Topic guides

Sustainable building and design

Definition and scope

This guide provides a general introduction to locating information about sustainable or green building and design. It focuses specifically on resources devoted to enhancing energy efficiency and reducing negative environmental impact through conscientious design practice.

Addison

When keyword searching for information, it is important to employ synonyms, related concepts, and variations on terminology to retrieve more robust and focused results. If you were searching for information about energy-efficient windows, for instance, you might try including or interchanging related terms such as daylighting, fenestration, and glazing in your searches. Common synonyms for sustainable include environmental, green, ecological, and so forth.

Use a subject search for a more refined list of results. Potentially relevant Library of Congress subject headings include:

• Adaptive reuse
• Architecture - environmental aspects
• Architecture-technological innovations
• Architecture and energy conservation
• Architecture and solar radiation
• Building - environmental aspects
• Building materials, alternative
• Building materials -environmental aspects
• Building materials – recycling
• Buildings -environmental engineering
• Buildings - health aspects
• Buildings - salvaging
• Environmental health
• Green products
• Green roofs
• Indoor air pollution
• Industrial buildings - remodeling for other use
• Sick building syndrome
• Sustainable architecture

Databases

BuildingGreen Suite

   

BuildingGreen Suite

BuildingGreen includes online versions of GreenSpec, "Environmental Building News", a database of green products (product descriptions and articles about the products), and a database of more than 160 high-performance building case studies (all in HTML). This information is searchable and cross-referenced by CSI MasterFormat division, LEED credit, or green building topic. 1992-present.  

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Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals from EBSCOhost

   

    

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals from EBSCOhost

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals indexes citations, abstracts, and full-text articles in architecture and design from American and international scholarly and trade journals, popular magazines, and publications of professional organizations. In addition, this database also provides citation records for architects' obituaries. Full text, when available, is in PDF and HTML. 1800s-present.  

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Engineering Village

   

  

Engineering Village

Engineering Village is the search interface to three engineering databases: Compendex, Inspec, and NTIS. Compendex indexes citations and abstracts from over 5,000 engineering journals, conference papers, books, patents, dissertations, and technical reports. Inspec indexes citations and abstracts from journal articles, conference proceedings, books, and dissertations in engineering and physical sciences. NTIS indexes citations and abstracts of National Technical Information Service reports and audiovisual materials from sources such as NASA and the departments of Energy and Defense. 1884-present.  

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Emporis Research

   

Emporis Research

Updated continuously, Emporis provides data on architecture, construction, and real estate developments from all over the world. Search by company (consultancies, contractors, design firms, engineering firms, suppliers), building type, style, construction time frame (complete, under construction, approved, proposed, demolished, visionary, on hold), exact location and address, total height, structural height, number of floors and cubical space, date of construction project, structural system, materials, etc. Contains roughly 300,000 photos of buildings.  

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Websites

American Solar Energy Society (ASES)

ASES is the United States Section of the International Solar Energy Society.

Energy Design Resources

Although designed under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission, Energy Design Resources has frequent general news updates and a number of valuable resources on integrated energy design, lighting technology, building types, links to standards and case studies, and training opportunities.

Green Business Guide

This government website provides resources for energy-efficient design and construction.

Healthy Building Network

Includes frequently updated information on life cycle analysis, products, and economic and political movements that impact green building and design

NACo Green Government Database

The National Association of Counties Initiative launched this searchable database of county green programs, policies, and plans. Includes reports on green building activities in more than 200 counties in the U.S.

Oikos : Green Building News

Oikos offers information on energy efficiency and environmentally responsible building construction. The site includes frequently updated green building news items and a directory of energy efficient products.

Sustainable Architecture Case Studies

Created by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, this site features many national examples of sustainable architecture and design, and provides links to additional case study sites.

U.S. EPA Energy Star

Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, and provides the national standard for energy efficiency rankings. View case studies, product information, and general overviews on sustainable product design.

U.S. Department of Energy

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - ERE sponsors various initiatives to build awareness about energy efficiency and renewable energy topics, including sustainable building and design.

U.S. DOE High Performance Buildings

Includes links to net-zero energy case studies, a buildings database, market publications, and links to additional websites on sustainable commercial architecture.

U.S. Green Building Council

Non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. Developers of the LEED building rating system. An important resource for LEED certification information, register for workshops, webinars, and online courses. Also contains project case studies.

Whole Building Design Guide

The WBDG provides project management resources and design guidance organized by building use types. For each general Building Type there is a discussion of the attributes and requirements of the type as well as links to information on more specific uses. Each of the specific building types is then linked to a series of Resource Pages explaining standards, technologies and emerging issues relevant to that specific use topic.

World Green Building Council

In 2002 eight nations formed the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), a union of national councils whose mission is to accelerate the transformation of the built environment towards sustainability. Collectively, these nations represent 50% of global construction activity, and their councils touch more than ten thousand companies and organizations. Site resources include case studies, bibliography, e-newsletter, and statistical reports.