GREEN BUILDING NEWS

One of the advantages of masonry construction is its durability. The articles below showcase just two examples of adaptive reuse of historic masonry buildings. This eco-friendly approach is a low-embodied carbon strategy. ~Tina

Transforming historic landmark into new mixed-use hub

BUILDING ENCLOSURE ONLINE

A mixed-use residential destination is accelerating a resurgence in Springfield, Massachusetts. Originally constructed in 1892 as a five-story office complex, with its brick-and-brownstone exterior, bay windows, and load-bearing masonry walls, the historic structure sat vacant for three decades. Following a complex multi-year preservation, restoration, and conversion effort, the transformed building is anticipated to further boost local businesses, downtown pedestrian activity, and a sense of community for Springfield residents. To balance preservation and energy efficiency goals, the design team replaced hundreds of original windows with new high-performance, double-paned glazing in 20 distinct window styles. They also added high-performing insulation to the previously uninsulated exterior walls and significantly enhanced the roof insulation. Read more.

Former Industrial Revolution powerhouse converted to residential complex

CONSTRUCTION SPECIFIER

A 179-year-old mill in Massachusetts has been converted into a 13,862 m² (149,220 sf) mixed-income, 86-unit rental community called Stone Mill Lofts. Learn more here.

CODES and STANDARDS NEWS

The recent Material Health symposium sponsored by the HPD Collaborative had several educational sessions that are now available on their website that are worth listening to. ~Tina

Transforming the built environment: LEED hits 29 billion square feet of certified space

GREEN BUILDING LAW UPDATE

During the 2024 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the U.S. Green Building Council unveiled its Impact Report: Accelerating Green Building to Improve Lives and Livelihoods. This comprehensive review celebrates three decades of innovation in sustainable building with a current capstone of more than 195,000 buildings and 29 billion square feet of LEED certified space worldwide. In this blog, you can read a summary of the report.

Material Health Open Innovation Symposium V recordings available

HPD COLLABORATIVE

At the Material Health Open Innovation Symposium V, industry leaders and pioneers convened for a day of insightful presentations, innovative case studies, and dynamic panel discussions focused on transforming the future of sustainable building practices. Attendees were treated to a lineup of informative and thought-provoking presentations from industry leaders whose recordings are now available:

• Wes Sullens, Director at USGBC, provided an update on "Building Products in LEED Version 5."
• Monica Becker, Senior Director – Strategy & Development, and Brandon Reid, Senior Manager of Material Health at Cradle to Cradle, shared the latest on "Cradle to Cradle Certified: Unlocking New Pathways to Safe, Circular Products."
• Michael Johnson, Senior Director of Materials at the International Living Future Institute, delved into "Health and Beyond: Material Ingredient Transparency."
• Terry Swack, Founder & CEO of Sustainable Minds, presented "Sustainable Minds' Revolution in Product Selection."



GREEN PRODUCT NEWS

If you're a product manufacturer and you missed out on the EPA's grants for developing EPDs, their new advisory services program is available to provide assistance. ~Tina

New EPD unveiled for concrete masonry units

CONCRETE PRODUCTS

The Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association has released the US' first industry-average environmental product declaration for concrete masonry units, detailing global warming potential metrics for seven block classes. The EPD, which is verified by ASTM International and incorporates data from 35 producers, provides carbon sequestration estimates to guide environmentally informed building material decisions. Read more.

Free EPA advisory services to quantify embodied carbon of construction materials

U.S. EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the initial phase of advisory services available to support manufacturers and other organizations that are developing and using environmental product declarations (EPD) to quantify embodied carbon of construction materials. EPA’s free advisory services include assistance with improvements in EPD data quality, calculation, and incorporation of data into EPDs related to upstream extraction and processing of raw materials, implementation of government “buy clean” policies, and other related activities. Learn more about the advisory services and other resources for manufacturers here.

Natural Stone Sustainability Standard aligns with Mindful Materials Framework

NATURAL STONE INSTITUTE

Mindful Materials has been making waves in the green building industry for the past few years. Their innovative and simple approach to material transparency, embodied in the Common Materials Framework, is catching on with industry leaders and organizations who have struggled to make sense of the complex landscape of material ingredient reports, environmental product declarations, multi-attribute standards, and other ecolabels. The Natural Stone Institute is happy to report alignment of the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard to the Common Materials Framework.

Database features 250,000+ EPDs for materials

CONCRETE PRODUCTS

One Click LCA's new tool, Materials Compass, gives construction designers and engineers access to what's being called the world's largest LCA database with information on more than 250,000 materials. Materials Compass brings all the global EPDs together for designers, buyers, and specifiers. Learn more. [Editor's note: it does not appear that there are many masonry products currently included in this database.]

EDUCATIONAL NEWS

Discover the TMS Masonry Education Hub

THE MASONRY SOCIETY

Unlock a world of masonry knowledge with The Masonry Society’s (TMS) Masonry Education Hub. This resource offers on-demand courses for industry professionals, professors, students, and enthusiasts alike, with expert-led sessions on topics like sustainability, strength design, innovations in masonry, and more. Most courses provide continuing education, and many qualify for AIA Learning Units.

ASTM 2026 Masonry Symposium: Advancing Masonry Technology and Tradecraft

ASTM INTERNATIONAL

The 2026 Masonry Symposium will be held June 2, 2026 in Dallas, TX. The objective is to gather and disseminate the latest information on all aspects of the innovations in masonry materials, design, specification, construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation. It will emphasize the application of ASTM standards to those areas, and their coordination with building codes, project specifications, and international standards. Submit an Abstract by 2/7/2025. Learn more.