy-efficient design and on-site renewable energy generation.The Oaks is a neighborhood within Rose Villa, a cottage community for senior living set on 22 acres along the Willamette River, designed and built by the Portland-based design build firm Green Hammer.
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RESILIENT DESIGN
Unveiling Resilience 2021: A new built environment webinar series by NIBS
The National Institute of Building Sciences has launched a monthly webinar series, Resilience 2021, around the built environment and the events that continue to challenge the nation and its building communities. “From natural disasters and social unrest to a pandemic that followed us into a new year, the past 12 months have changed lives and businesses,” says Lakisha A. Woods, CAE, President and CEO of NIBS. “Our webinar series will address how a year of challenges ultimately can build resilience in our communities, infrastructure and the places we live, work, learn and play.”
Read MoreGlobal Resiliency Dialogue releases report detailing consideration of climate risk in building codes
The Global Resiliency Dialogue published findings of its first international survey in the report, “The Use of Climate Data and Assessment of Extreme Weather Event Risks in Building Codes around the World.” The report is the first deliverable of the Global Resiliency Dialogue and provides valuable context about the current level of integration of climate science in the provisions of advanced building codes around the world.
Read MoreFebruary 2 FGIA webinar to provide updates to tornado, hurricane storm shelter standard
The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) will host a webinar entitled “ICC 500-2020: Updates to the Tornado and Hurricane Storm Shelter Standard” on Tues., Feb. 2 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. This webinar will provide an overview of the changes made to the newest edition of ICC 500 storm shelter requirements.
Read MoreApplications open for communities to pilot new buildings and housing benchmarks
The Alliance for National & Community Resilience (ANCR), a member of the International Code Council’s family of solutions, has opened the application process for communities to join an in-depth piloting program for new buildings and housing benchmarks. As part of the program, communities will participate in ANCR’s Community Resilience Benchmarks (CRB) system, which supports communities in evaluating their current resilience and identifying strategies for improvement. Uniquely, this system assesses the social, organizational and infrastructural aspects of communities to enable examination of the community’s vulnerabilities and strengths.
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FGIA offers hurricane resources, FAQs as season begins
Hurricane season officially begins June 1 each year. To help those in the industry both prepare and share relevant information with consumers, the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) has prepared a series of hurricane-related resources. These include a frequently asked questions section about hurricane protection, a white paper on storm-driven rain and several FGIA technical documents.
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ZERO NET ENERGY DESIGN
Nationalarenan 3 – Scandinavia’s first ‘Plushus’ hotel
Scandinavia’s first zero-energy hotel, Nationalarenan 3 in Arenastaden, is now in the final stages of completion. The building produces as much energy as it consumes and has now achieved FEBY ‘Gold Plushus’ certification. FEBY’s purpose as an organization is to increase and develop energy-efficient construction.
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HGA-designed Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, Minn., on track to achieve Zero Energy Certification
Sitting on 160 acres of forest, marsh and restored prairie in the heart of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, is the new Westwood Hills Nature Center interpretive center. As a demonstration in support of their Green Building Policy and Climate Action Plan, the City of St. Louis Park, challenged HGA to create a zero energy building to serve as a teaching tool, demonstrating passive and active strategies for energy efficiency and stormwater management, in addition to showcasing interpretive exhibits highlighting Minnesota’s landscape and wildlife habitat. The project reinforces the city’s long legacy of environmental stewardship.
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Sustainable Energy Fund’s new net-zero energy office building designed by Ashley McGraw Architects
Working with the goal set by the Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF), a new net-zero energy office building was designed and built to demonstrate that a net-zero energy approach can be used for a leasable office building for a similar development cost to comparable office buildings. “This project provides a blueprint for achieving net-positive energy within the financial structure of a speculative building,” said Andrew Schuster, Ashley McGraw Principal and leader of the firm’s commercial architecture practice.
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AIA releases latest 2030 Commitment results
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced today that architects and engineers participating in the AIA’s 2030 Commitment are reporting the greatest reduction in predicted energy use (pEUI) in the program’s 10-year history. The report—2030 by the Numbers: The 2019 Summary of the AIA 2030 Commitment—amalgamates predicted energy use data in buildings from 311 companies participating in the 2030 Commitment and analyzes design phase data from more than 20,300 projects.
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Holistic design for first-of-its-kind water reuse initiative
Working alongside Denver Water, the General Contractor Mortenson Construction and the Owner’s Representative Trammell Crow, the Stantec designed building is not only on track for LEED Platinum certification and Net Zero Energy use, but it also stands poised to introduce the most revolutionary approach to office scaled water conservation and reuse in the State of Colorado. The building’s sustainable features include: onsite solar; a radiant slab powered by the complex’s central utility plant to conserve heat and energy; a high-efficiency triple pane-glazed window system; and biophilic design.
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