Green Architecture Proponents Challenge Commercial Building Report
from Architecture 2030
A report questioning the cost-savings benefits of green buildings, issued by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association and featured in the New York Times last week, has been called into question by Architecture 2030, which claims the sponsoring organization kept out of the analysis all the readily available low-cost, no-cost and cost-saving options to reduce a building’s energy consumption. More

Lessons from Evidence-Based Medicine: What Healthcare Designers Can Learn from the Medical Field
from HERD
It may come as no surprise to architects and designers who consider themselves evidence-based designers that evidence-based practices (EBPs) are not limited to the field of design. In fact, such practices are used in a number of industries. The fields of medicine, public health, nursing, social work, crime prevention, and education are a few of the many disciplines that employ an evidence-based approach to problem solving. More

Highlights from Compostmodern 2009
from Inhabitat
Inhabitat blogs on last week’s sustainability minded event, which brought together design luminaries from around the world to address issues of ecology, business and social responsibility. More

Good Design in Ten Commandments
from Vitsoe
Vitsoe invites you to read Dieter Rams’ Ten Commandments for good design, encouraging you to ask yourself: Is my design good design? More

Government Resources for Entrepreneurs
from Business Week
From tax advice to government contracting, the SBA and other agencies as well as advocacy groups are increasing outreach efforts online. More

NCIDQ Reports 25 Percent Increase in Exam-Takers
from Interiors & Sources
The NCIDQ Examination will be administered in more than 50 locations on April 3 and 4. Nearly 2,000 individuals in the United States and Canada have registered to take one or more sections of the three-part examination, representing a 25 percent increase over last spring More

Designing for the Changing Face of Education
from Contract Magazine
The design of educational environments is not generally targeted at specific cultures, yet schools where the design has been tailored to be culturally-responsive to its population—more personal to the student and inviting parents to participate—may better succeed in keeping students and parents engaged. "Designing for culture requires a different kind of attention," explains Paul Bunton, principal of BCA Architects, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. BCA's recent K-12 schools have included a number of these elements. Yet among the many issues that school designers now focus on—from defensive school security to a stream-lined design process—the notion of creating a "culture fit" is one not often articulated. More