Sustainable Architecture

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.
www.bnim.com/

Better Bricks - Information and resources about building energy efficiency for designers, owners and operators provided by the NorthWest Energy Efficiency Alliance.
www.betterbricks.com/

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.
www.buildingscience.com/

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.
www.buildinggreen.com/

Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems - A research and design center for sustainable building practices run by Pliny Fisk, based in Austin TX.
www.cmpbs.org/

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.
mhathwar.tripod.com/thesis

DAWN SouthWest - Tucson, AZ organization that conducts workshops on sustainable construction.
www.greenbuilder.com/dawn/

Earth Advantage Sustainable Building - 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. Site contains technology reports, links to information sites, and listings of builders and events in the Portland area.
www.earthadvantage.org

Ecobuild Federal - Annual conference for the federal government and AEC design professionals to provide examples of sustainable architecture.
www.ecobuildfederal.com/

Ecological Home Ideas - Publisher of ecoLogical Home Ideas magazine. Links to suppliers, resources, and organizations dealing with sustainable residential architecture and products. Site also has a discussion forum.
www.ecologicalhomeideas.com

ecospecifier - A knowledge base of environmentally-preferable materials, products, and technologies.
www.ecospecifier.org/

Elements - Sustainable Design consulting division of BNIM Architects in Kansas City, MO. Good reading list of books that inspire change.
elements.bnim.com

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.
www2.aud.ucla.edu/energy-design-tools/

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.
www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/

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.
www.furbishco.com/

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.
www.greenadvantage.org

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.
www.engr.psu.edu/greenbuild/

Green Building Concepts - Tools to build a more energy and resource efficient home.
www.greenconcepts.com

Green Building Encyclopedia - Green building design guide with resources on the LEED exam, indoor air quality, water conservation, environmental construction products, straw bale, and energy-star appliances. For homebuilders, architects, engineers, real estate developers.
www.whygreenbuildings.com

Green Building Primer - A primer on green building focusing on residential construction.
www.energybuilder.com/greenbld.htm

Green Built Home - Program implemented by the Wisconsion 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.
www.greenbuilthome.org/

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.
www.greenhomebuilding.com

GreenClips - A biweekly email newsletter that contains a summary of news on sustainable building design and related government and business issues. Site contains 13 years of archives.
www.greenclips.com/

GreenHomeGuide - Reviews and advice for green remodeling and living. Articles, directories of recommended products and green building professionals and retailers.
www.GreenHomeGuide.com

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.
www.greenhomenyc.org/

Habitat Technology Group - A non-governmental organization (NGO) located in India that promotes sustainable building solutions through training and advocacy.
www.habitattechnologygroup.org/

HOK Sustainable Design News - News about HOK's sustainable planning, design, and delivery strategies.
www.hoksustainabledesign.com

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.
www.igreenbuild.com/

Irish Eco Builders - Photos of strawbale, timber, and thatch projects in Ireland. Also contains many links to thatch, strawbale, and green building sites.
homepage.eircom.net/~greenbuild/

LISA: Life Cycle Analysis In Sustainable Architecture - Providers of a life cycle decision support tool to calculate the environmental impact of a building. Also provides a range of impact attributes.
www.lisa.au.com

Living Homes - Produces a line of homes featuring modern design and green materials. Shows sample interiors and exteriors.
www.livinghomes.us/

Mud Buildings - Description of the process of constructing mud buildings in India.
mudbuildings.googlepages.com/

The Natural Home Building Source - Sustainable, passive solar, do-it-yourself house plans are featured with interior planterbeds, composting toilets, greywater recycling and septic system products.
www.thenaturalhome.com

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.
naturalhomes.org

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.
www.natlogic.com/index.html

Natural Resources Defense Council - Articles, links, reports, unpublished research, policy and technical analysis, and Congressional testimony relating to sustainable design and construction.
www.nrdc.org/cities/default.asp

Newton House - Information related to sustainable construction in Queensland Australia. Includes links to related sites in Australia.
www.newtonhouse.info/default.htm

Noble Home - Manufacturer of custom-designed house kits built with sustainable methods and materials.
noble-home.net

Northeast Sustainable Energy Assoication: Green Buildings - Regional group promoting responsible energy use through education about green building practices. Publishers of "Northeast Sun". Site also includes information on energy and transportation.
www.nesea.org/buildings/info/

Oikos Green Building Library - Articles and selections from books about sustainable design and energy efficiency. Includes a green products directory, classifieds, and bookstore.
oikos.com/library/index.html

Paladino Green Building Strategies - Design/development to incorporate green building strategies and sustainable development approaches to create a new kind of building.
www.paladinoandco.com/

Passive-On Project - Group developing design guidelines and tools for passive houses for both cooling and heating dominated climates. Focus is on European climates.
www.passive-on.org

ResModern - Good overview of sustainable design concepts illustrated by modern design elements.
www.resmodern.com

Seven Generations Natural Builders - Group that teaches workshops throughout USA in cob, straw bale, and other natural building methods. Definitions of various methods and list of book and web site resources.
sgnb.com/intro.php

Solar Vistas - Sustainable development in the Malpais/Montezuma area of Costa Rica. Illustrations of tropical eco-house concept, links to resources in Costa Rica.
www.solar-vistas.com

Strawbale Studio Natural Building Project - Gives information on natural building, thatching, ecovillages, permaculture and sustainable living.
www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/7729/index.html

Sustainability Works - A complete development tool anyone interested in adopting a sustainable approach to housing development and regeneration, including housing associations, local authorities, consultants, contractors and developers.
www.sustainabilityworks.org.uk/

Sustainable Architecture: Eco Design and Landscaping, Urbanism - An archive of information about sustainable architecture and urbanism collected by Robert D. Hotten, MLA
www.aloha.net/~laumana/

Sustainable Building Sourcebook Contents - A collection of information and sources of materials, assistance, and further research on many aspects of sustainable construction and remodeling.
www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/contents.html

Sustainable Condo - An educational traveling display to illustrate and promote leading-edge sustainable building design, products, technologies, and systems. Based in Vancouver Canada.
www.sustainablecondo.com

Sustainable Sources - Online collections of information on sustainable building, eco travel, and Latin American environmental issues. Keyword searchable.
www.greenbuilder.com/

Sustaining: tower blocks - a resource portal for sustainable refurbishment of tower blocks. The project will re-evaluate existing practice in terms of the designs and strategies for refurbishment of tower blocks.
www.sustainingtowers.org

Temporary Desert Structures Project - Structures for Burning Man, or camping in the Black Rock Desert, must be designed for the extreme heat, severe wind storms, and sudden rains of northwestern Nevada. Lots of technical advice about building environmentally appropriate structures.
www.geocities.com/potatotrap/tech/bluetarp.htm

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.
www.tenshadesofgreen.org/

Tirone Nunes - Promotes, conceives, and studies the viability of bioclimatic buildings in the housing, office, commercial sectors and sport centers.
www.tironenunes.pt/

The Tofte Project - Interactive tour of the Tofte Project and cabin, and the principles of sustainable architecture that were used in the cabin's design and construction.
www.tofteproject.info

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.
www.usgbc.org

Vital Signs Project - A curriculum materials development effort to examine a physical building's performance. Includes resource packages available for downloading and case studies.
arch.ced.berkeley.edu/vitalsigns/

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.
www.wbdg.org/

YourHomePlanet - Large directory of environmental building design information resources. Includes a link to a design tool for environmentally sensitive hospitality design.
www.yourhomeplanet.com