LEED v4 Changes – What to Expect

LEEDv4 Changes
LEED v4 Changes We’ve been using LEED as a tool to assist owners and design-build teams for many years and helped guide many projects to certification. Now everyone is chatting about LEED v4 changes and many are curious what to expect. We began a pilot LEEDv4 EBOM project for a local hotel, but in the
Read more
No Comments

Natural Ventilation of Buildings and Spaces

Clothes drying in the open air
Natural Ventilation of Buildings and Spaces Many times when clients desire a “green” space or building that connects its occupants to the outdoors, they envision incorporating lots of day lighting and natural ventilation in the architectural design. Certainly, there can be many benefits to be had including lower energy bills, a connection to the outdoors,
Read more
No Comments

Materials Air Quality Testing

CARB Formaldehyde Chamber Materials Air Quality Test
Materials Air Quality Testing Since news broke that Lumber Liquidators distributed composite wood flooring in California that did not meet California Air Resource Board (CARB) formaldehyde emission standards, we’ve been getting lots of questions about materials air quality testing. Some folks are interested in joining the class action law suit, some distributors and installation companies
Read more
No Comments

EMF in Schools, CHPS Takes a Stand

CHPS Adopts EMF Credits
EMF in Schools – Collaboration for High Performance Schools For many years CHPS has been a leader in identifying sustainable and healthy building trends for school buildings. Long before LEED for Schools, there was the Collaboration for High Performance Schools Criterion and scorecard. This rating system has been tested and proven effective, and recently has
Read more
No Comments

EMF Electric Fields – Design Consulting

Visualize Electric Fields
EMF Electric Fields EMF design consulting for human-generated electrosmog should involve Radio Frequency (RF) radiation, dirty electricity (high-voltage transients), low-frequency magnetic fields, and low-frequency electric fields. These four elements can be wrapped under the umbrella term, “electromagnetic radiation,” or “EMR.” This blog focuses on basic practices to minimize low-frequency EMF electric fields during design and construction. This
Read more
No Comments

Eichler Remodel

Eichler MC-674 Street View
Eichler Remodel – Healthy & Efficient Home Why write about an Eichler remodel? Because my family is lucky enough to call this our first home, and remodeling has almost completely absorbed me for the past 3 months! This isn’t just a remodel, it’s a green Eichler remodel. What is an Eichler? Joseph Eichler was a
Read more
No Comments

Selecting a Sustainable Architect

BECx_Silicon Valley
An Insider’s Point of View Being an architect myself and having worked as an architectural project manager until 2012, I have an insider’s view into the profession. In the 18 years of practicing architecture, I worked across many different sectors including residential, commercial and higher education, getting a really good feel for how different sectors
Read more
No Comments

LEED Midrise Certification

LEED Midrise Certification
Last year, I petitioned the USGBC Technical Committee on Homes and received the green signal to pursue LEED certification for a 32 story apartment tower in San Francisco’s Transbay neighborhood. Midrise V 2010 allows certification for residential buildings of 4 to 12+ stories with exceptions made for taller buildings on a case-by-case basis. Residential projects
Read more
No Comments

Understanding LEED IAQ Testing Requirements

MODERN COMMERCIAL OFFICE
Understanding LEED IAQ Testing Requirements LEED 2009 and LEEDv4 both have credits that require building flush-outs or building air quality testing prior to occupancy. The credit requires that after construction ends, the GC must install new filtration media and flush-out the building by supplying a total air volume of 14,000 cubic feet of outdoor air per square
Read more
2 Comments

Selecting Energy Efficient Windows for your New Home

Energy Efficient Windows - Insulated or Thermally Broken Frame
For folks building a new home, the job of selecting the Energy Efficient windows can be daunting. Based on the nature of the contract, the architect may or may not be involved in the window selection. Their contract may end with assisting the home owner with obtaining the permit. In such cases the homeowners may rely
Read more
No Comments