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If there is a lesson to be taken from this year, it is that small evils lead to ever-bigger ones. The wrong behaviors and motivations get rewarded until the process capitalizes into a singular upending spectacle. That reality is just as resurgent in professional spheres and does appear likely to... View full entry
Last week at the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, the UNEP-hosted Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) announced the formation of the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate (ICBC) in order to administer goals set forth by the Chaillot Declaration from earlier... View full entry
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced its fourth official cohort of delegates that will be traveling to Azerbaijan to represent the organization and its interests at this month’s COP29 Summit in Baku. The contingent will be present to share the AIA's call on industry and... View full entry
HOK’s Anica Landreneau, the chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Steering Committee, has sat down for an in-house interview published by the firm in a preview of the changes contained in the LEED v5 update. The new changes align with the Paris Agreement, AIA 2030, MEP 2040, SE... View full entry
Organizing at the community level and putting pressure on politicians can go a long way, but it’s not enough. Architects have to start seeing themselves as political actors with high stakes in the same way communities and unions do. Architects are workers and they depend on work.
The fight for climate justice, resiliency, and workers’ and tenants’ rights are only going to get harder in an era of political decay, cronyism, and systemic crisis.
— The Nation
The fight over congestion pricing and residential building retrofits in New York City are just a couple of the many flashpoints architects should involve themselves in heavily in order to better advocate for the profession, critic Kate Wagner writes. Rightly, she states, “The field’s most... View full entry
AI's capacity to initiate energy use reductions and decarbonization of the building sector was documented recently by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A new study of medium-sized office buildings in the United States revealed the potential for an 8% emissions reduction by... View full entry
During two decades with GSA, [Kevin] Powell has had a front seat view of how technologies in facilities have evolved over the years. As electrification and decarbonization efforts continue to emerge for buildings, Powell remains excited about seeing the future of buildings unfolding. — FacilitiesNet
The architect behind the U.S. General Services Administration’s Green Proving Ground program is Berkeley CED graduate Kevin Powell, who spoke recently with FacilitiesNet about emerging technologies and decarbonization efforts in the building sector. As the manager of the country’s largest... View full entry
UK mainstay Grimshaw has announced the launch of a new online platform that will help accelerate the decarbonization of buildings. It follows a two-year development phase that relied on the support of 20 other industry organizations, including the World Business Council for Sustainable... View full entry
Ten major companies in the construction equipment industry have formed a coalition to promote sustainability in the sector. The France-based organization, named the Community of Sustainable Equipment Players (CAMD), includes Bouygues Construction, Colas, Eiffage, Haulotte, JCB, Kiloutou, Manitou... View full entry
Canadian practice Diamond Schmitt Architects, along with Associate Architect EXP, has unveiled the design of the new home of the New Brunswick Museum (NBM) in Saint John, New Brunswick. Canada’s oldest continuing museum, the NBM’s footprint is set to expand, with its research work and... View full entry
Repeated calls for the decarbonization of architecture are sometimes met with criticisms as to their lack of substance, and in some cases, practicality or overall feasibility, Canada's National Observer tells us. The only mycelium binders on the market are, for example, unsuitable to certain... View full entry
A new report driven by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Yale University's newly-formed Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (Yale CEA) has recommended drastic reductions in the industry’s use of certain construction materials as it faces the environmental headwinds of sector-wide... View full entry
The American Institute of Landscape Architects has published the results of a members' survey on the role of landscape architecture products in aiding decarbonization and biodiversity in the built environment. Insights were garnered from 454 landscape architects, designers, and educators out of... View full entry
California has become the first U.S. state to establish general code standards mandating the reduction of embodied carbon emissions in large commercial and school buildings. The decision, recently announced by the California Building Standards Commission, encompasses commercial buildings exceeding... View full entry
Boston is officially ending its reliance on fossil fuels in government-owned buildings after Mayor Michelle Wu signed a new executive order banning their use in all new municipal construction and renovation projects across the city. In a press statement released on July 31st, Wu told reporters... View full entry
