Andy Wakefield of Lutron Electronics discusses support services in lighting control specifications to maximize system efficiency, ensure long product life, and minimize risk from design through post-occupancy.
EP100 (Energy Productivity 100) is a campaign for the world’s most influential businesses to commit to doubling their energy productivity by 2030. The campaign, developed and administered by The Climate Group, is an action of the We Mean Business Coalition. The campaign is in collaboration and alignment with The Global Alliance for Energy Productivity and the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative, who also call for doubling energy productivity and efficiency.
Modernizing Denver’s 1960s-era Byron G. Rogers Federal Building capitalized on a decision made in 1850 by the original city planners to lay out the downtown streets at 45 degrees to the four cardinal points. Without considering the solar orientation, the design respected the street orientation and the result placed the main buildings facing southwest. While this is great for watching the sun set over the mountains, the building becomes a giant solar heat collector.
Natural ventilation is usually not the first technique considered when designing a research lab. But the National University of Ireland, Galway, built a highly energy efficient lab at a low cost using passive strategies as the cornerstone.
Co-authors of Andrea Love and Kevin Sullivan discuss the natural ventilation, tight budget, and post-occupancy evaluation of the Biosciences Research Building.
As open plan offices grow increasingly common, so does the need for strategies to lessen noise from office activities. Niklas Moeller discusses advancements in the technology behind sound masking systems and how to achieve acoustic control and occupant comfort.
As communities across the U.S. race to conserve energy in pursuit of a $5 million prize, they are discovering what it takes to motivate energy-saving changes. One of the keys: Know your audience.
For buildings to withstand sea-level rise, coastline erosion, and hurricanes, they need to be built to work with nature, not against it. The Brock Environmental Center is a living example of how to minimize impact on the environment while being resilient to future challenges. The triple net zero building is the latest to receive Living Building Challenge certification and is the first in the U.S. to receive a permit for drinking rainwater treated to federal standards.
Resilient design is gaining traction, but costs and predicting future climate change effects pose barriers.
Houston's recent floods demonstrate the disastrous consequences of putting people, pavement and buildings in vulnerable places.
AIA COTE jury member Margaret Montgomery shares top trends seen in this year's winners.
Phase 2 of midtown Atlanta’s Technology Square project, known as Coda, includes a 21-story collaborative building developed by Portman Holdings for Georgia Tech, and will feature a unique elevator system installed for the first time in the Americas.
As water resources grow increasingly taxed and scarce in communities across the U.S., an Atlanta university is turning to an unlikely resource to reduce its drinking water demand: the local sewer. The WaterHub at Emory University turns waste into a resource, recycling wastewater via an ecological treatment facility–the first of its kind in the U.S. Its sustainable treatment process sets an example of how adaptive technology can be used to meet water needs while reducing water costs.
For schools in drought-stricken areas, net zero energy and water strategies help future-proof against utility rate hikes. But, the price tag for net zero can be too high for school budgets. Fortunately, a library project at Sacred Heart School in northern California illustrates that it is possible to deliver a net zero energy building within a conventional budget while teaching kids about the value of conserving resources.
Mike Rowland, facilities director of Georgia’s Education Department, discusses how insufficient funding for school facilities impacts student learning.
A sampling of products designed to save energy and reduce environmental impact.
Scott Heckel, P.E., describes how the building team helped the developer mitigate financial risk.
Conceived during the building slump of the Great Recession, this multi-tenant building in Madison, Wis., tells an important economic story: a developer-driven project can attain a high level of performance while remaining competitive and replicable in the market.
How does a building team deal with energy efficiency in an old building while maintaining its historic integrity? Author Carmen R. Evans details how this challenge and others were overcome.
Existing buildings hold tremendous potential for reducing the overall environmental impact of energy used by buildings. One Atlanta design firm sought to prove the possibilities for energy excellence in an existing building by transforming a 1940s former hardware shop. Located in a historic neighborhood undergoing revitalization, the project also exemplifies the complexities involved and care required to maintain ongoing performance in a living, breathing building.
Conceived as a replicable prototype for family-friendly, energy-efficient urban townhomes, this four-unit project in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood is proving the possibilities for market-rate, high performance housing. Traditionally, highly sustainable housing has been designed on a custom basis, available to customers willing to pay the associated cost premium. This net positive energy project proves that sustainable housing can also be affordable for homeowners, make business sense for developers and help reinvigorate urban neighborhoods.
Making a building from the late nineteenth century into a high-performing showplace is no easy feat. Author Perry Hausman, P.E., talks about the challenges of retrofitting an historic building.
Learn more about the authors behind the Bullitt Center case study.
Learn more about how the authors approached this project and the challenges they encountered.
Determine your building's potential energy efficiency with an As Designed evaluation. Powered by ASHRAE.
