There was a survey done by SmartPulse where nearly 50 percent of respondents said “poorly defined scopes and objectives” were the main reasons for project failures. Compare that to about 20 percent claiming projects fail, because of lack of proper resources or poor execution, and you can see that inferior planning is hampering much of [...]

There has been a few stories in the media lately of old homes and mansions being bulldozed to the ground to make way for redevelopment projects. This is a practice that is unsustainable in our opinion. Building materials and components within old homes and buildings may still be valuable, sometimes more valuable than at the time the building was constructed. We feel that instead bringing in the bulldozer the structures should be deconstructed.

Frank Dalene of Hamptons Luxury Homes explains how companies can offset greenhouse emissions. He also discusses tips to reduce your carbon footprint and the advancements in green home building.
Achieve Carbon Neutrality for your Business

Carbon audit - measuring your carbon footprint

Greenhouse Gas Protocol - World Resources Institute - scientific measure of  your carbon footprint  - Choose [...]

Residential Architect Magazine editor, S. Claire Conroy, wrote in the November/December 2010 issue on architects and social media. The following response to that article has broader implications to the need for architects and the industry to see the positive potential that social media offers society.
Ms. Conroy,
Your observations in your piece “Publish or Perish” are well taken, [...]

May 31st commemorated Walt Whitman’s 191st birthday. His modest birth-home, a farmhouse, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Our design of the adjacent interpretative center was conceived to shelter the farmhouse and visitor experience from the bustle of twenty-first century Long Island. The natural and built environments are joined with the presentation of cultural [...]

My only concern with your plan is what are you going to do with the old homes and buildings? How are they going to be removed? The “Blight into Light” project is great for the revitalization of these neighborhoods and the Long Island community but I feel there will be a blight on the “Blight into Light” projects if current demolition practices are used to remove the old structures from these communities.

Industry Questions

The “Green Revolution“ has brought about many changes to not only the building industry but also to others including the insurance sector.  The insurance industry is certainly not without questions when it comes to insuring green risks.  Which companies are going to underwrite these risks? What coverage will be available? What are the unknowns [...]

Are you just about saturated with information about environmentally friendly design? Getting the feeling that Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth is, well, just a little too inconvenient? Are you in the Kermit camp and starting to wonder if ’it’s not easy being green!’? Fret not!  Despite being inundated with information in our industry about green building design, [...]

1 pound per hour - the amount of carbon dioxide that is saved from entering the atmosphere for every kilowatt-hour of renewable energy produced
60 percent - the reduction in developmental problems in children in China who were born after a coal-burning power plant closed in 2006
35 percent - the amount of coal’s energy that is actually converted to [...]

Wednesday, April 22nd is…
Earth Day!

UPworld would like to celebrate by providing you with green tips for both your home and business.
25 Green Tips for Home and Work:

Lower the thermostat.
Reuse your water bottle. In fact, reuse everything at least once, especially [...]