AIA GREEN TOP TEN Located at the edge of Oakland, California's downtown Chinatown neighborhood, a colorful new affordable senior housing project transformed an abandoned site near a busy freeway into a community resource for disadvantaged and formerly homeless senior citizens while also exemplifying good universal and sustainable design. The six-story Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments, designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, was certified at the Platinum level under a LEED for Homes Mid-Rise pilot program. — Published 2013.0424
	ART WATTS In harnessing solar energy, the usual approach is to bolt an array of panels onto the roof of a building and plug it in. But recent advances such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) allow designers to incorporate solar cells seamlessly into a building's exterior. Canadian glass artist Sarah Hall is taking this idea in a novel direction by using solar technology to create a striking contemporary version of stained glass that illuminates the aesthetic potential of PV. — Published 2012.0606
	GREEN TOP TEN - BUILDINGS FOR EDUCATION In Newberg, Oregon, southwest of Portland, the first building has been built on a new 15-acre (6-hectare) campus for Portland Community College (PCC). The structure's distinctive forms provide a visual clue about the strategies — including passive cooling and extensive daylighting — that were used to achieve its goal of zero net energy use. — Published 2012.0516
	GREEN TOP TEN - OFFICE BUILDINGS When Perkins + Will recently sought to move its Atlanta offices, the firm wanted the new facility to serve as a case study for sustainable design. So, the multidisciplinary design firm purchased a 1986 office building down the street, retained as much of the structure as possible, and improved the energy-using systems. The renovated six-story, 79,000-square-foot (7,300-square-meter) building at 1315 Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta meets the 2030 Challenge and recently earned LEED Platinum certification. — Published 2012.0502
	NEW URBANISM NOW David Brower Center, Berkeley, Calfornia — Safeway No. 2912, Georgetown, Washington, D.C. — Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge, Massachusetts — SCAD Museum of Art, Savanna, Georgia — Lafitte Housing, New Orleans, Louisiana — Wyvernwood Mixed-Use, Los Angeles, California — Town Center, Mount Rainier, Maryland — Verkykerskop Farming Town, South Africa — Vision for Berrien Springs, Michigan — And more... — Published 2012.0328
	SUSTAINABLE BY BIM: TWO CASE STUDIES This pair of case studies explores the use of building information modeling (BIM) in small-scale sustainable design projects. —Editor Ross Street House — Published 2012.0229
	BEST OF BUILD BOSTON Build Boston, the largest regional conference and trade show for the design and construction industry in the United States, recently demonstrated again why it has earned such preeminence. More than 14,000 architects, designers, construction and facility managers, and owners attended the 27th Build Boston conference, hosted by the Boston Society of Architects in November 2011. The trade show floor boasted some 300 vendors — up 6% over last year — who plied their products with the usual vigor. — Published 2012.0111
	HIGH-RISE SUSTAINABILITY A high-level assessment of the impact of the urban tower on the natural environment would conclude that low land use and possible higher density are the chief advantages, with high energy usage being the chief disadvantage. Concepts of density and of energy usage are relative, and should be examined by comparing high-rise buildings with their low- or mid-rise alternatives. — Published 2012.0104
	LEED-EB O&M AT THE ROSE GARDEN ARENA In the last few years, fans of the Portland Trail Blazers may have noticed some changes to the Rose Garden arena, the basketball team's home court in Portland, Oregon. The white roof may look a bit brighter, after cleaning to improve solar reflectivity. Inside, conventional trash cans have been replaced by 300 receptacles for enhanced recycling and compost disposal. Outside, bicycle racks have proliferated, now accommodating 100 additional bikes. — Published 2011.1026
	SOLAR DECATHLON 2011 In the U.S. Department of Energy's recent Solar Decathlon, architecture and engineering students competed to build the most efficient, innovative, economical, and attractive home powered by the sun. — Published 2011.1012

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