Skip to main content

National Institute of Building Sciences Partners with Commissioning Organizations to Advance Guidance on the Whole Building Design Guide

The WBDG’s Building Commissioning section presents information about current approaches and processes as well as overcoming challenges and emerging issues. It also has been expanded to address Existing Buildings and Ongoing Commissioning.

WBDG, FMOC, Important FM Issues All on the NFMT Agenda in Baltimore

Attend the National Facilities Management and Technology Conference and Expo (NFMT), to be held March 22-24 at the Baltimore Convention Center, to keep up with best practices and innovations in facility management (FM) and operations, including energy management, sustainability, building technologies, communication and data infrastructure in the built environment. While there, don’t miss the chance to learn about National Institute of Building Sciences activities and strategies relating to the Facility Maintenance and Operations Committee (FMOC), the buildingSMART alliance® and the Whole Building Design Guide® (WBDG). Institute members can attend NFMT for free!

Introducing the Building Sciences Career Center on WBDG

This week, the National Institute of Building Sciences and its Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) Education Program rolled out a new Building Sciences Career Center at www.wbdg.org/BuildingSciencesCareerCenter on the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide® to help inspire high school students to become interested in a career in the building industry.

Today’s buildings-related professionals and tradespeople make use of a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, including building information modeling (BIM), computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), smart controls and renewable energy systems (such as solar photovoltaics and wind) to deliver high-performance buildings. Yet, finding such skilled professionals is increasingly becoming a challenge for many sectors in the building industry. The current buildings-related workforce in the United States is aging; the retirement of a significant number of industry professionals is imminent; and other fields already are competing for today’s capable students. The need to reach out and educate the next generation of professionals is becoming increasingly imperative.

The WBDG Whole Building Design Guide® Gets an Overhaul

Today, the National Institute of Building Sciences officially launched its newly redesigned free web portal, the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide®.

Used by millions of building professionals each year, the WBDG contains design, construction and facility management information and criteria required by U.S. military and other federal agencies, along with substantial content on topics of interest to all building professionals.

Institute Sunsets High Performance Building Council

A decade after the National Institute of Building Sciences established the High Performance Building Council (HPBC), the Institute’s Board of Directors has voted to successfully sunset the program.

The Institute founded the HPBC in 2007 in response to a request from the U.S. Secretary of Energy to assess the existing voluntary standards and rating systems that defined high-performance buildings at the time. Using the integrated approach of the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide®, which describes high-performance buildings in terms of eight attributes (cost-effectiveness, safety and security, sustainability, accessibility, functionality, productivity, historic preservation and aesthetics), the Council conducted industry-wide research and analysis. The HPBC delivered the resulting report, Assessment to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Energy on High Performance Buildings, to the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2008.

Spotlight a Cutting-Edge Project that Goes Beyond Green™

Across the United States, designers, builders, owners, government agencies, manufacturers and others are going beyond the status quo to achieve high-performing, resilient buildings and communities. Now is the time to show off advancements and gain recognition for those buildings, initiatives and innovations that are influencing, informing and inspiring the high-performance planning, design, construction and operations processes. Enter those cutting-edge projects and activities for a chance to win a National Institute of Building Sciences 2017 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building and Community Award.

Institute Bids Farewell to a Pioneering Industry Council

This past week, the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors voted to sunset the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC).

Founded in 1980 as the Passive Solar Industries Council, the independent, non-profit organization that later became the SBIC was a pioneer advocate of the whole building approach to sustainable facilities. The founding members, consisting of major building trade groups, large corporations, small businesses and individual practitioners, understood that energy and resource-efficient design and construction are imperative to a sustainable built environment. The SBIC and its members viewed energy use and sustainability within a larger context of benefits related to productivity and overall efficiency, health and safety, serviceability and other performance factors.

Only One Week Left to Nominate a Project for a 2017 Beyond Green™ Award

The deadline is quickly approaching to recognize those buildings, initiatives and innovations that are influencing, informing and inspiring the high-performance planning, design, construction and operations processes. Across the United States, designers, builders, owners, government agencies, manufacturers and others are going beyond the status quo to achieve high-performing, resilient buildings and communities. Now is the time to nominate those cutting-edge projects and activities for a chance to win a National Institute of Building Sciences 2017 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building and Community Award. Nominations are due next Tuesday, October 31.

WBDG Whole Building Design Guide® Celebrates 20 Years

This past Thursday, January 11, 2018, attendees at the National Institute of Building Sciences’ annual FEDCon® Breakfast learned about the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide® and joined in the celebration of its 20th anniversary. The Institute’s online research site, WBDG hosts federal design specifications and criteria, as well as education programs, design recommendations and case studies.

Subscribe to WBDG