From the description of the Sustainable Development category: The World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission), defined "sustainable development" as follows in the report Our Common Future (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1987): "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of "needs", in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs." Sustainable architecture is design and construction that supports these goals. Also known as green architecture or environmentally sensitive architecture. Through the use of building technologies, design strategies, and materials it seeks to minimize the impact we have on the environment.
Subcategories 13
Related categories 8
Sites 50
- BuildingGreen Publisher of Environmental Building News and the GreenSpec directory. Developer of the BuildingGreen Suite, a research tool for green design. Articles about green topics.
- Sustainable Architecture: Eco Design and Landscaping, Urbanism An archive of information about sustainable architecture and urbanism collected by Robert D. Hotten, MLA
- Green Building Concepts Tools to build a more energy and resource efficient home.
- US Green Building Council Non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. Developers of the LEED building rating system. Listings of regional chapters.
- Center for Research in Alternate Systems of Energy Design dissertation project outlining the use of alternate energy systems and principles of climatic architecture to reduce energy consumption in buildings. Includes a pilot project for a research campus. Good explanatory diagrams.
- Green Home Building Focuses on sustainable architecture strategies, natural building methods, and examples of vernacular architecture, with lists of books and related web sites. Also information on dealing with building codes when using natural building materials.
- EPA Green Building A gateway to numerous U.S. Environmental Protection Agency webpages on how to improve the environmental performance of buildings, with sections covering energy use, building materials, indoor air quality, water conservation and waste.
- GreenHomeNYC GreenHomeNYC facilitates the adoption of sustainable building methods and materials by owners of small residential and commercial buildings in New York City. Includes links and listing of local events.
- Green Building at Penn State A research program in sustainable construction at Penn State University Department of Architectural Engineering. Includes a multi-university program exploring sustainable housing solutions for American Indians.
- Green Advantage Voluntary training and certification program for construction professionals that is allied with the U.S. Green Building Council. Certification is based on the University of Florida's Build Green and Profit workshop that teaches concepts and techniques to conserve resources more effectively while profitably producing energy and water efficient housing.
- Natural Logic Consulting firm that assists companies and communities improve their environmental performance by using ecological models to reduce waste and energy use. E-letter, primer on sustainability, and links to articles and other resources.
- Earth Advantage Program started by Portland (OR) General Electric Company to support sustainable design of residential and commercial projects with consulting services and the Earth Advantage building certification program.
- Sustainable Condo An educational traveling display to illustrate and promote leading-edge sustainable building design, products, technologies, and systems. Based in Vancouver Canada.
- Better Bricks Information and resources about building energy efficiency for designers, owners and operators provided by the NorthWest Energy Efficiency Alliance.
- iGreenBuild Offers information about green building, sustainable design, and environmentally friendly building materials, including articles, editorial, reports, research, a buyer’s guide and online bookstore.
- GreenHomeGuide Reviews and advice for green remodeling and living. Articles, directories of recommended products and green building professionals and retailers.
- Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell Architects Architecture firm with a focus on sustainable architecture. Includes research papers on other methods than LEED of assessing building performance.
- Whole Building Design Guide Web portal for building-related information with a "whole building" focus provided by the National Institute of Building Sciences. Areas include Design Guidance, Project Management, Operations and Maintenance, Mandates and References, and Tools.
- Building Science Corporation Boston-based architecture and building science consulting firm. Site contains many articles about sustainable building practices and guides for house design based on climate type.
- Noble Home Manufacturer of custom-designed house kits built with sustainable methods and materials.
- Paladino Green Building Strategies Design/development to incorporate green building strategies and sustainable development approaches to create a new kind of building.
- Habitat Technology Group A non-governmental organization (NGO) located in India that promotes sustainable building solutions through training and advocacy.
- Furbish Company Design and installation of sustainable building systems, including installation of green energy systems, living roofs and walls, solar geothermal HVAC, and strawbale homes. Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
- Solar Vistas Sustainable development in the Malpais/Montezuma area of Costa Rica. Illustrations of tropical eco-house concept, links to resources in Costa Rica.
- Natural Homes Information and resources on low-impact construction methods. Includes links to building projects and workshops, and an interactive map of homes around the world.
- Living Homes Produces a line of homes featuring modern design and green materials. Shows sample interiors and exteriors.
- Green Building Advisor Partnership between BuildingGreen and Taunton Press. Green home case studies, discussion forums, blog, and a green encyclopedia. Subscription provides access to construction details in PDF or DWG format, detailed strategies, and a green-products database with reviews.
- International Passive House Conference News and information on programme, themes, presentation papers, speakers, exhibition and field trips. Frankfurt, Germany. Includes links to previous conferences. [English, German]
- Tirone Nunes Promotes, conceives, and studies the viability of bioclimatic buildings in the housing, office, commercial sectors and sport centers.
- Geiger Research Institute of Sustainable Building Resources and information on sustainable construction with a focus on poverty housing, including training in straw bale construction, sustainable house plans, directory of articles, consulting services, and a blog.
- Earth Investor Building and Supply Provider of prefabricated buildings that use recycled and sustainable products.
- Northeast Sustainable Energy Association Regional group promoting responsible energy use through education about green building practices. Publishers of "Northeast Sun". Site also includes information on energy and transportation.
- Advanced Buildings General information about sustainable construction.
- Strawbale Studio Educational group that provides workshops and presentations on straw bale construction, thatching, ecovillages, permaculture, and sustainable living.
- Mud Buildings Description of the process of constructing mud buildings in India.
- Energy Design Tools Software tools to analysis climate, sunlight, and building construction. Includes links to climate data files used by the programs. Developed at UCLA to run on PC compatible computers running DOS 3.1 or higher and Windows 95/98/NT.
- ecospecifier A knowledge base of environmentally-preferable materials, products, and technologies.
- Ten Shades of Green Site for the Ten Shades of Green exhibit organized by the Architectural League of New York. The introduction provides a good definition of what 'green' architecture is and isn't. Includes a list of resources and links.
- Solar Bubble Build Interior-environment control system that uses liquid bubble insulation, dynamic liquid cooling, and solar energy collection.
- Green Built Home Program implemented by the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative that promotes green building by using sustainable building and energy standards to review and certify new homes and remodeling projects. Named Green Building Program of the Year (2006) by the National Association of Home Builders.
- HOK Sustainability News News about HOK's sustainable planning, design, and delivery strategies.
- Ecoplanit Community-supported directory of green building products, services, resources.
- Baosol Adaptive Designer and researcher based in CO who writes on design and Passive House and hyper-localization of sustainable buildings. Includes a blog and building science information.
- Sustainable Sources Online collections of information on sustainable building, eco travel, and Latin American environmental issues. Keyword searchable.
- Oklahoma Building Summit Conference focusing on sustainable design, construction, and operation of homes.
- Natural Resources Defense Council Articles, links, reports, unpublished research, policy and technical analysis, and Congressional testimony relating to sustainable design and construction.
- Vital Signs Curriculum Materials Project A curriculum materials development effort to examine a physical building's performance. Includes resource packages available for downloading and case studies.
- International Living Future Institute Publishers of the Living Building Challenge performance standard for sustainable building.
- NAHB National Green Building Program Voluntary residential green building program featuring an online scoring tool, and certification and education programs.
- Pure Build Homes Designs and builds rammed earth and adobe houses in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Information about design, general contracting, and wall ramming services.