Minergie and Swiss high-performance building

The Swiss embassy in Washington DC will be hosting another green building event on September 8th focused on high-performance building and the Swiss Minergie performance standard. A quick video of last year's event is available here. Switzerland is increasingly recognized for the leadership demonstrated by making high-performance building almost standard practice. A great report from MIT can be found here comparing high-performance building in the U.S., Switzerland, and Germany. Information on ongoing research is available here. Switzerland recently become the most expensive country for construction. A new linkedin group for Minergie and high-performance building just formed - do join us!

"What's our exuse?" Seattle and Green Building

A serious discussion on green building codes and the local building community in Seattle is taking place on publicola. More good writing by Dan Bertolet of the architecture firm GGLO.

What is it with architects and prefabricated housing?

Colin Davies, author of a The Prefabricated Home and a professor or architecture at London Metropolitan University, revisits the topic of prefab and makes some very strong points about how architects continue to fail to work with builders to exploit the potential. His column is part of a series on "The Prefab Front" in the current issue of "The Magazine of the Royal Institute of British Architects" and definitely worth reviewing.

Sustainable building in Japan

An interesting resource for sustainable buildings in Japan.

Ken Tadashi Oshima is the most knowledgeable and best resource for prefab and industrialized housing in Japan. A great video interview with him can be found at this website (interview #63)

Swiss High-performance building - 15,000 proofs-of-concept

From a 2009 conference in Washington DC. 12 page PDF introduction to the Swiss Minergie standard with comparisons to the USGBC's LEED program.

Green Building in China - Putting it all together

15 page overview of green building in China from a 2009 report on cleantech. A very good and concise overview.

IDEAbuilder in Sustainable Industries magazine

The March issue of Sustainable Industries featured an article on European green building by Justin Moresco. Both Stefan and I were extensively interviewed for the article and much of the information we shared with Justin was included. You can read the article here.