The Living Building Challenge, run by the Cascadia Green Building Council, is growing in popularity these days.  Referred to as one of the most advanced green building rating systems in the world, it's growing, I believe, in part because of its rigor.  The Challenge is performance based, which means a project has to perform as modeled for one full year prior to receiving certification.  Currently, four projects (see below) are racing to be the first to obtain Living Building Challenge certification. 

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Sean Penrith, executive director of the Earth Advantage Institute, a non-profit based in Portland that certifies green buildings, recently published a list of ten green building trends to watch in 2010.  It's quite the interesting list, I think you'll agree.  While you're thinking about these trends, don't forget to read up on Jerry Yudelson's Top 10 Green Building Trends of 2010, as well.  The following is a synopsis of the trends discussed by the Earth Advantage Institute:

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Jerry Yudelson, a prominent leader in the green building world, recently published his annual top ten list of green building trends.  As founder of green building consultancy Yudelson Associates, Yudelson is an author of 11 green building books and past chair of the Greenbuild (2004-2009).  He’s a big deal.  In mostly his words below, check out what’s in store for green buildings in 2010:

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It's always hard to imagine what will become popular and what won't.  This year, the juggernaut by far was the Clayton Homes i-House.  In prior years, Digg and StumbleUpon determined the most popular articles.  In 2009, these sites didn't have much of an impact on what we're doing.  (Maybe we need more controversy, argumentation, or lists or something?)  Readers seem to be flocking to Facebook and Twitter … in any event, take a look on the most popular of last year. 

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In the past year, we've discussed over 35 LEED Platinum projects, and they're all pretty incredible.  Some are renovations.  Others are new construction.  Some are big.  Others are small.  Some are officially certified.  Others are expecting certification.  The point is, we're at the point now where a LEED project is not worth mentioning — typically speaking — unless it's coming in at the highest level of USGBC certification.  Check out the best of the best (click the text links for more images and information).

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