Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies: High Performing Buildings

Archive »Recent Articles

Brock Environmental Center: Virginia Beach, Va.

For buildings to withstand sea-level rise, coastline erosion, and hurricanes, they need to be built to work with nature, not against it. The Brock Environmental Center is a living example of how to minimize impact on the environment while being resilient to future challenges. The triple net zero building is the latest to receive Living Building Challenge certification and is the first in the U.S. to receive a permit for drinking rainwater treated to federal standards.

Web Exclusive Q&A: Brock Environmental Center

Resilient design is gaining traction, but costs and predicting future climate change effects pose barriers.

Web Exclusive: Pavement, People and Floods

Houston's recent floods demonstrate the disastrous consequences of putting people, pavement and buildings in vulnerable places.

Web Exclusive: Top Ten AIA Projects Redefine High Performance

AIA COTE jury member Margaret Montgomery shares top trends seen in this year's winners.

Web Exclusive: TWIN Elevator System Coming to U.S.

Phase 2 of midtown Atlanta’s Technology Square project, known as Coda, includes a 21-story collaborative building developed by Portman Holdings for Georgia Tech, and will feature a unique elevator system installed for the first time in the Americas.

WaterHub at Emory University: Atlanta

As water resources grow increasingly taxed and scarce in communities across the U.S., an Atlanta university is turning to an unlikely resource to reduce its drinking water demand: the local sewer. The WaterHub at Emory University turns waste into a resource, recycling wastewater via an ecological treatment facility–the first of its kind in the U.S. Its sustainable treatment process sets an example of how adaptive technology can be used to meet water needs while reducing water costs.

Web Exclusive: Stevens Library at Sacred Heart Schools: Atherton, Calif.

For schools in drought-stricken areas, net zero energy and water strategies help future-proof against utility rate hikes. But, the price tag for net zero can be too high for school budgets. Fortunately, a library project at Sacred Heart School in northern California illustrates that it is possible to deliver a net zero energy building within a conventional budget while teaching kids about the value of conserving resources.

Web Exclusive Q&A: State of Our Schools

Mike Rowland, facilities director of Georgia’s Education Department, discusses how insufficient funding for school facilities impacts student learning.

Web Exclusive: What's New in Sustainable Building Products

A sampling of products designed to save energy and reduce environmental impact.

Web Exclusive Q&A: 749 University Row

Scott Heckel, P.E., describes how the building team helped the developer mitigate financial risk.

Archive »Topics & Opinions

Finding Common Ground: Defining Zero Energy Buildings

Buildings that produce more energy than they consume have moved from concept to increasingly common reality in recent years. But until a few months ago, no general, industry-wide agreement existed as to what exactly defined such a building.

Kent W. Peterson, P.E., Presidential Member/Fellow ASHRAE; and Paul Torcellini, Ph.D., P.E., Member ASHRAE

Resiliency: From Surviving to Thriving

When disasters strike, buildings can turn into traps as they did in Hurricane Katrina, or they can provide places of refuge.

Sarah Foster, Managing Editor, with Christopher Weems and Rebecca Matyasovski, Associate Editors. Tani Palefski, Assistant Editor, provided additional research.

LED Lighting

When designers of the first net zero energy school in the U.S. considered how they would approach the lighting design differently using today’s LED technology, the results extended far beyond just switching out the lightbulbs.

Robert Anthony Hans, P.E., and Kenny Stanfield, AIA

IAQ in HPB Case Studies

Good indoor environmental quality is a key goal of high performing buildings, but often is not factored into sustainable building discussions and programs.

Kevin Y. Teichman, Ph.D., and Andrew K. Persily, Ph.D., Fellow ASHRAE, and Steven J. Emmerich, Member ASHRAE

Rainwater: The Untapped Resource

Energy and water are inextricably linked. Roughly one quad of energy per year could be saved in the United States if we reduced water consumption by 10%.

Michael Nicklas, FAIA