Greenbuild 2007 has been relocated to Chicago after conflicts with the arranged Los Angeles venue would have forced a second date change. The USGBC's conference and expo will still be held Nov. 7–9, but now at the new McCormick Place West Building. For more information, visit www.greenbuildexpo.org.
The Window and Door Manufacturers Association's revisions to the industry standard for architectural flush doors were approved by the American National Standards Institute. The revisions, which aim to shift the requirements to performance-based as opposed to prescriptive criteria, had to be approved by a consensus of voting architects, designers, specifiers, and users.
If buildings are responsible for 48 percent of annual greenhouse-gas emissions, then it's the responsibility of the building industry to reverse global warming. So goes the thinking behind the 2030 Challenge, issued Feb. 20 during an interactive webcast that brought together a virtual assembly of “tens of thousands” of people, according to organizers at www.architecture2030.org. The site provides targeted performance standards by building type and a forum for swapping strategies.
The debate continues on whether there should be a LEED credit fornotusing PVC. After four years of study, a special U.S. Green Building Council committee assigned to research the environmental and health impacts of choosing PVC-based siding, piping, windows, and flooring released their findings in late February. Far from providing a simple answer, the study raises new questions, including how risks to human health should be reconciled with risks to the natural environment. The 205-page report is viewable at www.usgbc.org/News/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?ID=2957.
