April 2009: New CBE Consortium Members Add to CBE Diversity
CBE welcomes two new consortium members, which each represent major players in California’s push towards sustainable buildings.
DPR Construction has completed over $1 billion in green projects, and has the highest percentage of LEED-accredited professionals among GCs in the US.
Southern California Edison provides power to over 13 million people and sponsors a wide range of energy efficiency and advanced technology programs.
January 2009: Centerline Article on Building Energy Dashboards
The building industry is adopting new data visualization tools, using a new generation of information displays, or dashboards, with features and interfaces tailored for building owners, operators, and occupants. CBE provides an overview of this trend in our winter 2009 edition of Centerline. Read the article (PDF)
October 2008: Livable Buildings Awards Announced
Results of the 2008 Livable Buildings Awards were announced at CBE’s Industry Advisory Board. We wish to congratulate the winning project team for SCA Americas Headquarters in Philadelphia, and also the project teams behind the three honorable mention projects. These buildings and workplaces meet the highest standards for providing healthy and productive indoor environments, and were identified by a jury of building industry professionals as strong examples of sustainability and overall design.
October 2008: CBE Welcomes New Consortium Members
At CBE’s Industry Advisory Board meeting we welcomed a new partner team headed by new A/E/C membership team, headed by Rumsey Engineers, with CPP, Mahlum Architects, Mithun, and Perkins + Will. These new partners offer a wealth of creativity and professional expertise, and are already involved in several collaborations with our research staff. In addition we look forward to working with, Coherent Structures, a Phoenix-based contractor and supplier of integrated interior systems, which joined our consortium this fall.
August 2008: Special Occupant Survey Promotion for Schools
We have been expanding our Occupant IEQ Survey project to evaluate occupant satisfaction in several types buildings. We have completed a new survey instrument for use in schools, which we hope to implement in a large number projects to analyze occupant satisfaction trends and patterns in K-12 schools. We are offering the use of the survey for no cost for any project registered by October 15th, 2008. See additional information
May 2008: CBE Student Researcher Wins Switzer Fellowship
Sam Borgeson, a graduate student in UC Berkeley’s Building Science Program, was awarded the Switzer Environmental Fellowship, given to a very select group of graduate students dedicated to improving environmental quality and demonstrating leadership in their fields. In addition to his many activities on campus, Sam is working with Prof. Gail Brager on CBE’s mixed-mode building research, and the UC Berkeley Building Energy Dashboard. See Sam's award posting.
April 2008: New Industry Partners Provide HVAC Expertise
At our Industry Advisory Board meeting, we welcomed three new firms which are leaders in HVAC design and manufacturing. We look forward to our collaborations with these industry leaders:
Environmental Systems Design (ESD) has over 240 engineering and design professionals in its Chicago office, and is one of the largest consulting engineering firms in the Midwest.
Glumac has eight offices on the West Coast, and provides consulting engineering for four market segments - Commercial, Healthcare, Institutional, and Advanced Technology.
Uponor is a provider of innovative residential and commercial plumbing, heating & cooling and fire safety systems.
March 2008: Best Practice Awards Press
A feature article in the online magazine Architecture Week highlights CBE's Livable Buildings Awards. The article provides a discussion of the merits of each award winning project, with numerous images, plans and sections of the winners. Go to the article
February 2008: Continuing Education Article in Architectural Record cites CBE's Occupant Survey
An article by Joann Gonchar in the February 2008 issue of Architectural Record shows how "postoccupancy evaluations offer a systematic process for assessing completed projects, pointing the way to better-performing buildings." The article, which is followed by a quiz for AIA continuing education credit, includes a detailed description of CBE's survey research, with examples of POE results from projects by EHDD, Stantec, and HOK. Read the article