The thrill of discovery isn’t just reserved for goldmines or treasure chests – sometimes, it’s right in the homes we live in, the materials we use, and the transformative technologies at our fingertips. Immerse yourself in a world where buildings can be crafted from raw earth or even Mars dust, where sustainability meets skyscrapers, and where the mysteries of the ancient merge with the marvels of the future. Here are 60+ electrifying snippets from the world of building science that are bound to spark your curiosity and wonder:
- Why Homes Often Feel Warmer Than the Thermostat Suggests
- A discussion about emissions and housing affordability, emphasizing opt-in codes, energy standards, and regulatory reforms for dual climate and affordability progress.
- How all-electric, multi-family Passive House buildings deliver comfortable, cost-effective climate resilience.
- Vermont AG says woodstove owners deserve clarity from EPA on emissions
- No surprise here: Cities with the most expensive homes in Vermont
- AND the least expensive county to build a house in Vermont
- This Old House’s 5 Best Solar Companies in Vermont (2023)
- This major agency has reached a major milestone in one of the most ambitious low-carbon concrete programs – allowing for the inclusion of ground glass and Portland-limestone cement.
- A modular timber cabin with sliding walls that open its interior up to the elements.
- A new analysis shows that it’s time to go all in on heat pumps.
- Driving the adoption of SIPs in both residential and commercial construction.
- Researchers move toward energy transition with hydrogen generated on rooftops
- This newest insulation spray polyurethane foam insulation, aims to meet the insulation needs of high-performance homes, as well as strict building and energy efficiency codes.
- Zoo’s meerkat habitat exhibit was recently certified as a high-performance example of a green roof/wall application.
- Wastewater pretreatment grants are up for grabs in Vermont > $3.6 million is available . Submit applications by July 21.
- A firm has developed a material consisting of processed perennial grasses that it says will be lighter and stronger than traditional timber boards while capturing more carbon.
- Peer-Review on novel temperature-control coatings.
- A Swedish furniture designer presents an exhibition that illustrates the climate impact of common architectural and furniture design materials.
- Will this inspired construction pave the way for the global expansion of colorful communities that thrive in secluded colonies?
- An interesting report on High-Performance Doors.
- An architectural proposal for a design that aims to honor Maine’s history through the use of mass timber.
- Fairbanks Museum Home to Vermont’s First Demonstration Mass Timber Building,
- using hemlock from the Northeast.
- New Englanders now pay more than twice the price for natural gas than most other US residents pay, and that gap is growing.
- It’s time to pay attention to Energy Codes – the Keene, NH way.
- Lawmakers warn Canadian hydropower isn’t as plentiful as it used to be – what does this mean for New Englanders?
- A housing development in Vermont will be “completely free of fossil fuels and will function as its own microgrid community.”
- Vermont is moving from fuel oil to clean heat.
- Extreme Precipitation in Northeast to Increase 52% by 2099
- Vermont’s climate policy has “nudged” a local gas utility into the heat pump business.
- The largest underground marble quarry in the world, the Danby Quarry in Vermont now covers this new building.
- Are you interested in being a pilot test taker for the BPI Total Building Performance Certificate of Knowledge? The certificate is meant to test competencies around whole building retrofit projects from customer engagement, to design, to implementation.
- New England State-to-State Migration Flows.
- Inflatable, sustainable skyscrapers anyone?
- AI Revolution: Decarbonizing Commercial Buildings and the Future of Sustainable Homes!
- The World’s First 3D-printed house crafted from raw earth!
- This six-story, 140,000-square-foot building was made to be demountable, where even the smallest screws and bolts can be detached and reused.
- This house was built partly from recycled diapers
- At 9,400 years old , this is one of the oldest buildings still standing.
- Yes, we do need to emphasize the need to weatherize the home first!
- Could your next project be built with potatoes and dust? “StarCrete” is made of Martian dust has a compressive strength of 72 megapascals (MPa), which is over twice that of regular concrete.
- Vermont farms are going greener thanks to 1 billion dollars being made available nationwide for farms and rural businesses to invest in renewable energy technology.
- Notre-Dame Blaze Reveals First-Of-Its-Kind Iron Skeleton Propping Up Cathedral
- Considering these new, terrifying rocks (plastiglomerates) found recently in Brazil – anyone up for making ecobricks? Plus, look what the MacArthur Foundation is up to, along with more than 1,000 other organizations: our plastic pollution – uniting a vision and 2025 targets for a circular economy for plastic.
- Can you guess what the contraption was in the middle of this basement floor? (Peter Yost)
- The program was simple. Garage on the ground floor with a conditioned family room above. And maybe you could reuse some of the timbers from the old barn in the new space? (Mindel and Morse)
- Waterproof plaster you didn’t know you needed. (Hempstone)
- Blower Door Testing: Hand-in-Hand with Commissioning (Mike LaCrosse / CXAssociates)
- What Are the Benefits of Attic Insulation? (Farnum Insulators)
- Here’s a Brattleboro Before and After, by Owl’s Head Builders.
- Plans For A Sustainable Future (New Wright Builders Owner)
- This new line of Diablo Cutting Wheels and Sanding Discs. (WW Building Supply)
- Four Key Reasons for Building with a Vented Rainscreen. (475 High Performance Building Supply)
- A Well-Designed Life Means Bringing the Outside In (Sierra Pacific Windows)
- An alternative to copper that’s less carbon-intensive?
- A lithium hydroxide conversion plant, the Guben Converter, in Germany will be the first of its kind in Europe.
- The Rollout of Virtual Power Plants.
- Cluster Development is the New Economic Development
- MIT and Harvard scientists uncover the key behind ancient Rome’s ‘self-healing’ concrete
- This startup plans to collect carbon pollution from buildings before it’s emitted.
- 40-tonne steel rigs will protect the Viking ships during the building of a new Viking Age museum in Oslo