Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.

Government Buildings

OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.

Government Buildings

GSA posts new RFI for enabling energy efficiency, decarbonization in commercial buildings

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, recently released a new Request For Information (RFI) focused on enabling energy efficiency and decarbonization in commercial buildings. GSA wants to test innovative technologies through GSA’s Center for Emerging Building Technologies.

Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus.

Government Buildings

The halls of lawmakers, judges, and politicians demand a mix of functionality and awe-inspiring design. For an oasis of productivity on behalf of your nation’s people within the government’s budget, thinking outside the box is a requirement.

Apr 24, 2013

Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.

Charles David Keeling Apartments, La Jolla, Calif., by KieranTimberlake. Photo:

Apr 22, 2013

Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]

The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.

Apr 19, 2013

7 hip high-rise developments on the drawing board

Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's whimsical Dancing Dragons tower in Seoul is among the compelling high-rise projects in the works across the globe.

Apr 16, 2013

5 projects that profited from insulated metal panels

From an orchid-shaped visitor center to California’s largest public works project, each of these projects benefited from IMP technology.

BD+C Staff | Apr 10, 2013

Cladding and wall system creates fast result for military justice facility

Several innovations in sustainable, lean construction techniques have been gaining broad adoption…

BD+C Staff | Apr 9, 2013

National Synchrotron Light Source II achieves LEED Gold

The National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven…

Apr 2, 2013

6 lobby design tips

If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.

Mar 29, 2013

PBS broadcast to highlight '10 Buildings That Changed America'

WTTW Chicago, in partnership with the Society of Architectural Historians, has produced "10 Builidngs That Changed America," a TV show set to air May 12 on PBS.

Due to open in August 2013, the West Branch library in Berkeley, Calif., replace

Mar 27, 2013

Small but mighty: Berkeley public library’s net-zero gem

The Building Team for Berkeley, Calif.’s new 9,500-sf West Branch library aims to achieve net-zero—and possibly net-positive—energy performance with the help of clever passive design techniques.