flexiblefullpage -



billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Multifamily Housing | May 30, 2023

Boston’s new stretch code requires new multifamily structures to meet Passive House building requirements

Phius certifications are expected to become more common as states and cities boost green building standards. The City of Boston recently adopted Massachusetts’s so-called opt-in building code, a set of sustainability standards that goes beyond the standard state code.

Affordable Housing | May 17, 2023

Affordable housing advocates push for community-owned homes over investment properties

Panelists participating in a recent webinar hosted by the Urban Institute discussed various actions that could help alleviate the nation’s affordable housing crisis. Among the possible remedies: inclusionary zoning policies, various reforms to increase local affordable housing stock, and fees on new development to offset the impact on public infrastructure.

Exterior | Building Enclosure Systems | May 16, 2023

4 steps to a better building enclosure

Dividing the outside environment from the interior, the building enclosure is one of the most important parts of the structure. The enclosure not only defines the building’s aesthetic, but also protects occupants from the elements and facilitates a comfortable, controlled climate. With dozens of components comprising the exterior assemblies, from foundation to cladding to roof, figuring out which concerns to address first can be daunting.

Codes and Standards | May 8, 2023

New ASHRAE standard defines ‘zero energy’ and ‘zero carbon’ buildings

ASHRAE has released a new standard that defines the terms ‘Zero Energy’ and ‘Zero Carbon’ to describe buildings. 
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023, Standard Method of Evaluating Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon Building Performance, sets requirements for evaluating whether a building or group of buildings meets a definition of “zero net energy” or a definition of “zero net carbon” during operation.

Codes and Standards | May 1, 2023

Hurricane Ian aftermath expected to prompt building code reform in Florida

Hurricane Ian struck the Southwest Florida coastline last fall with winds exceeding 150 mph, flooding cities, and devastating structures across the state. A construction risk management expert believes the projected economic damage, as high as $75 billion, will prompt the state to beef up building codes and reform land use rules. 

Codes and Standards | Apr 21, 2023

Federal court overturns first natural gas ban in the U.S.

A recent ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco invalidating Berkeley, California’s ban on natural gas within new building construction puts similar measures adopted around the country in legal jeopardy.

Codes and Standards | Apr 21, 2023

Sixteen-year-old climate law not having intended impact on decarbonizing federal buildings

Sixteen years out from a 2007 law that aimed to end the use of fossil fuels in federal buildings, gas heat is still being installed within the federal sphere.

Green | Apr 21, 2023

Boston to adopt stringent climate-friendly building code

Boston will soon adopt a new stringent green state building code that aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions in new construction and major renovations.

Multifamily Housing | Apr 21, 2023

Arlington County, Va., eliminates single-family-only zoning

Arlington County, a Washington, D.C., community that took shape in the 1950s, when single-family homes were the rule in suburbia, recently became one of the first locations on the East Coast to eliminate single-family-only zoning.

Green | Apr 18, 2023

USGBC and IWBI unveil streamlined certification pathway for LEED and WELL green building programs

The U.S. Green Building Council, Green Business Certification Inc., and the International WELL Building Institute released a streamlined process for projects pursuing certifications for the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard. The new protocol simplifies documentation for projects that are pursuing both certifications at the same time or that have already earned one certification and are looking to add the other. 

leaderboard1 - default