HORIZONTV FEATURING BD+C: WATCH EPISODES ON DEMAND AT HORIZONTV
The U.S. Department of Energy has released a guide on electrifying space heating for large commercial buildings with boilers. The guide summarizes key considerations for people seeking to retrofit existing large commercial and multifamily buildings, particularly those that currently heat spaces using fossil fuel-fired boilers.
A new Biden Administration rule bans the use of fossil fuels in new federal buildings beginning in 2030. The announcement came despite longstanding opposition to the rule by the natural gas industry.
The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) updated a specification establishing requirements for field testing newly installed storefronts, curtain walls, and sloped glazing systems.
A new K-12 school in Washington, D.C., is the first school in the world to achieve both LEED for Schools Platinum and WELL Platinum, according to its architect, Perkins Eastman. The John Lewis Elementary School is also the first school in the District of Columbia designed to achieve net-zero energy (NZE).
This case study will focus on strategies used to save the client money, achieve certification, and effectively market success once the project was complete.
Much of that growth will be in the European Union, where near-zero energy buildings are mandated by 2019 for public buildings, and by 2021 for all construction.
A Construction Specifications Institute webinar will focus on the lessons learned through the design and construction of a LEED-certified industrial project, Better Living Mill Shop, the first industrial building in Central Virginia to earn LEED certification.
The group will develop a low-cost seismic retrofit model that would benefit aging brick-and-mortar structures. It involves bolting steel brackets to existing wooden floor and ceiling joists.
These developments demonstrate the dynamic nature of the market and the continued need for development of program standards of many different types that help builders and owners translate high performance and sustainable buildings goals into practical measures on the ground.
Contractors will need to be on the lookout for policies such as the Contractor Accountability for Quality clause.
“The biggest problem is getting our workers to use the equipment,” says Michael J. Florio, executive director of the organization.
Once seen as a cost burden, building to LEED standards is now an "easy call," according to Dan Probst, chairman of energy and sustainability for real estate management and development firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
GreenStep Cities, a Minnesota initiative, was designed to provide greater recognition to the state's communities for achievements in meeting sustainability standards and goals.
Some changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act go into effect beginning March 15, 2012.
