SOLAR DECATHLON 2009 In mid-October 2009, twenty teams of engineering and architecture students erected houses on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the biennial Solar Decathlon green building contest. After spending two years designing and building cutting-edge solar houses, the teams — mostly from North America — sought the designation of "most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient" for their structures. — Published 2009.1028
	CONNECTICUT SCIENCE CENTER BY PELLI The Connecticut Science Center is a new architectural showpiece in the city of Hartford, Connecticut, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. The design expresses themes that have been part of Cesar Pelli's oeuvre for many years: the importance of public space and its role in the city. — Published 2009.1028
	GREEN HOUSE IN GEORGIA In the American South, a region that tends to laud its heritage, modern can be a hard sell. A residential client often hears neighborhood fears that a new modern dwelling will look "chilly" and won't fit in. RainShine House by architect Robert M. Cain answers those concerns. Built near downtown Decatur, Georgia, part of metro Atlanta, the LEED Platinum-certified home is bright, welcoming, treads lightly on its site, and respects its neighbors. — Published 2009.0909
	TWO HOUSES IN EAST AUSTRALIA Two houses in east Australia exhibit powerful simplicity in form, space, and circulation, while each effectively addresses the specifics of its contrasting site, seaside or subdivision. Designed by two different Brisbane firms, each lead by young principals, both of these houses show environmentally conscious responses to the subtropical climate of the southeastern Queensland area, with warm, humid summers and mild winters. — Published 2009.0902
	MAKING BUILDINGS GOOD The days of making the business case for sustainable design, or even explaining what LEED means and why it is important, have passed. Today's green building challenges have moved to more complicated areas of policy — permitting and politics — and the motivating sense of competition to be "the greenest." — Published 2009.0722
	FREE ENERGY ANALYSIS WITH IES VE-WARE Dr. Don McLean, founder and CEO of Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES), believes every architect should have the ability to understand the environmental impact of his or her building design. To realize this vision, McLean is prepared to give architects free access to some of the most basic features of his company's Virtual Environment software suite. — Published 2009.0624
	PELLI'S PLATINUM VISIONAIRE At first glance, the glossy new 35-story condominium tower slicing into the lower Manhattan skyline doesn't stand out as a beacon of sustainable design. Its sleek form — an extruded curving wedge accented with red terra cotta bands — looks more Ferrari than Prius. And the structure's granite base and travertine lobby walls are elements not usually associated with green building. — Published 2009.0610
	GREEN STIMULUS MULTIPLICATION What if there were a way for states, cities, and counties to leverage each dollar of federal stimulus money they spend to generate $14 of private spending, create 14 times the number of jobs, reimburse the federal government $3, and get a dollar back to boot? And what if that economic solution could also help us tackle climate change by constructively attacking building-related carbon emissions? — Published 2009.0506
	AUTODESK ECOTECT ANALYSIS 2010 If your client adds a series of penthouses to his pending skyscraper, will it cast a shadow on nearby city properties? How much can you reduce solar gain by adding some shading devices between the floors? If you cover the roof areas with photovoltaic panels, how much electricity can you generate? And if your client changes the project from a residential building to an office building, how will it affect the annual water usage? — Published 2009.0429
	ASU POLYTECHNIC GREEN The new academic complex on the Polytechnic campus of Arizona State University (ASU) was built to withstand the insistent, erosive forces of the desert around Mesa, Arizona. "Being out on the eastern part of the valley, the site is very exposed and gets hit very hard with wind and rain," says Beau Dromiack, design leader for RSP Architects, the architect of record for the project. "It requires a durable architecture which we call 'desert tough.'" — Published 2009.0422

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