Living Machines and other types of constructed wetlands are beautiful, but they’re not ideal for every client. Onsite wastewater treatment might make sense for your next project, though, depending on factors like the site, the local infrastructure, and the owner’s mission.

Top-performing quad-glazed windows from Alpen installed with three low-e coatings and krypton gas fill R-12 windows from Alpen with three low-e coatings and krypton gas-fill. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

My struggle to find reasonably energy-efficient exterior doors for our new house The wood-like fiberglass door we found for our farmhouse. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

With an unusual keynote and tracks on resilience, systemic thinking, and cutting-edge pro tips, you’ll be lucky to catch BE13.

Stop procrastinating! Submissions for the 2013 COTE Top Ten Awards close on January 25. The Woods Hole Research Center and many others have set a high bar for AIA COTE Top Ten awards. Does your project have what it takes?Photo Credit: McDonough+Partners

Ease off on the gas — and other behavioral changes to reduce energy for transportation A no-idling sign in my home town to remind residents not to idle their cars.Photo Credit: Stan Howe

A proposed change to the residential building code (International Residential Code) would eliminate the need for halogenated flame retardants in many applications

An early-morning photo on the West River Trail in Brattleboro. With planned improvements, this will become a great commuting route for bicyclists. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

Turn off the lights, turn down the thermostat, and take shorter showers. Remembering to turn off the lights is easy and it saves a lot of energy.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

A few shopping ideas for the holiday season. A Yuba cargo bike with precious cargo.Photo Credit: Yuba

Open-web, parallel-chord joists with solid-wood diagonal struts for use as superinsulated roof rafters. Open Joist Triforce rafters being installed on our house. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

From high-tech BIPV to smarter plugs for the home, we found lots of great new products at Greenbuild this year.

The Forest Stewardship Council honors four stunning projects at Greenbuild for their use of sustainable timber. This rendering shows the Bullitt Center as envisioned.Photo Credit: Miller Hull Partnership

Using Foamglas instead of polystyrene to insulate beneath our basement slab and on the foundation walls. Eli Gould cutting Foamglas for use under our basement slab. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

 

The Greenbuild conference, as usual, was the place to find out about innovations in green building products. Agepan THD wood-fiber insulative sheathing is now being sold by the Small Planet Workshop. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Small Planet Workshop