-- Recent developments in technology strive to induce an energy efficient mindset to the occupants of sustainable buildings.

Since early 2010, there has been alot of discussion about net zero energy buildings on the Sustainable Construction Blog.  It is evident that sustainable construction technologies have greatly advanced over the past few years; making net zero energy a viable goal for new construction projects. 

However, one very important aspect is often not emphasized enough when discus...

    With the development of environmentally conscious construction projects across the world, there are still many demands of building materials that today’s technologies have not yet satisfied.  Looking at the two main structural building materials, steel and concrete, one in particular lacks characteristics of carbon neutrality.  While steel is nearing full recycled production, concrete remains a very carbon intensive process.  The main contributor to this trait is portland cement.  Port...

Sustainability in construction is a concept that can be accepted into a project to various extents.  In addition, the sustainability of a building can only be taken as far as the site and surround area allow.  This means a building can have all of the right energy efficient systems, building envelopes, and green materials but still may not provide a sustainable lifestyle or community to the people living, working, or visiting these buildings. 

This is where AECOM makes a difference in the s...

You have probably seen commercials and internet ads for the ‘Human Element’ campaign (Hu).  This campaign represents the commitment to sustainability and the future of human life by the Dow Chemical Company.  Dow has established a Sustainability 2015 Goals report that is responsible for dedicating their company’s research and development to new products that will help advance the building industry with correspondence to the government’s energy efficiency goals.

Their interest in su...

Windows are undoubtedly one of the greatest sources of heat transfer in a building.  New electrochromic, switchable window technology is a recently patented high-tech solution to this prominent building deficiency.    It may seem like something out of a sci-fi movie but switchable windows are sure to be a popular sustainable building technology in years to come. 

As part of the DOE’s $76 million dollar funding, Soladigm Inc. was awarded $3.47 million.  Soladigm is a company based out of...

--Designing sustainable buildings

Advancements in software technology have led a new architectural drafting revolution.  Building Information Modeling (BIM) software provides an innovative approach to developing a set of construction drawings for a building.  Compared to CAD, the BIM software essentially creates a drawing for the user according to the provided input, hence the name, ‘information modeling.’  There are many additional advantages that BIM has over CAD software. 

In gene...