At CarbonPositive ’19, Architects Single Out a Culprit: Big Buildings
At the instigation of architect Ed Mazria, last week’s conference traced how carbon becomes operationalized in the built environment.
Sustainability
To Fight Climate Change, the Building Industry Needs Good Policies Behind It
The Clean Buildings for Washington Act represents a win-win scenario not only for architects and builders, but also cities.
Breaking Down Embodied and Operational Carbon
A panel at the Metropolis Perspective: Sustainability symposium in Seattle unpacked carbon and its impact on the design of buildings.
For Sustainable Building Products and Materials, It Can’t be Business as Usual
A panel at the Metropolis Perspective: Sustainability symposium in Seattle attempted to answer the question, “What are the new building blocks of sustainability?”
From the Metropolis Archive: Architects Pollute!
Originally published in 2003, this article profiles Ed Mazria, veteran of green design who has studied global warming and sees its cause—and possible solution—coming from the same unlikely source: architects.
9 Products That Support Wellness in the Workplace
As our understanding of wellness grows more complex, designers are thinking about the full life cycle of products they are specifying for the workplace.
This Minimalist Public Pool Creates Its Own Water-Filtering Ecosystem
The Borden Park pool in Edmonton, Canada, was designed by Toronto-based gh3* and requires no chemicals to clean its water.
The Paris Researcher Pioneering a New Way to Recycle Building Materials
Anna Saint Pierre's Granito project is harvesting the ingredients for new architectural building blocks from demolished structures.
Facing a Limited Budget, This Community College Still Built a Net-Zero Facility
The design-build project—with architects BNIM and builders Level 10—features extensive passive ventilation driven by thermal chimneys.
Sustainable Architecture Comes Into Focus For This Year's Stirling Prize
In contrast to recent years, this crop of RIBA Stirling Prize nominees foreground sustainable design practices ranging from low-carbon materials to adaptive reuse.
The Pioneering Sustainable Building That Still Inspires Pilgrimages
Spread out on a field in Michigan, Herman Miller's GreenHouse facility helped popularize sustainable building practices.
In an Industry First, Duvaltex’s New Collection Uses a Biodegradable Polyester Material
Duvaltex’s Clean Impact Textiles uses the industry’s first recycled, biodegradable polyester, meaning its fibers can break down in landfills and wastewater.
Measuring the True Value of Trees
Offsetted, an exhibition at Columbia University’s Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, explores how our society commodifies trees and the unintended consequences thereof.
Why the Building Sector May Be Humanity’s Best Hope for Averting Catastrophic Climate Change
Architects have enormous sway in specifying building materials and modes of operation; they also understand the political, budget, and client-education barriers to executing zero-carbon designs better than anyone.
5 Leading Experts and Advocates on How Architects Can Fight Climate Change
Metropolis speaks with Michael Sorkin, The Architecture Lobby, Kate Orff, Jesse M. Keenan, and Tom Jacobs on the Green New Deal, Architecture 2030, political activism, and more.
The Living Future unConference Emphasizes Equity in Sustainable Design
The conference, a cross-industry event that was hosted in Seattle from April 30–May 3, is an outgrowth of the Living Building Challenge certification program.
Designer Christien Meindertsma Is Pushing the Design Possibilities of Humble Flax
An exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago shows how Meindertsma is using flax to create sustainable furniture and objects.
In Lake|Flato’s Eco-Conservation Studio, Sustainability and Education Go Hand-in-Hand
Green building was always part of the firm's DNA, though a little more than ten years ago Lake|Flato formed an internal studio that would focus on landscape and resource management.
5 Futuristic Materials That Could Reshape Architecture and Design
While technology has always been a double-edged sword when it comes to sustainability and equity, it also holds the key to ameliorating pressing environmental challenges.
Going Beyond the Punchlist: Why Architects Should Embrace Post-Occupancy Evaluations
While costly, a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) can reveal a wealth of information. Furthermore, new technologies are helping architects track building performance like never before.
