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British firm Architecture for London has recently completed the extension and refurbishment of a traditional Edwardian terrace house into a modern, energy-efficient home. Photo: Lorenzo Zandri and Christian Brailey, courtesy of Architecture for London Called Low Energy House, the residence... View full entry
A Swiss research team from Empa's Building Energy Materials and Components Lab explores the potential for using raw, plant-based materials as insulation for buildings. Led by scientist Dr. Jannis Wernery and researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, the project is... View full entry
For much of its recent history in mitigating climate change, Denver has concentrated on buildings’ operational energy — the energy needed to run basics like heating, air conditioning, lighting and hot water. That will shift in May, when Denver’s newly adopted green code takes effect, said Christy Collins, green communities specialist with the local government. — Smart Cities Dive
Denver’s new green code will make it so a building’s embodied carbon is considered. It will provide minimum requirements for the siting, design, construction, and plans for the operation of projects. Commercial projects in Denver are now required by law to choose around 10% of the green code... View full entry
Researchers at Penn State are undertaking a study into whether fungal materials can replace traditional acoustic insulation funded by the 2022 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative. The team behind the effort, funded in 2021 by both an AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant and a SOM Foundation... View full entry
Copenhagen-based studio 3XN has completed Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney, Australia, described by the firm as the “world’s most comprehensive upcycling of an existing tower.” The scheme, which sees the retention and transformation of an existing 1970s tower near the city’s waterfront, was... View full entry
Arup has announced the creation of a dataset which catalogs the whole life carbon emissions of buildings in its portfolio. The dataset, unveiled to coincide with COP27, has so far calculated the emissions for almost 1,000 Arup projects across 30 countries. The data represents an effort by Arup to... View full entry
Work has been completed on the LMN Architects-designed Founders Hall at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. The Seattle-based firm, who recently featured on our Meet Your Next Employer series, used the 84,800-square-foot building to create “a new hub for community... View full entry
Back in June, we covered news of research set to be undertaken at Penn State on the subject of embodied carbon in cities. The research, one of many stories this year focusing on embodied carbon, signals a growing awareness in academic and professional circles of the need to include whole-life... View full entry
2021 saw a 67% annual increase in the number of all-electric buildings delivered in the United States by AIA 2030 Commitment signatories, according to new data from the American Institute of Architects. The findings are contained within the AIA 2030 Commitment By the Numbers report, which the... View full entry
Factory-produced homes can produce up to 45% less carbon than traditional methods of residential construction, according to new research by academics from the University of Cambridge and Edinburgh Napier University. A study found that two modular housing schemes designed by HTA Design, consisting of a total of nearly 900 homes, saved a combined 28,000 tonnes of carbon. — Building
The two schemes studied were the 44 and 38-story Ten Degrees towers in London’s Croydon borough, the world’s tallest completed modular building, and The Valentine, a 10-story student housing project in London’s Redbridge. Both were completed in 2020. The report found that... View full entry
Researchers at Penn State are set to undertake a study of the environmental impact of construction. The interdisciplinary team, led by associate professor Rahman Azari from the university’s architecture school, will study the embodied carbon emissions associated with the manufacturing... View full entry
Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for a nine-story, timber-structure department store in Tokyo, presenting an elegant retail space that features several green-building practices. Called the Shibuya Marui Department Store, the space is set to become a new showcase for sustainable lifestyle... View full entry
A cross-industry coalition, representing stakeholders across the built environment, has come together to develop a standard for verifying buildings in the UK as net-zero carbon. Called the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, it provides a single, agreed methodology for proving built... View full entry
Construction has begun on the Populus Hotel in Denver, Colorado. Designed by Studio Gang, the 13-story, 265-room hotel is described by the team as “the first carbon-positive hotel in the United States,” and the first Studio Gang project to be built in Colorado. According to the architects, the... View full entry
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), along with real estate investment firms QuadReal and Thor Equities, have announced the completion of 800 Fulton Market, a 326-foot-tall, mixed-use office tower that stands out for its wide range of pandemic-responsive design features. Photo © Dave Burk... View full entry