Savvy Design, Off-the-Shelf Tech Yield Efficiency Gains

By Matt Vella

Hidden in plain sight, most buildings are massive environmental culprits. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, buildings are responsible for almost half of all annual greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Meanwhile, more than three-quarters of all electricity generated by American power plants is consumed by buildings. Enter Architecture 2030, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization led by eco-evangelist and architect Edward Mazria. Its mission: to help builders, planners, and architects design greener buildings. (The organization takes its name from a challenge issued by Mazria for the building industry to reach carbon neutrality by the year 2030.)

Here, take a look at some buildings chosen by Architecture 2030 to highlight the radical gains in efficiency that are possible over similarly sized, conventionally constructed buildings. Most of the picks have achieved high Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the use of smart, sustainable design principles.