After years of anti-LEED lobbying, the American Chemistry Council says it wants to work to make LEED better. This story originally appeared on BuildingGreen.com. It looked more like a headline from BuildingGreen’s April Fool’s issue than one from an official press release: “USGBC and ACC to Work Together to Advance LEED.” Nonetheless, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) have confirmed the news is real—so what’s going on behind the scenes? Combining expertise“Obviously, we had some concerns with LEED v4 and the building materials credits,” Anne Kolton, ACC’s vice president of communications, told Environmental Building

LEED, IgCC, 189.1 to be parts of a single system. This story originally appeared on BuildingGreen.com. In many parts of the U.S., LEED has been law for years, particularly for public buildings—but that’s starting to change, and LEED’s creator, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is one of the first to celebrate. A new partnership among five major U.S. standard developers in the U.S. will harmonize ASHRAE 189.1, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), and the LEED rating systems with the aim of simplifying implementation of local green building regulations and incentive programs. Although the organizations and their development processes

The new tool aims to help architects with whole-building LCA calculations for LEED v4, right along with their BIM process. This story originally appeared on BuildingGreen.com. Image courtesy KieranTimberlake Tally is a new software application that allows designers to measure the environmental impact of building materials directly in a Revit model. With demand for whole-building life-cycle assessment (LCA) increasing, a partnership of architects, LCA experts, and software developers has worked to release Tally—a new tool that allows designers to track environmental impacts in real time while creating models in the popular building information modeling (BIM) software Revit. Created by KieranTimberlake,

The Shaheen-Portman energy bill has broad bipartisan backing, but many organizations have warned that they will fight the bill if a certain amendment is adopted. This story originally appeared on BuildingGreen.com. The historic Shaheen-Portman energy bill making its way through the U.S. Senate enjoys rare and broad bipartisan backing, with the likes of Earthjustice and the Vinyl Siding Institute both announcing full-throated support. But the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and more than 350 other organizations have warned that they will fight Shaheen-Portman (a.k.a. the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2013) if a certain amendment is adopted. Thanks

Citing the Chamber's alliance with the chemical industry against LEED, Skanska resigns in protest. This article first appeared on Building Green. International construction giant Skanska USA has terminated its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due to what the firm views as attempts to “halt progress in sustainable building.” The move reportedly came after failed talks with the U.S. Chamber about its policies, and it follows on the heels of a pro-LEED op-ed in the Washington Post penned by Michael McNally, president and CEO of Skanska USA. Related links LEED v4 Approved by USGBC Members Energy Reforms Threatened by

Studies show that health drives the school construction market, but many buildings lag far behind. This story first appeared in GreenSource. The connection between sustainable school buildings and student performance can be difficult to quantify—but the idea that children learn more readily when they can see, hear, and breathe clearly isn’t exactly controversial. This year, a full 89 percent of K–12 school respondents in a recent market survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction (Record's and Greensource's parent company) listed enhanced health and well-being among the most important reasons to build, retrofit, and operate greener schools. That number is up from 61

A proposal for New York City's East River waterfront calls for wetlands, pedestrian bridges, mini parks, and even a sandy beach. This story first appeared in GreenSource. WXY Architecture + Urban Design's Blueway Plan for New York City's East River. A river runs through it—but unless there’s a hurricane warning, you would hardly know it. To get to the edge of the East River on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, you’ll have to negotiate a maze of highways, low-visibility bike lanes, hospital and tower blocks, and other obstacles—all so you can peer down at the water four feet below as it

As market demand for healthier building products is reaching critical mass, a whole new industry sector is responding with more powerful tools for assessing and improving materials.

The 17-acre development is the first project in New York to earn the LEED-ND designation from the U.S. Green Building Council. Courtesy Columbia University This rendering shows 130th Street in West Harlem as it will look after development of Columbia University's Manhattanville campus. Columbia University’s 17-acre Manhattanville campus, which is now rising in West Harlem, has achieved New York State’s first Platinum certification under the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) rating system. The university's plan, designed in collaboration with SOM and Renzo Piano Building Workshop, is unusual for a college campus in that it integrates with and welcomes the surrounding

Photo © Jeff Amram Mercy Corps Headquarters by THA Architecture. Click on the tab to view more images. Related Links: 2011: COTE Award Winners 2010: COTE Award Winners 2009: COTE Award Winners 2008: COTE Award Winners 2007: COTE Award Winners Today, the American Institute of Architects’s Committee on the Environment (AIA–COTE) announced its Top Ten projects for 2012. This year’s batch of winners highlight community ties, social equity, and attentiveness to water issues. Notably, one winner is designed to Passive House standards. “These projects really demonstrate that you don’t need a client with bottomless pockets or a purely pedagogical mission