GreenCE Sustainable Design and Construction

LEED v4.1 Certification Webinars - "Ask the Experts"

The USGBC has launched a series of LEED v4.1 webinars to educate design professionals and building product manufacturers. The ‘Ask The Expert’ webinars include USGBC and GBCI experts who answer questions about the ratings systems, LEED v4.1 credits, energy performance, LEED v4.1 exam, commissioning requirements, and many more topics. USGBC released the LEED v4.1 BD+C draft in December 2018....

FREE COURSE: FSC-Certified Wood in Construction and Green Building

FREE COURSE: FSC-Certified Wood in Construction and Green Building 1 AAA Structured Learning Hour / 1 AIA HSW/LU CE Hour / 1 AIBD CE Hour / 1 GBCI General Hour for LEED Professionals / 1 OAA Structured Learning Hour / 1 SAA Core Learning Hour /  Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification has been a leading driver of global forest conservation since 1994, and the green building movement is a cornerstone of...

Tiny Houses, Big Deal

It’s hard to preach about sustainable living when just owning or renting a home seems to be a hardship for more people than not lately. Who can think about sustainable choices that may cost more, when it's a struggle to pay the rent or mortgage? So when I write about habits that save electricity or water, or leave a smaller carbon footprint, I do so in the spirit of saving the earth, battling climate change AND saving money. It's...

Earth Day and the Sustainability Industry

I was a sophomore in high school, in the early 90s, when I first heard about Earth Day. I jumped on the tree hugging movement gladly, and adopting the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” phrase as my mantra. I frequented a shop in downtown Portland, OR, that sold earth friendly items, many that had phrases or images intended to encourage others to save the earth (or at least antagonize the ones who didn’t want to!) My favorite item was a...

Overview of the USGBC’s Living Standard Research Report

In November 2018, at the Greenbuild International Conference, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced their plans for creating a new living standard. The USGBC’s President and CEO, Mahesh Ramanujam, said in the announcement, “In the past, we have delivered on our promises of certifications, signifying high quality spaces in which we can live and work…Now, by harnessing the power of our partnerships with companies and...

Saving Energy with Daylighting Design

In a previous five-part series, Climate Change: It’s All About the Straws, Isn’t it?, I explored the five main things that are effecting climate change, according to Bill Gates. He lists electricity (25%), agriculture (24%), manufacturing (21%), transportation (14%), and buildings (6%) with a final miscellaneous category contributing 10%. The categories on this list weren’t as surprising as the ways in which those...

Smart Buildings: Rising to the Challenge of the Future

By definition, the Internet of Things, or IoT, is the network of connected devices that contain electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and connectivity which enables these things to connect, interact, and exchange data. It goes beyond the standard connected devices like computers, smartphones, and tablets, and applies to typically non-internet enabled devices ranging from vehicles, heart monitors, watches, and even buildings. So just how...

FREE COURSE: Inferno: Protecting Buildings and People from Fire

FREE COURSE: Inferno: Protecting Buildings and People from Fire 1 AAA Core Learning PDH / 1 AIA HSW/LU CE Hour / 1 AIBD CE Hour / 1 GBCI General Hour for LEED Professionals / 1 OAA Structured Learning Hour / 1 SAA Core Learning Hour /  This one hour course will describe the evolution of light wood-frame and mass timber (CLT) construction and why it is an effective method to solving the affordable housing...

The Emergence of Mass Timber for Urban Building Projects

During the wood-age of building, nearly every metropolitan city had a giant fire, some more than once: Boston in 1872; London in 1666 (and 1212…and 1130…1135…and so on…London is one of the most well-known tinderboxes on the planet); Chicago 1871; and San Francisco 1906, to name a few. These fires were attributed not only to materials used in building, but also a lack of enough fire fighters, low water pressure, and...

Climate Change, Part 5: It’s All About the Straws, Isn’t It?

This is this the final installment to the Climate Change series I’ve been writing for the last month or so, based on Bill Gates’s blog post. Since I’m wrapping it up, it seems timely to explain why I referenced straws as the title. My youngest daughter is an environmental champion and has been since she joined the Green Team at her elementary school in 3rd grade nearly seven years ago. My older son, however, is skeptical that...

