Archive for the 'Sustainability' Category
Recognizing the need and opportunity to improve sustainable building practices, Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, in collaboration with the City of Helsinki, has launched a sustainable development design competition. The goal was to attract and identify the best team to design a large building complex on a reclaimed harbour at the western edge of Helsinkis [...]
The Federal Building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, features an extensive use of natural light to illuminate offices and a white roof to reflect heat.
It has LEED certification, the country’s most recognized seal of approval for green buildings.
But the building is hardly a model of energy efficiency. According to an environmental assessment last year, it did [...]
When does a Prius have the same environmental impact as a Hummer? The 95 percent of the time it’s parked.
Most people don’t spend time thinking about parking spaces unless they’re looking for one. But these 9′ by 18′ rectangles of urban real estate have a vast impact on North American communities. They affect the economy, [...]
I just came accross this interesting approach for web-based collaborative LEED tracking. Is anybody using this system or other web-based services. What are the benefits over using LEED Online?
This information was contributed by Houston Neal of Software Advice:
“Tracking LEED credits is a document-intensive process. Just ask any experienced LEED Accredited Professional (AP). Submittal documentation includes [...]
You may have used carbon footprint calculators or ecological footprint calculators; now there is one for calculating your water footprint, too.
The Calculator gives you an estimate of the total amount of water you use, what is called your water footprint. The Calculator takes into account not only the water used in your home, but also [...]
This is a neat study tool that I came accross lately: “LeedVisual synthesizes difficult information about LEED NC credit into easy to understand and memorizable pictoral format.”
See www.leedvisual.com for more ..
The global integrated design firm, Perkins+Will launched the 2030 e2 Energy Estimating Tool. This free online tool was created to assist Perkins+Will’s designers in designing buildings to achieve the 2030 challenge. Specifically, 2030 e2 allows users to set target goals for four key areas: energy efficiency, green power offsets, on-site renewable energy, and grid-supplied renewable [...]
The Carbon Neutral Design Project offers a survey of currently available energy tools amongst other resources. The Carbon Neutral Design (CND) Project is a joint effort by the AIA, members of AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE), and the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) to produce educational and resource materials for carbon neutral design. [...]
How could a butterfly inspire your next design? Opening keynote Janine Benyus presented the Biomimicry Institute’s new initiative www.AskNature.org at Living Future 09. AskNature is a searchable database of thousands of Nature’s best strategies and ideas–a valuable resource for applying biomimicry to building designs and strategies.
