Keystone species are necessary for natural communities to thrive. Living Building Challenge founder Jason F. McLennan argues that keystone buildings are needed to help reform design and construction.
One of first decisions to affect the energy demand of any building is its siting. And an early siting choice on the Georgia Tech building made the task of achieving net positive energy performance a bit more demanding. Part 3 in our series on the Energy Petal.
After millennia of burning fossil fuels inside all kinds of structures, we finally have the technology and maybe the will to occupy buildings without the use of any combustion. Part 2 in our series on the Energy Petal.
Espresso was too much to ask. The Living Building at Georgia Tech already had been spitting out energy challenges that members of its experienced design team hadn’t faced before. To meet the Living Building Challenge standard, the project must generate at least 5 percent more power than it uses. And it has to do that in a humid climate that complicates the the air conditioning. Part 1 in our series on the Energy Petal.
The Living Building Challenge’s Net Positive Water imperative stipulates that a project’s “water use and release must work in harmony with the natural water flows of the site and its surroundings.” For the Living Building at Georgia Tech, this means mimicking the Piedmont forest in the way it absorbs and releases water.
Don’t call it a groundbreaking. The Sept. 12 launch for the Living Building at Georgia Tech is about restoring the Earth more than “breaking” it.
When students return to the Georgia Tech campus this fall, they’ll find opportunities to participate in six pilot projects intended to improve the design, construction, operation and evaluation of sustainable buildings.
A mix of panic buying and cancelled projects has swept over the U.S. solar installation industry in response to a trade complaint by Georgia-based solar panel manufacturer Suniva.
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