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If there’s one thing that 2021 has shown us, it is that, for better or for worse, the world is evolving faster than ever. While this is a natural phenomenon, it’s apparent that the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the level of uncertainty the world faces. Sociopolitical and... View full entry
President Biden on Wednesday set in motion a plan to make the federal government carbon neutral, ordering federal agencies to buy electric vehicles, to power facilities with wind, solar and nuclear energy, and to use sustainable building materials. — The New York Times
Biden called for the transformation of 300,000 government buildings, 600,000 cars and trucks, and the use of its annual $650 billion budget for goods and services to meet his goal for a carbon-neutral federal government by 2050. Detailed by The New York Times, his timetable for the... View full entry
The City Council is poised to ban the use of gas in new buildings, requiring most to use electricity-powered heat and hot water. Lawmakers reached a deal late Wednesday on a bill requiring new buildings shorter than seven stories to go electric on Jan. 1, 2024, and taller ones after July 1, 2027. Projects that get their construction documents approved before those dates will be exempt. — The Real Deal
Buildings of less than seven stories and at least half of its units subject to an affordable housing regulatory agreement are exempt if construction documents are approved before December 31, 2025. New buildings that are taller with the same agreement will have two more years. The measure allows... View full entry
Energy efficiency among New York City buildings has improved a bit, but almost half of those forced to post a grade are still failing. According to The City’s analysis of preliminary data from the Department of Buildings, 48.3 percent of buildings received either a D or F grade. Receiving a D is essentially the worst a building can do, as Fs are reserved for properties that don’t submit data. — The Real Deal
More than 20,000 buildings exceeding 25,000 square feet were surveyed. As reported by The Real Deal, the share of Ds dropped to 39.2 percent from 44.1 percent from the same time last year, indicating some of the least energy-efficient buildings made improvements. The share of F grades, however... View full entry
A floating solar farm that’s equivalent to about 70 soccer fields in size has begun generating power in Thailand, reflecting the country’s push to achieve carbon neutral status by 2050. — Bloomberg
Located at the Sirindhorn Dam, which is about 410 miles east of Bangkok, the facility is the world’s largest hybrid solar-hydropower system. It combines two methods of electricity generation, with 145,000 solar panels generating power from the sun during that day, while three turbines convert... View full entry
With COP26 entering its final day in Glasgow, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have used the event to unveil their vision to transform the built environment into a network for absorbing carbon. Titled 'Urban Sequoia,' the project is centered on the concept of “forests” of buildings which sequester... View full entry
U.S. solar and wind deployments are on track to hit new records in 2022 as momentum behind the energy transition grows, according to a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence. — CNBC
The firm forecasts that as much as 44 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and 27 gigawatts of wind will come online next year. For solar, this is nearly double 2021’s estimated 23 gigawatts of new capacity. As reported by CNBC, the factors behind this upswing include the expansion of state-level... View full entry
An international research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore has invented a new window material that controls heat transmission without blocking views, which could help reduce the energy required to cool and heat buildings. The new energy-saving... View full entry
A professor of architectural engineering at Penn State by the name of James Freihaut has been recognized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Committee on Sustainable Energy for his work in improving sustainability and safety in buildings. During the committee’s 30th... View full entry
The World Green Building Council has published a free interactive report setting out the economic and social benefits of constructing sustainable buildings. The 114-page “Beyond the Business Case” report was launched at COP26 and may serve as a valuable tool for architects to communicate... View full entry
Researchers from the United States and United Kingdom have used machine learning to map every large solar plant in the world. The team behind the map sees it as an opportunity to consider the future trajectory of solar expansion and to inform decisions on what land uses can be best supplanted... View full entry
The National Building Museum has announced the upcoming launch of its new program series, Climate ABC (Action/Building/Community). Commencing on November 16, the series will offer programs designed to both educate the public about climate action and to push for significant solutions in the... View full entry
UNStudio has released details of Project H1, a self-described “10-minute city” masterplan for Seoul, South Korea. Built on an existing industrial site and railway area, the 5.4 million square foot (504,000 square meter) neighborhood saw a collaboration between UNStudio a the firm’s research... View full entry
Plans to operate commercial hydrogen-electric flights between London and Rotterdam have been announced, with those behind the project hoping it will take to the skies in 2024. In a statement Wednesday, aviation firm ZeroAvia said it was developing a 19-seater aircraft that would “fly entirely on hydrogen.” — CNBC
ZeroAvia, Dutch airport management company Royal Schiphol Group, Rotterdam The Hague Innovation Airport Foundation, and Rotterdam the Hague Airport have announced a partnership to develop the project. The initiative sets a timeline for potentially the first international zero-emission commercial... View full entry
On 31st October, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) will begin in Glasgow, Scotland. Among the events across the two-week conference is Built Environment Day: the first time a dedicated day at COP will be given to addressing carbon emissions from buildings. The dedicated... View full entry