SUSTAINABLE HOUSING PROTOTYPES At the United Nations Habitat World Urban Forum in Vancouver, British Columbia, in June 2006, Living Steel announced the results of its International Competition for Sustainable Housing. Living Steel is a consortium of steel companies and associations that has teamed with the UN to find solutions to worldwide housing shortages. — Published 2006.0712
	VINYL: ANY COLOR BUT GREEN In the debate over the "greenness" of building materials, vinyl has become a divisive topic. The U.S. Green Building Council conducted what it termed an exhaustive study of the environmental impact of vinyl and decided to drop recommendations to avoid the use of vinyl in its LEED certification program. As a result, the USGBC has found itself at odds with some environmental groups. — Published 2006.0621
	BEAUTY AND THE BEST More than just resource-efficient buildings, projects from Venezuela, Germany, Italy, and Canada recently chosen as recipients of the first global Holcim Awards demonstrate "sustainability" as integration with their larger urban, social, and technological context. They were recently selected from 15 finalists after a series of regional competitions with more than 3,000 submissions from 118 countries. — Published 2006.0607
	TWO GREEN HOUSES Fifty-one-year-old Kengo Kuma, among the best-known Japanese architects of his generation, tends to use each of his residential commissions to explore a single building material. In a dense Tokyo neighborhood, for example, he designed the so-called Plastic House. — Published 2006.0517
	BAN TALKS TO STUDENTS As a noted architectural experimenter, Japanese architect Shigeru Ban was a natural choice as keynote speaker to open the student-run HOPES (Holistic Options for Planet Earth Sustainability) conference for 2006 in April. Now in its 12th year, the conference weaves together a mix of architectural scholars, practitioners, and students to promote a deeper understanding of sustainable design issues. — Published 2006.0510
	CHILL DATA When we think of "data center," what comes to mind most readily may be a low, nondescript warehouse in a flat, featureless industrial park. But think again. RTKL Associates, in designing the Highmark Data Center in West Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, built the structure into a hillside, to great functional advantage, and achieved a LEED silver rating in the bargain. — Published 2006.0426
	BOISE LEED-NC In a state better known for its green forests than its "green" building practices, a newly renovated warehouse sets a precedent for sustainability. Front 5 Building in downtown Boise, Idaho has just been received the state's first LEED-NC (New Construction and Major Renovations) certification for its energy- and resource-efficiency. — Published 2006.0412
	DEEP AND MERELY TINTED GREENS As the concept of "green design" enters the mainstream of our building culture, designers are being given a glut of information — and misinformation — on what constitutes environmentally sound practices. The term "greenwashing" has entered the lexicon to mean giving the appearance of being green without providing substantive environmental benefit. — Published 2006.0329
	HEALTH, CARE AND COMFORT River Campus Building One, for Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) in Portland, is a high-performance building with a conventional budget. The 16-story building, currently in construction, displays an innovative approach to mechanical engineering for a medical and research environment. In collaboration with developer Gerding/ Edlen and GBD Architects, Interface Engineering has met aggressive design criteria for resource conservation while paying special attention to the thermal comfort of medically fragile occupants. — Editor — Published 2006.0308
	SAVING CONCRETE ENERGY With the growing awareness of the environmental harm of greenhouse gases, one major culprit in the construction industry is beginning to attract attention. The production of Portland cement, a key ingredient of concrete, releases substantial amounts of carbon dioxide (C02) — 8 percent of greenhouse gases worldwide. The United States consumes 110 million tons (100 million metric tons) of Portland cement annually and China now produces and places five times that amount. — Published 2006.0222

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