Free Green Building Webinar: Daylighting Success Strategies with Sun Control Louvers, September 27, 12 - 1 pm EDT

Access to daylight has been shown to increase productivity in the workplace, improve students’ performance, and even increase sales in retail environments. A well-designed daylit building also uses less energy, conserving natural resources and reducing air pollution. In this course, we explore how advanced daylighting strategies using shading devices such as overhangs and vertical and horizontal fins contribute to LEED v4.1, save energy,...

Free Green Building Webinar: Design It Healthy, Keep It Healthy: Strategies to Support Resilient, Healthy Interiors, September 20, 12-1 pm

A building’s resilience is often thought of as its ability to withstand the impact of external stressors. But, there are also many internal stressors that can contribute to a building’s resilience, and ultimate the health of the building and the people inside it. This session will build on the concept, "Design It Healthy, Build It Healthy, Keep It Healthy" with a focus on smart construction practices and systems and...

Free Green Building CE Webinar: Where Sustainability Meets Innovation, January 26, 12-1 pm EST

This course discusses the impact of buildings on the natural environment and offers insight on designing to minimize those impacts through sun control and mastery of the elements. The discussion emphasizes implementing design methods including specification of technologies such as sun shade and daylighting canopy systems, as well as materials that contain recycled content. Designing as part of a holistic building environment is critical to...

Free Green Building Webinar: Architectural Vertical Opening Solutions, January 19, 12-1 pm EST

In this course, we will discuss vertical operating systems to better understand their construction and the operating systems used in each type. Characteristics of various types of vertical operating systems will be presented as well as limitations to consider when specifying the right product for each unique project. An emphasis will be placed on safety features, the ease of operating the systems, and compliance to codes, to ensure each product...

Free Green Building Webinar: Creating Flexible Spaces Using Vertical Openings, December 21, 12 -1 pm

This one-hour course discusses vertical opening systems, how they’re built, differences in operation, and typical uses for interior and exterior applications. We will also consider features that influence the end user’s experience, including structural and electrical needs that can affect your flexible space’s final design. Learning Objectives:  Identify the different types of vertical openings and determine which...

Free Green Building Webinar: Polyiso - The Next Generation Air & Water Resistive Barrier, Wednesday, April 7, 12 - 1pm EDT

To educate about ‘Building Longevity and Sustainability’ and how these concepts impact making buildings more energy efficient. The course examines how foil-faced polyiso continuous insulation can function as multiple control layers, providing Air and Water Resistive Barriers, in addition to providing a thermal control layer, and meeting NFPA 285 fire code standards. Additionally, the course reviews building codes and standards regarding how...

Free Green Building Webinar: Creating Flexible Spaces Using Vertical Openings, March 24, 12 pm EDT

This one-hour course will discuss vertical opening systems, how they’re built, differences in operation & typical usages for interior & exterior applications. Also, this webinar will talk about features to consider that influence the end user’s experience and structural and electrical needs that can affect your flexible space’s final design. Learning Objectives:  Identify the different types of vertical openings and determine...

Free Green Building Webinar: Daylighting by Design, March 3, 12 pm EST

This course discusses the benefits of a thoughtfully-designed light control system and how to make it work for your project's natural- lighting and shading needs. The discussion emphases implementing design methods including specification of technologies such as sun shade and canopy systems that creates useful and aesthetically-pleasing daylight systems. Designing to not only minimize solar heat gain and sunlight, but to successfully re-purpose...

Free Green Building Webinar: Polyiso - The Next Generation Air & Water Resistive Barrier, March 1, 12 pm EST

To educate about ‘Building Longevity and Sustainability’ and how these concepts impact making buildings more energy efficient. The course examines how foil-faced polyiso continuous insulation can function as multiple control layers, providing Air and Water Resistive Barriers, in addition to providing a thermal control layer, and meeting NFPA 285 fire code standards. Additionally, the course reviews building codes and standards regarding how...

Free Green Building Webinar: Environmental Product Declarations Drive Restrooms to the Lead in Green Design, December 17, 12pm

Construction is going green. As both sustainability and efficiency advance in the built environment, architects, specifiers, and buyers are increasingly concerned with products that are environmentally friendly and can achieve product performance and client welfare goals. Architects and designers are, in essence, visionaries. This course explores options that architects and designers have when choosing products that accurately support and fuel...