The prospect of decarbonizing the electrical sector is riddled with myriad economic, technological, political, and outright physical challenges. There will be unanticipated setbacks and some nascent technologies will offer staggering breakthroughs. Goals notwithstanding, the future has yet to be written. 

With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainability for this innovative design, Architect Gensler Los Angeles specified 156,000 square feet of Solarban 70 glass because of its superior solar control and thermal insulation properties.

Listen in as Laurel Christensen discusses how architects can promote more sustainable products in their everyday jobs, and how she’s utilizing industry resources to stay informed of sustainable product choices.

In recognition of the carbon intensity of our landscape, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) have made several recent moves toward deeper climate action.

Building Enclosure was recently joined by Blake Johnson, Commercial Director for Knife River's Prestress Division, and Melissa Verwest, Regional Sustainability Engineer for Knife River Northwest. Blake and Melissa are here to discuss reducing the embedded and operational carbon in precast.

Enclosure materials influence embodied carbon goals. This means that selecting and designing for low-carbon enclosure materials is important for reducing the overall embodied carbon impact of the building. It is important to note that using heavier enclosure assemblies may require additional structural support, increasing the embodied carbon associated with the building structure.

Tree-rich ecosystems serve as "carbon sinks" by absorbing more carbon than they release, which could potentially help offset the carbon emissions from human activities such as using fossil fuel-based energy resources for building construction and operation. 

Although both wet-bulb globe temperature and Heat Index take into consideration dry-bulb temperature and relative humidity, Heat Index is calculated specifically for outdoor shaded areas and does not consider conductive heat transfer from wind speed or the heat stress added by direct sun exposure.  

IMPs consist of an outer skin that serves as either metal wall siding or metal roofing, and an inner face that serves as a metal interior finish or liner, with insulation sandwiched between these metal skins.

Driven by rising energy costs, government mandates, long-term cost savings, and simply doing the right thing for future generations, schools are increasingly turning to engineers and architects to move towards net zero energy consumption.