Climate Change & Sustainability

Propane: An Energy Solution for Prime, Back-Up, and Microgrids

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Propane is an ideal energy source for power generation, heating, cooling, tankless water heating, cooking, clothes drying, fireplaces and more. Using propane as an energy source means harnessing an available clean technology to reduce emissions while still meeting energy needs. Propane is abundantly available, and the growth of renewable propane means it can be used for generations to come, reliably helping the U.S. adapt to each new energy transition.

The International Mass Timber Building Conference Holds 10th-Annual Gathering in Portland

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 03:48:34 -0400

Featured speakers at the conference’s 2026 edition included Kengo Kuma and representatives from Amazon and Meta.

Continuing Education: Greening Product Libraries

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:11:16 -0400

To design healthier buildings with smaller carbon footprints, firms are making systematic changes.

RECORD Hosts Fourth Sustainability in Practice Conference at MIT

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:14:11 -0500

Speakers at the annual event included Michael Murphy of AMMA, Andrew Barnett of Hopkins Architects, and new AIA CEO Carole Wedge.

Continuing Education: Newhouse Replacement Building

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:13:30 -0500

Miller Hull creates a high-performing landmark for the storied capitol campus in Olympia, Washington.

Finalist Designs Unveiled for Planned Climate Action ‘Landmark’ in Rotterdam

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:54:49 -0500

Shortlisted in the Shift Landmark competition are concepts from MVRDV, Mecanoo, Heatherwick Studio, Ecosistema Urbano, and Office for Political Innovation.

Three Pacific Palisades Schools Rebuild for the Future

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:08:00 -0500

A trio of Los Angeles Unified School District–led projects designed by DLR Group, NAC, and Practice take the opportunity to build back better following last year’s devastating wildfires.

Deregulation: Faster, Cheaper, Better?

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 00:04:00 -0500

Although made in the spirit of expediting recovery, exemptions from environmental mandates seem like a step back from California's otherwise progressive climate-action policies.

Is the Passive House Standard the Answer?

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:08:00 -0500

Many Passive House proponents see the energy performance–based program and its strategies as having great potential for the rebuilding of L.A.’s devastated neighborhoods.

Addressing the Wildfire Knowledge Gap: A Q&A with SWA’s Jonah Susskind

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:06:00 -0500

RECORD deputy editor Joann Gonchar talks with the landscape architecture firm’s director of climate strategy, who served as one of the principal investigators for its ‘Playbook for the Pyrocene.’

Two Initiatives Resurrect the Fabled Case Study Program

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:09:00 -0500

Case Study: Adapt and Case Study 2.0 offer a fire resilience–oriented riff on the famed midcentury program instigated to address the post-World War II housing shortage.

Erasure in the Historically Black Community of Altadena

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:02:00 -0500

‘From these embers, we can help communities remain or, through silence and complicity, facilitate their erasure,’ writes Victor Jones.

VMDO Architects Completes the First Phase of a Freshmen Housing Complex in the Heart of the UMiami Campus

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:43:51 -0500

The new residential towers are designed to mitigate heat, humidity, and potential flooding.

The AIA Announces the Recipient of the 2025 Latrobe Prize

kuthg@bnpmedia.com (Grace Kuth) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 13:00:39 -0400

Russell Fortmeyer, a former RECORD editor and frequent contributor, is part of a winning nine-person research team exploring how building facades can act as air purifiers.

KlimaKover, a Low-Cost Modular Pavilion Offering Heat Relief, is Showcased at Climate Week NYC 2025

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:41:33 -0400

Employing membrane-assisted radiant cooling, the scalable structure, developed by a team that included Henning Larsen and researchers from U Penn, will remain on view until the end of this month.

Chinese Landscape Architect and Educator Kongjian Yu Dies in Plane Crash in Brazil

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:24:36 -0400

The Oberlander Prize–winning founder of celebrated Beijing practice Turenscape and originator of the revolutionary ‘sponge cities’ concept was 62.

Grafton Architects’ First U.S. Building, at the University of Arkansas, is a Mass-Timber Triumph

goncharj@bnpmedia.com (Joann Gonchar, FAIA) — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 11:56:32 -0400

The Dublin firm's Anthony Timberlands Center demonstrates the poetic and expressive possibilities of wood construction.

Höweler + Yoon and Carlo Ratti Associati’s AquaPraça Debuts at the Venice Architecture Biennale

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 09:15:44 -0400

The floating public plaza is making a transatlantic journey to Belém, Brazil, where it will serve as a focal point of the upcoming COP30 climate talks in November.

Continuing Education: Regenerative Landscapes

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Residential landscapes by Surfacedesign, Design Workshop, and LaGuardia Design Group repair the land, heal ecosystems, and look good while doing it.

SOM Foregrounds Sustainability at a Multitasking County Office Building in Northern California

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 00:07:00 -0400

Located in Redwood City, 500 County Center is the first mass-timber civic building in the U.S. to achieve net zero energy.

In Toronto, The Well Aims for Environmental and Social Responsibility on a Grand Scale

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:23:55 -0400

The sustainable centerpiece of this immense mixed-use development, master planned by Hariri Pontarini Architects, is an innovative deep-lake-water cooling system.

In Conversation with Carmody Groarke

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 00:14:41 -0400

The London-based duo, who are featured speakers at RECORD’s forthcoming Sustainability in Practice conference, detail their thoughtful approach to the life of construction materials.

An Adaptive Reuse Project by Lever Architecture Makes the Grade at the University of Oregon’s New Portland Campus

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:08:45 -0400

A dark and disregarded 1950s-era gym-turned-theater is transformed once again into Highland Hall, an inviting academic building populated by future architects.

Summer Book Roundup: RECORD Editors Survey New Sustainability Titles

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:00:03 -0400

Our picks include a resource on teaching carbon neutral design and the latest from the head of MIT's Sustainable Design Lab.

Herzog & de Meuron Designs a Timber-Framed Swiss Office Building with Ambitious Sustainability Goals

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:04:00 -0400

For the net-zero emissions–aiming Hortus, the firm gamely takes on a new type of challenge (and mostly does away with carbon-intensive concrete in the process).

Continuing Education: Sustainability in Practice – Summer 2025

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:10:36 -0400

This series covers wide-ranging strategies for a greener future, including projects by SOM, Herzog & de Meuron, and Lever Architecture.

A Florida Park by Brooks + Scarpa Foregrounds Coastal Resiliency

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 08:23:47 -0400

Anchored by a cantilevered overlook, DC Alexander Park in Fort Lauderdale lures beachgoers and selfie-takers while mitigating extreme weather.

Political Headwinds Cloud Living Future’s Annual Gathering in Portland

Thu, 22 May 2025 06:55:33 -0400

‘Some of the fundamentals and tactics of our movement have been pulled out from under us,’ said International Living Future Institute CEO Lindsay Baker in a call for collective action.

U.S. Green Building Council Announces Launch of LEED v5

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 12:49:23 -0400

The latest version comes 25 years after the first iteration of the organization’s flagship green building program went public.

Spanish Prime Minister and Carlo Ratti Launch Climate Call to Action Ahead of Venice Architecture Biennale

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 00:19:57 -0400

‘Intelligens: Towards a New Architecture of Adaptation’ expands on the central theme of the forthcoming biennale.