The green building movement is poised on the brink of a new, more mature stage of development. Net-zero energy, net-zero water, net-zero waste, even net-zero stormwater projects—once thought to be impossible to achieve—are popping up all over. The Living Building Challenge, deemed by many practitioners to be the most arduous certification standard to meet, is winning the hearts and minds of AEC supergreenies seeking a competitive edge for their firms. And the fourth iteration of LEED, while having missed its anticipated unveiling at Greenbuild this month, should be out sometime in mid-2013.
“Green building is not a curiosity anymore,” says Aditya Ranade, Senior Analyst with Lux Research, which predicts the sector will reach $280 billion globally by 2020.
The big buzz: disclosure and transparency, says Russell Perry, FAIA, LEED Fellow, Senior Vice President with design firm SmithGroupJJR. He points to the recent release of publicly disclosed building energy use in New York City as an example of “increased visibility” that will contribute to the knowledge base on building performance.
Building product manufacturers are responding to the call for disclosure and transparency by issuing environmental product declarations to differentiate their products from the competition’s. Perry says EPDs will play a greater role in Materials & Resources credits for LEED v4.
Most recently, the International Living Future Institute launched Declare, a database of green building products (http://www.declareproducts.com) that provides a kind of “nutrition label” of product ingredients—all in support of the Living Building Challenge’s “Red List” and “Appropriate Sourcing” imperatives.
Also in the works: the Health Product Declaration Open Standard, a new “product chemistry disclosure tool” that its developers—the Healthy Building Network and BuildingGreen—say will provide manufacturers with a consistent format for reporting product content and associated health information. The HPD, which went through a pilot phase with more than 30 building product makers earlier this year, will be launched at Greenbuild.
Finally, there’s the Honest Buildings Network (www.honestbuildings.com), an open-network database that seeks to connect stakeholders in the real estate industry to “drive demand for better buildings all over the world.” Founder Riggs Kobiak calls it “a cross between Yelp and LinkedIn for the built environment.”
In the following pages, the editors present numerous highly sustainable projects, along with trends and ideas from leading AEC green building firms. +
Related Stories
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 1, 2023
High-rise cancer center delivers new model for oncology care
Atlanta’s 17-story Winship Cancer Institute at Emory Midtown features two-story communities that organize cancer care into one-stop destinations. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and May Architecture, the facility includes comprehensive oncology facilities—including inpatient beds, surgical capacity, infusion treatment, outpatient clinics, diagnostic imaging, linear accelerators, and areas for wellness, rehabilitation, and clinical research.
K-12 Schools | May 30, 2023
K-12 school sector trends for 2023
Budgeting and political pressures aside, the K-12 school building sector continues to evolve. Security remains a primary objective, as does offering students more varied career options.
Multifamily Housing | May 30, 2023
Boston’s new stretch code requires new multifamily structures to meet Passive House building requirements
Phius certifications are expected to become more common as states and cities boost green building standards. The City of Boston recently adopted Massachusetts’s so-called opt-in building code, a set of sustainability standards that goes beyond the standard state code.
Architects | May 30, 2023
LRK opens office in Orlando to grow its presence in Florida
LRK, a nationally recognized architectural, planning, and interior design firm, has opened its new office in downtown Orlando, Fla.
Urban Planning | May 25, 2023
4 considerations for increasing biodiversity in construction projects
As climate change is linked with biodiversity depletion, fostering biodiverse landscapes during construction can create benefits beyond the immediate surroundings of the project.
K-12 Schools | May 25, 2023
From net zero to net positive in K-12 schools
Perkins Eastman’s pursuit of healthy, net positive schools goes beyond environmental health; it targets all who work, teach, and learn inside them.
Contractors | May 24, 2023
The average U.S. contractor has 8.9 months worth of construction work in the pipeline, as of April 2023
Contractor backlogs climbed slightly in April, from a seven-month low the previous month, according to Associated Builders and Contractors.
Mass Timber | May 23, 2023
Luxury farm resort uses CLT framing and geothermal system to boost sustainability
Construction was recently completed on a 325-acre luxury farm resort in Franklin, Tenn., that is dedicated to agricultural innovation and sustainable, productive land use. With sustainability a key goal, The Inn and Spa at Southall was built with cross-laminated and heavy timber, and a geothermal variant refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling system.
Architects | May 23, 2023
DEI initiatives at KAI Enterprises, with Michael Kennedy, Jr. and Gyasi Haynes
Michael Kennedy, Jr. and Gyasi Haynes of KAI Enterprises, St. Louis, describe their firm's effort to create a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion—and how their own experiences as black men in the design and construction industry shaped that initiative.
Multifamily Housing | May 23, 2023
One out of three office buildings in largest U.S. cities are suitable for residential conversion
Roughly one in three office buildings in the largest U.S. cities are well suited to be converted to multifamily residential properties, according to a study by global real estate firm Avison Young. Some 6,206 buildings across 10 U.S. cities present viable opportunities for conversion to residential use.
