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Comings & Goings

Protected Bike Lane Planned for South Street in 2018City officials announced Dec. 13 that construction will move forward for a protected bicycle lane on a portion of South Street adjacent to the South Street Bridge.  The project, which is expected to be completed in mid-2018, will run along the painted bicycle lane on South Street

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3 mins read

Cutting-edge building practices in West Philly’s 60th Street District

More than just a Pretty Face by Alon Abramson We all love before-and-after pictures, but sometimes it’s hard to see beyond the superficial even when a radical transformation has taken place. At first glance, you might think the brightly painted storefronts and homes on 60th Street in West Philadelphia are simply spruced up versions of

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1 min read

Green for All

Why Paso Verde is the most important green building development in Philadelphia
For Paseo Verde, APM chose to build on an empty lot that Philadelphia Gas Works employees were using for parking right beside SEPTA’s Temple University Regional Rail station. | Photo by Jeffrey Totaro
On a recent afternoon, Latifa Patton prepares three giant aluminum baking pans

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7 mins read

Challenge Accepted

The Living Building Challenge demands that teams exceed LEED requirements to create buildings that restore nature   
An artist rendering of Re:Vision Architecture’s concept for the Alice Ferguson Foundation’s multi-building complex. | Courtesy Alice Ferguson Foundation
The Living Building Challenge is the black belt of the green-building scene. The international building certification program, philosophy and advocacy tool

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4 mins read

Pay Dirt

In the ‘Mushroom Capital of the World,’ Laurel Valley Soils creates the ground floor of green building
Laurel Valley Soils owes a large degree of its prosperity to the continued growth of the green-building movement. | Photos by Jared GruenwaldIt’s a bright mid-summer day in the rural Chester County borough of Avondale, which sits just

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4 mins read

Hugh Lofting earns passive house certification

The rain screen system is composed of vertical boards over two layers of rigid insulationPeople often think the most important component of heating a home is the furnace. But sometimes, the furnace is secondary to other aspects of the home-heating equation.

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1 min read

Local conservation center wins design award

Chester county’s contemporary architecture continues to gain recognition for environmentally responsive design rooted in historic context. The newly constructed Lenfest Center, designed by Archer & Buchanan Architects, Ltd., exemplifies this sensitive design approach by drawing inspiration from agrarian “bank barn” structures.

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1 min read

Connecting the Dots: Civil rights protests, Woodstock, a Commodore 64 computer and my inevitable path to Greenbuild

It is the night before greenbuild, the U.S. Green Building Council’s international conference and expo, and tens of thousands are flocking to Philadelphia to celebrate and promote sustainability as a genuine worldwide movement. As an architect and professor of sustainable design, it’s more than an amazing moment in our city’s history; it’s a validation of

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2 mins read

Growing Greener: Philly builds first LEED-certified firehouse

Fire officials and Mayor Nutter perform the ceremonial “push” of the fire engine to open the new firehouse. | Photo by the Philadelphia Fire Department/ City of PhiladelphiaThis Tuesday, Philadelphia added to its growing list of green building achievements when it opened the city’s first LEED-certified firehouse. Built in Disston Park to serve Mayfair and

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1 min read

Award Show: Philadelphia Housing Authority

The Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects has awarded the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s rehab project on the 800 block of Markoe Street a 2010 Design Excellence Award. Local architecture firm Jibe Design began work on the West Philly homes after winning PHA’s Sustainable Housing Competition in July of 2008.

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1 min read