Buildings Harnessing the Power of Algae July 02, 2018 Perhaps a decade or two from now, RCI will offer a class on bio-building of the building envelope. If that happens, algae-powered structures may be a unit of that class. In 2013, engineering firm Arup built the first “bio-adaptive façade” on an apartment building in Hamburg, Germany as part of the International Building Exhibition. Called […] Read More
First Net-Positive Energy Office Building Planned for Canada March 29, 2018 The Howland Green Business Centre, in Markham, ON, will be Canada’s first net-positive energy office building, producing more energy than it consumes, when completed. Innovative features will include enhanced insulated concrete framework (ICF) with a thermal resistance value of at least R-40, R-80 roof insulation, and fiberglass windows employing low-emissivity argon gas with resistance values […] Read More
Vegetative Roofs: A Problem, or the Future? March 29, 2018 By Jon Crumrine, RRO, GRP As a roofing technology, vegetative roofs have been widely installed in the United States for only about the last 20 years. The market acceptance of vegetative roofing continues, and the industry has gradually moved beyond the knee-jerk reaction held by many that vegetative roofs were “problems waiting to happen.” In […] Read More
ASTM Issues Standard Guide for the Development of a Waste Management Plan for Construction, Deconstruction, or Demolition Projects March 14, 2018 By Director of Technical Services Walt Rossiter ASTM International Technical Committee E60 on Sustainability held its fall meeting this past October. Among its accomplishments was the completion of a new standard, E3073, titled “Guide for Development of a Waste Management Plan for Construction, Deconstruction, or Demolition Projects.” This standard was developed under the jurisdiction of […] Read More
Denver Green Roof Initiative Passes February 27, 2018 Voters in Denver gave the thumbs up to a new sustainability initiative for the city that requires new buildings exceeding 25,000 sq. ft. and residential buildings over four stories high and greater than 25,000 sq. ft. to have a portion of their roofs covered by a “green, vegetative space.” Existing buildings would have to add […] Read More
ASTM International Issues New Standard Guide on Vegetative Roofing Systems October 28, 2017 By Walt Rossiter, RCI Director of Technical Services This past spring, ASTM International Committee D08 on Roofing and Waterproofing issued a new standard, D8014, titled Guide for Selection of Membranes Used in Vegetative Roofing Systems. The standard is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee D08.24 on Sustainability. It is the third standard that the subcommittee has […] Read More
RCI Fall Class Schedule Includes Offerings in New Orleans, San Francisco October 13, 2017 New Orleans RCI is starting November off in New Orleans, LA with a waterproofing and a vegetative design class offered back to back. Both will be at the Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans, located at 739 Canal Street. You can spend three days in New Orleans and earn 24 CEHs. Details are below, and you […] Read More
Cool Roofs on the West Coast: Has Roofing Science Been up to the Task? May 08, 2017 Cool single-ply membranes with highly reflective surfaces have come to represent over 50% of the commercial roofing market. Each year, well over 1.5 billion square feet of these white membranes are installed. However, as with many changes, there have been concerns about unintended consequences associated with this large shift. For example, in northern regions, condensation […] Read More
Building Envelope Crowd-Sourcing Initiative Announced by ORNL April 07, 2017 Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), with funding from the Department of Energy, has issued a challenge to “develop a new material or an installation method that uses readily available products to improve the thermal performance and airtightness of a wall assembly, without compromising the durability of the wall assembly.” See the brief synopsis below. Building […] Read More
