This post is part of the Green Materials Report series. GBE is providing information on various building materials and what makes them green. Each post focuses on one material. We will be looking at the ingredients in the material, how it is used, what makes it green, and any green product certifications that it has earned. We…
Author Archives: Dawn Killough
31
Dec
Dec
The Facebook game Power House may finally make all those hours spent mindlessly playing games online pay off! The object of the game is to guide a family of four through daily activities using as little energy as possible. It is addicting and challenging, and teaches players how to save energy in real life. The…
29
Dec
Dec
For those of us who are deep in the dark of winter, this is a great time to think about bringing sunlight into our homes. The Light Bandit allows sunlight to be directed fiber-optically to any room in the house – even one with no windows! Like the luminous ceiling we covered back in 2010,…
22
Dec
Dec
Dunkin Donuts recently announced the launch of “DD Green,” a green building initiative that hopes to build over 100 new certified restaurants by the end of 2016. Could this eventually lead to healthy donuts? We sure hope not! “We are delighted to be able to launch the DD Green initiative, a green-building certification program that is…
02
Dec
Dec
When you hear the word “cathouse”, you may or may not be thinking of well-designed, architecturally significant little shacks for your fluffy feline friends. That’s exactly what these are, however, and even though they don’t fit, 100%, into GBE’s stated mission of delivering the latest in “green”, passive, and sustainable architecture/home-improvement projects, these little cathouses…
24
Nov
Nov
This post is part of Important Media’s “More About the Love, Less About the Stuff” holidays series. This year, we’re talking all about redefining holiday traditions to focus on sustainability and compassion over cutting down trees and fighting for more stuff. Since it’s well past Halloween and officially the “holiday season,” here is a…
03
Nov
Nov
One of the most important decisions that gets made when designing a building, if not THE most important decision, is where to build it. Site conditions can affect how big a house is, its shape, its orientation across cardinal directions, and- as such- how energy efficient the home has the potential to be. The skinny…
28
Oct
Oct
This post is part of the Green Materials Report series. GBE is providing information on various building materials and what makes them green. Each post focuses on one material. We will be looking at the ingredients in the material, how it is used, what makes it green, and any green product certifications that it has earned. We…
27
Oct
Oct
In a Brazilian neighborhood plagued by blackouts, panels under the turf of a neighborhood soccer field, fueled by players running over them, provide electricity to light the field and the surrounding homes. A typical soccer player can run up to seven miles during a football game. Most of the players in this neighborhood are local…
24
Oct
Oct
Conventional wisdom says that panels should be installed facing south to get the most solar exposure (in the northern hemisphere). South-facing panels create the most power in the morning and mid-day, but peak demand for electricity typically occurs in the late afternoon. Because of that, a number of solar experts have begun to say that…
20
Oct
Oct
The flexibility and simplicity of steel framing systems draws many clients because there are no interior load-bearing walls, so remodeling or reconfiguring rooms when needs change is a snap. “When children leave at 28, you can easily knock down walls. And when they return at 32 you can erect them again,” BONE founder and president…
16
Oct
Oct
The two main sustainable forestry certification programs (Sustainable Forestry Initiative, SFI, and Forest Stewardship Council, FSC) have been fighting for years to determine which is better. SFI has struggled to gain a foothold in the industry, and has been working to be approved by the US Green Building Council’s LEED green building rating system. In an…
14
Oct
Oct
Students at Portland State University have developed a new insulation material made from shredded waxed cardboard produce boxes. The insulation helps local grocery stores sustainably dispose of the boxes and could provide low-cost energy savings. PSU assistant architecture professor Margarette Leite heard that many local grocery stores were looking for a way to sustainably dispose…
09
Oct
Oct
A team made up of non-architectural graduate students at Cal Poly Pomona University have redesigned what camping means in California. The team was asked to develop a cabin design that would reenergize camping in the state, particularly among non-traditional campers, such as minorities and young adults. Two weeks of research, including a visit to a…
08
Oct
Oct
Imagine a building that self-regulates its temperature without electronics. A building that adapts, allowing outside air in as needed and eliminating the need for air conditioning, but that uses no energy in doing so. A University of California-Berkley research team has developed a new type of “building skin” that can do just that, and they…
06
Oct
Oct
This post is part of the Green Materials Report series. GBE is providing information on various building materials and what makes them green. Each post focuses on one material. We will be looking at the ingredients in the material, how it is used, what makes it green, and any green product certifications that it has earned. We…
03
Oct
Oct
There have been a plethora of posts about shipping containers hitting the web recently – and why not? Shipping containers are cheap, durable, and available– and are as easy to ship as a traditional RV. This particular shipping container home is a bit different, though: it can expand! Designed by G-pod, a Hong Kong and…
02
Oct
Oct
Passive House is an international building standard developed by the Passive House Institute (PHI), which is located in Darmstadt, Germany. Building to the Passive House Standard recognizes buildings which have been optimized through passive measures and components such as insulation, air-tightness, heat recovery, solar heat gains, solar shading and incidental internal heat gains. Buildings which…