Envelope & Materials Archives

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Bullitt Center: Seattle, Wash.

Learn how the Bullitt Center is pushing the bounds of sustainable design—and how tenant buy-in is contributing to lower than expected energy use.

Sweetwater Spectrum: Sonoma, Calif.

Sweetwater Spectrum is a new national model for supportive housing, designed to offer life with purpose and dignity for adults on the autism spectrum.

New Orleans BioInnovation Center: New Orleans, LA

Recognizing that the most important product of a research lab is not chemicals, but insights and innovation, designers of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center sought to maximize human performance with daylight, views to nature, and places for reflection and collaboration.

Hollis Montessori School: Hollis, NH

At the Hollis Montessori School, the school environment is a teaching tool, so it made sense to build the first Passive House certified elementary school in the U.S.

Iowa Utilities Board and Office of Consumer Advocate: Des Moines, Iowa

When it comes to designing and operating high performing buildings, occupant behavior can be one of the hardest variables to predict and control.

Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building: Portland, OR

One of the most important aspects of this three-year renovation began when the construction ended.

Outagamie County Regional Airport General Aviation Terminal: Appleton, WI

Airports are often the face of a community, the first and last impression for the traveling public.

David & Lucile Packard Foundation Headquarters: Los Altos, CA

For the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, a headquarters that operated on a net zero energy basis wasn’t enough.

PNC Net Zero Bank Branch: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Solar panel canopies covering the ATM drive-through and pedestrian walkways at the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., PNC Bank branch are the first indication that this is no ordinary bank.

Locust Trace AgriScience Center: Lexington, KY

At the Locust Trace AgriScience Center, students learn agriculture by doing.

Haywood Community College Creative Arts Building: Clyde, N.C.

Conditioned by the mountain air and illuminated with ample daylight, the new home of Haywood Community College’s Professional Arts program creates inviting, inspiring spaces for students to create one-of-a-kind works of art.

Saint Martin’s University Cebula Hall: Lacey, Wash.

What does it take to inspire students to pursue careers that tackle some of the toughest engineering challenges of the 21st century?

Bosarge Family Education Center at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: Boothbay, ME

Visitors come to the Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens' Bosarge Family Education Center to improve their green thumbs, hear a concert or to celebrate a wedding.

Indiana Tech Wilfred Uytengsu Senior Center: Fort Wayne, IN

The renovation of this pre-Civil War era building demonstrates the potential for significant energy savings when historical structures are made “super efficient.”

Manitoba Hydro Place: Winnipeg, Canada

Manitoba Hydro, the province's sole energy provider, began planning for a new, energy-efficient headquarters in 2002. The design team soon realized that the extreme climate ...

California State University, Monterey Bay Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library: Monterey Bay, CA

The Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library is the academic hub for California State University Monterey Bay, which opened 12 years ago on the site of former military base Fort Ord.

Concord Retrofit House: Concord, MA

The American Foursquare, a Sears, Roebuck & Co. kit home, was a staple of small American towns between 1908 and 1940. This article describes a project to renovate ...

Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation: Evanston, IL

The Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill., committed to ethical architecture when it decided to replace its synagogue.

Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life at Tulane University: New Orleans, LA

In the period prior to Katrina, New Orleans often ignored its rich history of climate-responsive and cost-effective architecture, creating environments that were entirely ...

Plano Elementary School: Bowling Green, KY

Warren County, (Ky.), Public Schools have saved more than $4 million in energy costs since 2003. The newest school, Plano Elementary, uses 26.8 kBtu/ft2 yr.

Bethke Elementary: Timnath, CO

Colorado's Poudre School District reduces energy use as well as construction costs and time by using a prototype design that is progressively improved ...

Pearl River Tower: Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou, China, has leaped the hurdle of energy-efficient buildings with a single bound, moving into a new era of efficient super-tall towers.

Stellar Commercial Building: Jacksonville, FL

The design and construction firm Stellar compares the performance of a LEED® Silver office building on its headquarters campus with an older office building ...

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