Spring 2022
The betwixt and between of energy-efficient buildings
As Washington state adopts the nation’s strictest energy codes, Washington State University research and training does some serious looking at building efficiency. » More ...
Sustainable building
Spring 2020
Ever a green state
There’s nothing new about being green.
Two millennia ago, Chinese Minister for Agriculture Tsai Lun in the first-century Han dynasty called for subjects of the emperor to boil old linen rags for papermaking. Professional recyclers in medieval England collected dust and ash left from fireplaces, then sold it to brick manufacturers as an inexpensive base material. More recently, World War II saw an uptick in recycling, with many common household items like clothes, scrap metal, and tires turned into new products for the war effort.
The same spirit of innovative recycling inspired Washington State University’s Taiji Miyasaka and David Drake to invent a construction block from … » More …
Spring 2020
The era of green reconstruction
As buildings go up, so does construction waste. WSU researchers are finding new ways to recycle and reuse drywall waste from construction and demolition. » More ...
Spring 2020
POWER timber
Cross-laminated timber delivers a use for small timber and a new industry for Washington state. » More ...
Spring 2020
The ascent of using CLT
The use of cross-laminated timber, a sustainable and powerful building product, is growing in the Northwest. » More ...
Spring 2009
Building Green
Jeff Feinstein ’85 finds green investment a hedge against a down economy
Our gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing automobiles draw a lot of the blame for the build-up of greenhouse gases most scientists say is making the world warmer. That’s led to a worldwide flurry of investment in biofuels research and more fuel-efficient vehicles–even hybrid diesel Kenworth semis, built by Paccar in Kirkland.
But amid all that traffic, a quiet community of builders and designers is starting to speak up, saying that if we want to make real reductions in energy use, we just have to look closer to home–to our houses, offices, and high-rise condos.
“The … » More …