Housebuilders go back to basics by using traditional methods and materials Families unable to afford their own homes are turning their backs on the housing market and winding the clock back, building their own shelters using traditional methods and materials including mud, straw and wood. The trend for designing homes using natural local materials is a reaction to spiralling housing costs, according to the people who train “have-a-go” builders in historic construction techniques. The movement is even influencing major developers, who are investigating ways to use natural products to meet modern building standards. Charlotte Eve, the co-founder of Edwards and Eve Cob Building, says she and her partner have trained thousands of people to build modern, liveable homes using earth dug straight from the ground.
LEED Know we're back! We know. "In The Know" took a several week long — unannounced — hiatus. Maggie and I apologize, but we have been working on a number of international efforts that have kept us occupied! In short, we’re back, so is Mad Men, and we have a tremendous amount to share in the coming weeks. Stockholm Convention (POPs) Schedule and registration Objectives Increasing Parties’ knowledge on existing guidance to update NIPs, Parties’ understanding of HBCD and other POP-PBDEs listed, and Parties’ capacity to make inventories of POP-PBDEs, as part of the NIP update. Dell Children's First in the World to Earn LEED for Health Care Platinum Designation AUSTIN, Texas - (July 10, 2013) -Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas is now first in the world - twice - for green building achievements.The W.H. and Elaine McCarty South Tower of Dell Children's has earned the first-ever Leadership in Energy & Environmental Designfor Healthcare (LEED-HC) Platinum designation from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This is the second record-breaking LEED designation for Dell Children's, which became the world's first LEED Platinum Certified hospital in 2008. "Dell Children's commitment to being one of the healthiest, most sustainable hospitals in the world is stronger than ever," said Michele Van Hyfte, manager of environmental stewardship for Seton Healthcare Family. "Sustainable environments have a profound, measureable effect on the healing process, not onlyfor patients, but also for all who enter our doors.
Traditional building materials and design Earth-related building materials. In many non-urbanised areas in India, East Africa and South America, raw earth is abundant resource, which has popularly been used as building material. Over times, modern technologies have renovated the use of raw earth materials to improve their performance. Green Building The buildings in which we live, work, and play protect us from nature's extremes, yet they also affect our health and environment in countless ways. As the environmental impact of buildings becomes more apparent, a new field called "green building" is gaining momentum. Green, or sustainable, building is the practice of creating and using healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition. Read more about green building or use these links to explore topics:
INCR (Investor Network on Climate Risk (Ceres)) The Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) is a network of more than 119 institutional investors representing more than $14 trillion in assets committed to addressing climate change and other key sustainability risks, while building low-carbon investment opportunities. INCR includes the largest institutional investors in North America as well as leading religious and labor funds, asset managers and socially responsible investment funds. In 2013, INCR turned 10 years old, celebrating a decade of investor action on climate risk. Watch the video below to hear from founding members, Ceres staff and other financial leaders about the impact that investors had on corporate responses to climate change, policy advances addressing climate risk and the global movement to mobilize investors to reduce climate change risks from their portfolios. Learn about INCR's major achievements over the first 10 years.
PHOTOS: Inside the Hearst Tower, New York City’s First LEED Gold Skyscraper Hearst Tower - designed by Foster + Partners - First LEED gold Skyscraper in NYC - Gallery Page 1 – Inhabitat New York City Sustainably built skyscrapers are a dime a dozen in New York City these days, but not too long ago, that wasn't the case. The city didn't get its first green high rise until 2006, with the completion of the Hearst Tower. Designed by Inhabitat favorite Norman Foster, the striking blue lattice tower has become one of the most recognizable buildings in the city. About: What We Do – Open Building Institute PHOTOSBarn Raising photo by Alexander W. Galbraith. Group Photo of Aquaponic Greenhouse Workshop by Joshua Langevin. green building, interior finish supplies Green Depot is the nation's leading supplier of environmentally friendly building and lifestyle products, services and home solutions. Our mission is to make green building products readily accessible to homeowners and builders so that sustainable practices can easily be adopted into standard construction operations. We utilize a sophisticated, proprietary Green Filter that focuses on Conservation, Local Resources, Energy Efficiency, Air Quality and Corporate Responsibility to show what makes our products sustainable. We provide materials for projects big and small across the country - from single family homes to corporate headquarters for companies like Amazon in Seattle and Bank of America in New York. Green Depot has an active ecommerce site, 11 stores including New York, Seattle and Portland, and 20 distribution warehouses across the country. We are an FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified carrier with Chain of Custody certification.