This second article in a three-part series on the University of Rochester’s Clinical and Translational Science Building addresses the strategies Francis Cauffman used to achieve LEED Gold certification.

When designing the Clinical and Translational Science Building (CTSB) in Rochester, NY, Francis Cauffman was challenged with a two-fold mission: achieve high standards of sustainable design while addressing the functional requirements of 11 user groups with distinctly different objectives, day-to-day tasks, and schedules.

Electric vehicles provide a welcome alternative to gasoline-powered cars ... welcome, that is, as long as we are still able to fuel up as we travel. Take a look at current options available in the United States for charging while on the go.

When Eddy Grant came up with the lyrics to his 1982 hit “Electric Avenue” he likely wasn’t expecting people to actually be rocking down an electric highway just 30 years later. That's what people will be doing later this year on the West Coast Electric Highway (WCEH), a tri-state initiative that will form the longest electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the country, stretching along Interstate 5 from the Canadian to the Mexican border.

Gas station design is about to experience a major shift. Madrid’s BREEAM-certified Repsol station demonstrates what may be on the horizon, both in terms of building design and what is for sale at the pump.

For most, gas stations may not come to mind when talking about exceptional green design, especially these days. Gas prices are continuously soaring, and we are more commonly wide-eyed at the outrageous prices than at the eco-friendly qualities or pleasing aesthetics of these in-and-out petrol ports.

A trip to Design Columbus 2012 in Columbus, Ohio, showcases the positive impact made by local chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo is the world’s largest conference and exhibition devoted to green building. By attending you can take in three days of seminars and other educational events, see thousands of products, and enjoy live streaming and archived conference videos. Although Greenbuild is the USGBC’s premier event, local USGBC chapters host a number of similar events each year, and some are bound to take place practically in your own backyard.

Learn how to utilize the unique small spaces in your home using a collection of vintage crates, sewing drawers, and shipping boxes creatively repurposed into a funky shelving unit. Rachael Ranney, host of Buildipedia’s {Re}habitat, takes you step by step through this super easy project, a perfect way to add storage and style to your home on the cheap.

The bathroom – most often the smallest room in the house, and home to perhaps the greatest variety of stuff – is the first challenge that I have decided to tackle while settling into my new home.

A new facility for Unilever combines a contemporary, connected office environment with award-winning green building features.

When Unilever, a health and wellness company in Hamburg, Germany, determined that it needed a new headquarters, it wanted a structure that would provide adequate work space while fostering communication, socialization, and a sense of unity among its employees. Creating a juxtaposition of work and social space, Behnisch Architekten was able to bring the vision of unity to fruition while honoring Unilever’s commitment to sustainability and creating a better future.

Despite technological advances in weather forecasting, natural disasters are often unpredictable. Even when we do know a geological or meteorological disturbance is on its way, very often little can be done to protect existing homes from destruction, so TF Forming Systems is building in that protection from the ground up.

TF Forming Systems owner Steven Huff is in the process of building a large residential structure that will be able to withstand the toughest natural disasters, all while reducing dependence on oil, gas, and coal. TF Forming Systems manufactures and distributes a variety of insulated concrete forms (ICF). The Pensmore Chateau, a 72,000 sq. ft. structure located in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, is said to be able to withstand F5 tornadoes, in addition to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fire, and insect damage. The chateau is located between Springfield and Branson, Mo., near the town of Joplin, which was devastated by F4 and F5 tornadoes in 2011.

It’s no fun to spend money on something you can’t see. Therefore, some green homebuilders are giving you a peek inside their homes’ walls via full-scale "deconstructed" models in order to showcase their energy-saving features.

Homebuilders are finding that green homes, which save owners money in addition to helping the environment, are a powerful differentiator in today’s real estate market. However, buyers may be more motivated to invest in goods that they can actually see. Companies such as Central New York builder Miller Homes and Utah’s Garbett Homes are using deconstructed models to show prospective buyers – as well as building industry professionals and members of the general public – actual sustainable products located inside their buildings’ walls. Miller Homes was awarded a grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to implement high-performance building practices, with a focus on tightening the building envelope, and then partnered with Dow Building Solutions and CDH Energy to build an educational, deconstructed duplex. Garbett Homes has built several deconstructed models to reach out to their target market, first-time home buyers. Referring to a Garbett deconstructed model, Rene Oehlerking, director of marketing at Garbett Homes, says, “Nothing is mocked up. We built the home and we stripped the walls, basically taking parts of the home and peeling them back so people can see the actual application. Everything in our deconstruct is a standard feature.”

Find out, step by step, how to create two very different DIY coat racks using both natural and recycled materials. Watch {Re}habitat, Rachael Ranney’s online video series on Buildipedia.com’s Go Green channel, to learn how adaptive reuse can add fun and function to your space.

I am constantly looking for ways to create new and inexpensive storage for my small home. Throughout the winter and spring months here in the Midwest, my house is always cluttered with a flurry of coats, gloves, and other cold weather gear. Installing a coat rack near your front door will add storage capacity to your entryway and can help you to clear up some of the chaos.

This month’s featured home in Madison, Wisconsin, is the personal residence of Carol Richard, AIA, LEED AP, and founding partner of Richard Wittschiebe Hand, an award-winning firm in Atlanta, Georgia.

Architect Carol Richard isn’t new to the challenges and rewards of designing and building green homes. In fact, she has spent her entire career helping her clients to marry livable, modern aesthetics with sustainable design. So when she and her husband, mechanical engineer Fred Berg, began to make plans to build their full-time residence upon retirement, the experienced duo was determined to pour all of their collective knowledge and expertise into a sustainable-living dream home.

HOK Architects has partnered with the U.S. Green Building Council to rebuild a Haitian orphanage. As early adopters of biomimicry principles, HOK Architects took inspiration from the native Kapok tree for the building’s design.

The lives of thousands of children were devastated by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010, but thanks to a building initiative, many of these children will soon have a new place to call home.

Even if you rent your home, the six steps for winterizing are worth doing. They help save the planet… and save you money!

Whether you are a renter like me or own your own home, these simple steps will help you to prepare your home inside and out for these chilly winter months.