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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.

Making an assessment of your energy needs and uses is a valuable way to both save money and stay true to sustainable values.

As green career opportunities continue to grow, schools and universities are starting to offer a variety of educational options, from certification and training programs to advanced degrees.

So much emphasis in today’s world is on environmental sustainability and green technology. As more and more employers are becoming green-conscious, careers in the field of environmental policy, environmental sustainability, law and management are on the rise.

What is it that makes a person like a building? Beyond simple differences in individual taste, scientists are identifying biologically based responses that determine our preferences.

Green design can mean many things. Even the most structured green building rating systems reflect this fact. At their most encompassing, rating systems can include far reaching social and cultural goals; at their most pragmatic, these systems still emphasize the importance of environmental quality for the end user. However, this type of imprecise consideration is often overshadowed by components that are more measurable, such as energy-efficient heating and cooling systems or water usage.

In recent years, water issues have become a very hot topic. Water shortages throughout the western United States, as well as severe droughts in the southern, have made water usage a major concern. Many green building experts agree that with a growing global population we can no longer rely only on water conservation. Instead, green building technologies must quickly implement water efficiency. With that in mind, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expanded its WaterSense program with a comprehensive WaterSense Label for new homes.

A plate-type heat exchanger is a device which transfers the heat stored in one fluid to another fluid at a different temperature by passing the different fluids by each other in plate-like chambers.  The flow of the fluids may be cross-flow, parallel-flow, or counter-flow (perpendicular), as defined by the directions from which the fluids are supplied to the exchanger.

Warehouse space can appeal to developers and warehouse space is often available in prime downtown locations begging for redevelopment. However, cavernous warehouses often require special soundproofing before they  can be remodeled into workspace.

The best alternative to plain painted surfaces used to be wallpaper. But wallpaper is difficult to remove, and installing it requires a lot of prep work, not to mention the time spent on precision measuring, cutting, and hanging. Faux painting can have an effect that is just as dramatic, but it isn’t as much of a commitment. And painting is one of the least expensive ways to customize a space.

For those of you who grew up in the ‘70s, wallpaper may conjure memories of obnoxious stripes and florals that made you want to plan a great escape from your vinyl seat at mom’s aluminum breakfast table. I’m going to attempt to replace the outdated misconceptions that may plague your mind when you hear the word “wallpaper” and introduce a new perspective into your psyche: not only are today’s wallcovering options beautiful and environmentally friendly, many can truly be considered an art form.

You’ve been reading about BIM. It’s being used by all of the big companies, and they’re talking about the benefits they’ve reaped.You know that BIM will be coming to your workplace soon, too, but how and from what direction? Are you just supposed to buy a software suite and hope for the best?

As it turns out, that’s an approach not even the product makers and suppliers would recommend. Building information modeling (BIM) is increasingly being described as a "disruptive" technology, even by its biggest promoters, for a reason.“Most people now understand that BIM is a process, not a product,” says Catherine Palmer, Sr. Industry Marketing Manager, AEC Solutions at Autodesk. “It’s a paradigm shift.” When asked how small to medium sized firms should handle the move to BIM, Jim Lynch, Vice President, Building Product Line Group at Autodesk recommends education as a first step. “Position yourself by beginning with the concept,” says Lynch, “Then embrace it.”

Bath houses and shower houses have been a part of the human experience for centuries, but what role can they play now?

When the American Society of Hematology (ASH) was researching options for their new headquarters in 2008, they found a building in downtown Washington, DC, that offered the benefit of a central location combined with ample square footage. The structure required substantial reworking, however, to meet ASH’s various goals.