For most people extra living space has traditionally been acquired by moving house, but if you are happy with where you live, the...

In the event you are already leaning toward an open floor plan concept, here are a couple of question to ask yourself: Is more natural...

What to Look for in a Roof There are many factors to consider when selecting a roof including •How long will it last? •Does it hold up...

Curitiba, Brazil widely regarded as the world’s first and largest experiment in sustainable urbanism. There exist various lists, or...

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Both approaches have merit. If your heart is set on a Spanish style adobe home, obtaining a heavily treed lot may not make sense for you....

IPD differs from the Traditional Project Delivery (TPD) method, also known as the design-bid-build method. Under TPD an owner develops...

Editors note: this article is the first of an occasional series which will explore the important topic of construction cost management...

Project Budget for a typical residence. Hard costs are those directly accruing to the construction and include materials, labor, overhead...

Using stressed-skin panels can reduce the time to frame the building envelope by more than one-third. This time savings can improve a...

Proposed “SouthWest Ecodistrict”, Washington, D.C. Originated by the City of Portland and the Portland Sustainability Institute (PoSI),...

Birch Street shops surround a large movie theater on the block to the right. This variety of storefronts creates a more interesting place...

Unlike the life cycle assessment, which evaluates all of the impacts over the whole life of a material or element, embodied energy only...

The main objectives of sustainable design are to reduce, or completely avoid, depletion of critical resources like energy, water, and raw...

Basic Passive Solar Design Materials with thermal mass are typically used in the floor or inside walls of a passive solar structure and...

Diagram of the geothermal heat exchange concept. Outdoor temperatures fluctuate with the changing seasons but underground temperatures...

Cross ventilation relies on wind for cooling. When wind blows on a building, a pressure difference is created between the windward...

Cool roofs reduce cooling energy use in the summer. Cool roofs are constructed with highly reflective and emissive materials, usually in...

Chimney-like structures at the Queens Building, Leicester University are used to induce stack ventilation. The stack effect describes the...

Integrated design means thinking about how the parts fit together. This systems-thinking is how green homes achieve high performance and...