Net-Zero Buildings

Green Building

Will Developers Slow the Path to Net Zero?

Cities around the world are demonstrating that net zero carbon buildings—including net zero low-income housing—can be built cost effectively.

January 21, 2021 - Joan Fitzgerald

Sidewalk Labs and Collaborators Design a 35-Story Timber Building

The recently revealed Proto-Model-X building would reach new heights for timber.

January 28, 2020 - Sidewalk Talk

Protected Bike Lane

British Columbia's Climate Plan Bans Sales of Gas and Diesel Passenger Vehicles by 2040

Ten years ago, British Columbia launched North America's first carbon tax. This month, Premier John Horgan unveiled the long awaited climate plan, CleanBC, that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 2007 levels by 2030.

December 26, 2018 - Vancouver Sun

PCH Santa Monica

Santa Monica Ordinance Would Require Net-Zero Energy Standards for New Homes

Santa Monica is the first city in California to adopt an ordinance requiring new single-family homes be built to net-zero energy standards.

November 5, 2016 - Construction Dive

How Passive Houses Radically Reduce Energy Consumption

Passive house construction has gained traction in Europe, but has only recently started to get noticed in the United States. Writer Alex Ulam discusses the emergence of this design approach as well as its implications for use in the coming years.

July 2, 2015 - Doggerel

Report Shows Which States Lead the Net-Zero Building Market

Although net-zero buildings have yet to scale to mass adoption, a new report hopes to inspire architects and developers to join the ranks of the most energy efficient buildings in the country.

December 15, 2014 - The Architect's Newspaper

Self-Cooling Walls Take Climate Control Off the Grid

With anticipated rising global temperatures, the need to cool our homes will take a massive toll on our electrical grid, which a team of masters students aims to address with their new wall insulation.

November 11, 2014 - Fast Co.Exist

First Net-Zero Energy Apartments Planned in South Sacramento

Housing 120 units, the first net-zero energy transit-oriented development complex in South Sacramento will feature a rooftop farm and resident-run onsite bicycle repair.

July 30, 2014 - Sacramento Bee

New San Diego Office Building Exposes the Fallacy of the Net-Zero Label

Lloyd Alter dismantles the aggrandizement of the new LPL Financial building being developed by Hines in La Jolla, California, which a recent press release touts as the "Largest Net-Zero Energy Commercial Office Building in U.S."

January 4, 2013 - Treehugger

Pioneering Net-Zero Building Opens in Unlikely Location

To find Oregon's first energy-neutral building, you'll have to venture 45 minutes outside progressive Portland to the Willamette Valley town of Newberg. There you'll find a first step in an effort to change our physical and cultural environments.

July 24, 2012 - Fast Company

Red White and Green?

Jeffrey Spivak reports on the federal government's pioneering efforts in net-zero building design and construction.

March 12, 2012 - Planning

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.