ASHRAE and the United Nations Environment Programme have renewed their joint global effort to help reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere by buildings. One big goal of the so-called third biennial work plan is the sustainable phase-out of ozone- depleting substances in refrigerant and air conditioning systems, says the Atlanta-based ASHRAE, formerly known as the American Society of Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.Another aim of the joint effort, created under a global cooperation agreement signed in 2007, is to create an international advisory team to assist developing countries in their efforts to institute and/or update relevant codes
Related Links: Green-Infused Modular Classroom Targets 'Grid-Neutral' Status in School Construction ENR: Green Schoolhouses Research recently conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction among contractors working on school projects demonstrates strong growth in green education projects. To qualify for the study, contractors had to have completed new construction or major renovation or improvement projects at K–12 schools or higher-education institutions.The Green-School Market Of the more than 100 contractors that qualified for the study, 83% have done new or major-renovation green-school projects in the last three years, and 79% have done some green retrofits and operational improvements. During this period, the contractors performed a
Related Links: New York City Building Energy Use Report Called a Step toward Saving Energy Boston-based WegoWise, a building-performance analytics startup, says it was able to identify $137 million in lifetime energy savings in 2011 for buildings that are part of Mass Save's Low-Income Multifamily Program, which invests in energy-efficiency upgrades in low-income housing facilities across Massachusetts.The multiyear program is being implemented by the Low-Income Energy Affordability Network (LEAN) and the Mass Save sponsors—Massachusetts utility companies—that have used the WegoWise platform to track and benchmark energy and water use at more than 45,000 low-income multifamily units in the state. Barun
Related Links: U.S. Green Building Council International Code Council Though sustainability, modular construction and team collaboration dominated the news in the buildings sector in 2012, green building seems to be the topic most talked about. Every few weeks, it seems, green-building promoters issue guidance, model codes and digital tools to advance sustainable design and construction. Some say that green-regulation compliance is burying project teams in paperwork. Even worse, in a buyer’s market, owners keep dreaming up ways to put their design and construction teams at risk if the buildings do not meet energy targets. Though there has been some progress
ASHRAE and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering have released for public review a proposed standard for the design, construction and operation of green health-care facilities. ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 189.3P: Standard for the Design, Construction and Operation of Sustainable, High-Performance Health-Care Facilities is open for public comment through Jan. 21. The draft standard contains procedures, methods and documentation requirements for the design, construction and operation of sustainable health-care buildings. It would apply to patient-care and related support areas within health-care facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes and licensed outpatient facilities, according to ASHRAE.Among other things, the standard covers site sustainability, water-use efficiency,
Related Links: Green Building Information Gateway Energy Star Sustainability leaders are praising a new search engine for green-building data, calling it a crucial tool for making informed design decisions and crafting government policy. The Green Building Information Gateway (gbig.org) aggregates and assesses design and performance data for thousands of buildings worldwide, collected under the popular green-building rating system called LEED. The site is free to users."GBIG organizes and enhances transparency of building-sustainability efforts," says Barry Hooper, green-building program coordinator, San Francisco Dept. of the Environment. "As a transparency tool, GBIG supports effective decisions and competition among real estate owners, enhances
Courtesy of the Living Building Challenge Reporting of building product contents and their impact on health is gaining traction. Related Links: U.S. Green Building Council Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute Thanks to a $3-million grant from Google Inc., the U.S. Green Building Council plans to build a body of scientific evidence around the content of green building products and materials. USGBC says the research will make it easier to have discussions with interested parties, including opponents of the expanded eco-friendly product credits in the proposed update of
Related Links: Source: Crane Pick Hit Column Before Miami Garage Collapse Two independent sources with knowledge of the investigation into the Oct. 10 collapse of a parking garage at Miami Dade College have refuted a claim reported by Engineering News-Record that the structure was struck a second time by a crane pick just prior to the fatal incident.Officials with the project's general contractor, Ajax Building Corp., were the first to dispute the claim. Bill Byrne, president of the Tallahassee, Fla.-based firm, stated by e-mail, "We are not aware of any precast panels having hit the structure. [And] we are not
Photo by AP Wideworld Workers deliver new equipment for flooded building systems in lower Manhattan. Downtown New York City went dark during Superstorm Sandy because of a utility substation failure. Related Links: Urban Green Council While debate intensifies over long-term solutions to deal with storm surges in coastal New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the real estate sector is brainstorming for near-term solutions that would make the individual building the last line of defense."It's time to consider stricter requirements for flood-proofing boilers, generators and electrical equipment or [to require] water systems that use sensor-based technology that can work during a
Related Links: NYC Building-Energy-Use Reg Steps Toward Saving Energy Work Continues on Updated Commercial Building Energy Survey (subscription req.) SOM Website: Freedom Tower & BIM Wikipedia: Moore's Law Backgrounder Dept. of Energy SEED Program Computing power has grown 100 times over last 10 years, helping to create rapid and profound changes in the tools of building design and construction. But as sophisticated building- information-modeling tools help create ever more complex buildings, why aren't they doing more to design buildings that have greater energy efficiency?These were some of the key points—and challenges—that building experts outlined during Architectural Record's "Innovation Conference 2012"
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