HOUSE RECYCLING Depending on your generation, you may have been taught: "Waste not, want not." Thrift is certainly one incentive for deconstructing buildings for reuse. In addition, many of us are motivated by a desire to be environmentally sensitive, a fondness for antiques and other items from the past, a yearning to have more control over the quality of materials used in construction, or a recognition that many of the materials available for salvage are of higher quality than those produced today. — Published 2007.0530
	HOK STRAW BALE For over a decade, straw-bale construction has been growing in popularity among "alternative" house builders. The durable, low-cost, nontoxic, highly insulating, pest-resistant, and potentially structural material is especially practical in hot arid climates. It was used extensively in the treeless grasslands of the U.S. Midwest early in the 20th century. — Published 2007.0516
	LEED GOLD HOSPITAL Because of unusually strict technical, mechanical, and air quality requirements, hospitals are one of the most difficult building types to design sustainably. Yet the Providence Newberg Medical Center by Mahlum Architects has achieved a LEED Gold rating — the first hospital in the United States to do so. It is also the first U.S. hospital to acquire enough renewable electric power to meet all its needs. — Published 2007.0502
	SWEETWATER CREEK Like many other buildings that receive the coveted Platinum-level LEED certification, the Sweetwater Creek State Park Visitors Center, near Lithia Springs, Georgia, features numerous energy conservation measures and has a roof full of photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. — Published 2007.0418
	BIG RIPPLES Magic in architecture often occurs when the client presents the architect with clear criteria and formidable challenges and when, rather than engineer around obstacles, the designer embraces the challenges as opportunities to enrich the project. Such was the case with the Heifer International Center, in Little Rock, Arkansas, designed by Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects. The result is a building that meets the client's needs with stellar design and an anticipated LEED-Gold rating. — Published 2007.0404
	GREEN SCHOOL ECONOMICS When architects are asked to articulate the economic benefits of "green" buildings, they may say something like: "they may cost more in construction than conventional buildings but will more than make up the difference in the long run." This claim seems reasonable, but how do we know it's accurate? — Published 2007.0314
	ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER IN GEORGIA Architects designing educational centers for environmental organizations bear a special responsibility to make their medium part of the message. The new Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center (GEHC) in Buford, Georgia, designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent, is a lesson in itself about energy and water conservation. — Published 2007.0228
	REMODELING NATURALLY Many people start a home remodeling project by designing an addition and selecting finish materials. But if your goal is to live in harmony with nature, you need to begin with something more basic: a personal strategy for weaving your needs together with the natural elements available at your site. — Published 2007.0214
	BUILDING POTENTIAL In the rolling hills just east of Austin, Texas, a small compound of experimental buildings makes up the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (CMPBS). Here, Pliny Fisk III, his partner Gail Vittori, and a cadre of researchers and interns explore the depths of sustainable building. — Published 2007.0131
	UNSUSTAINABLE "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This definition was written 20 years ago in the Brundtland Report, commissioned by the United Nations. Since then, the goal of sustainable urban development has been embraced, in theory, by many officials and design professionals all over the world. But examples of meeting today's needs seem limited to the more prosperous segments of society. Living conditions today in the slums of many of the world's largest cities are appalling, and not improving. — Editor — Published 2007.0117

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