Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Green Building Council recently announced the opening of the fifth public comment period for the proposed update to its LEED green building program. The comment period, which will close on Dec. 10, enables the building community to view the most recent draft of the rating systems and provide comments where any substantive changes have been made. “LEED v4 will have the greatest impact of any rating system we’ve developed by focusing on building performance and rewarding innovative product manufacturers who offer best in class products,” said Scot Horst, senior vice president, LEED, USGBC. “LEED v4 … Read more

WASHINGTON, D. C. — Building Information Modeling has changed the way construction industry participants interact with each other and communicate internally. Project plans have moved beyond two-dimensional design to multi-dimensional models that have parametric capabilities. The American Institute of Architects is continuously evaluating the development and adoption of BIM and the impact it has on contractual relationships. As a result, the AIA Contract Documents program is updating its documents for use on construction projects involving digital data or BIM, and will make a draft of these Digital Practice documents available for public review and comment. During this public comment period, … Read more

USGBC Northern California Chapter Launch California Best Buildings Challenge at CGI America MeetingCHICAGO, Ill. — The U.S. Green Building Council’s Northern California Chapter will launch the California Best Buildings Challenge at the closing plenary event of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative America . The meeting is focused on finding solutions that promote economic recovery in the United States. President Clinton and USGBC President, CEO and Founding Chair, Rick Fedrizzi, will join three of the six inaugural commitment participants, Genentech, Google and Prudential Real Estate Investors, on stage to announce the Challenge during the closing plenary of the popular event that … Read more