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Today’s MHN Industry News postings included a story about a Chicago couple who recently renovated their house to include sustainable features — and a little flair. Frank and Lisa Mauceri will be running Frank’s Smog Veil indie record label, which moved to Chicago about two years ago from Reno, out of their home in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. As with many Chicago two- and three-flats that are now living spaces, the Mauceri’s building itself was a form of recycling; it had, in the 1880s, once been a tavern. Renovation plans included more material reuse,  grinding up old vinyl records with…

Wednesday’s blog discussed construction site waste management issues — and on the heels of that post comes news of an exemplary program in Canada that unites builders and local government to encourage responsible debris removal. The need for reducing construction waste is not a new topic — but it’s one cities have faced repeatedly as construction boomed in recent years. Recycling can help. But how does a city encourage the private building sector to put forth the added time and effort to categorize and drop off materials in the midst of construction? Several Canadian towns have a clever, yet simple…

Savannah, Ga.’s United Community Bank recently announced a special financing program for green building projects. It’s not the first bank to offer green incentives, but the bank’s program itself — and really, all programs like it — is a nod to sustainable building. Here’s the deal: Property owners, qualified builders and general contractors can receive a 25 basis point reduction in construction financing for any commercial or residential project that achieves sustainable LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council or EarthCraft certification from Southface Energy Institute. “In the spirit of stewardship and sustainability,…

Using sustainable materials during construction is a hot concept these days. From recycling wood, glass and other items to purchasing eco-safe alternatives to the usual supplies, builders are touting the long-term savings and positive environmental effects homeowners can receive from going green. And yet, there is less discussion about the waste created by construction — green or otherwise — and the challenges disposing of said waste can pose. Just ask Houston (the city, not Whitney.) Facing a proposed landfill increase and the recent demolition of several historical houses, Houston has realized making room for progress can also mean making a…

I was flipping through my CB2 catalog the other day, admiring the comma-shaped plates, when I stumbled across a $50 corkboard. The price caught my eye. Fifty bucks? For something most often found in a dorm room? But then, thanks to the product description, I realized why: It’s sustainable. Under the heading "eco message," CB2 describes the product as a "recyclable, lightweight cork alternative" that "lives the green message." (It’s made of charcoal polypropylene.) Ah ha. Well, OK, maybe that is worth a little more. But I was surprised to see CB2 thought so, too. Which got me to wondering…

According to recent news, ecological concern is quite fashionable. Sometimes literally. Newspapers and tabloids alike are buzzing about British designer Anya Hindmarch’s eco-friendly shopping tote, a $15 canvas bag with "I’m Not a Plastic Bag" printed on the side that is sold in grocery stores, said to be the must-have bag this season. Twenty thousand were sold in a matter of hours when the bag went on sale in April in England, after women lined up at 2 a.m. for the store’s 9 a.m. opening; near riots broke out in Taipei, Taiwan when the bag premiered in July. A mall…

Want to go green, but can’t afford a complete home renovation? A recent article in the Journal News offered some great tips for starting small — by just making your bathroom green. Sustainable design is all about attention to detail, and while that typically involves careful planning before construction, making the following small changes to your home bathroom — yes, really, the bathroom — can have a big effect. Some of the suggestions included: Toilets: Get a new one. Federal law in 1994 limited toilets to 1.6 gallons per flush; older ones can be 3.5 to 6 gallons (per flush)….

A new green building standard backed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is moving closer to approval — and, unlike the voluntarily LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, this new standard may eventually be required as a prerequisite for some new commercial buildings and major renovations. Standard 189P (Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings) could be the nation’s first green principle to be included in building codes, if the standard’s designers — the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) and USGBC…

Green building is often thought of as a liberal issue — lumped in with other environmental causes that democrats support. And in some ways, that makes sense — democrats are widely identified with ecological issues because the party for years has championed environmental reform (Al Gore’s "An Inconvenient Truth" wasn’t actually about things that are inconvenient, after all.) But to call green building a liberal initiative is unfair — and when it comes to widespread acceptance, it can be damaging. It’s important to note several republicans also support green living. Take, for example, Wisconsin Sen. Robert Cowles (R-Green Bay) and…

June truly was a green month for those of us in summer climates — and for design. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced in June it would commit $1 million to green building research. The money will be used to investigate change mitigation, the business practicalities of green building and more. Although the USGBC hasn’t announced when the funding will be used, its research committee will release a research agenda report in fall. Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chair of USGBC, said it was the next logical step in advancing green design acceptance. "The industry needs to take…