Buildings and Beyond - Steven Winter Associates, Inc.

Oct 30 2024 72 ep. 41 mins 223

Buildings and Beyond - Steven Winter Associates, Inc. Podcast artwork

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

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Room Acoustics – Are They the Missing Piece in the Occupant Experience?

Oct 30 2024 55 mins

Many of us take good acoustics for granted. But it’s common for acoustic efforts to be the first thing cut from commercial projects—or not included in the design phase at all, according to Graham Waks, founder of Music City Acoustics. And when a space has bad acoustics, it can negatively impact the occupant experience. Buildings + Beyond producer and audio guru Dylan Martel

Do We Need a Green Certification Program Just for Commercial Kitchens? (Hint… Yes)

Sep 17 2024 34 mins

Commercial kitchens are one of the most challenging spaces to electrify, but we need to take on this challenge in order to decarbonize restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and other buildings with commercial kitchens. Is another green certification program the answer? In this episode, Chefs Christopher Galarza and Duke Gastiger are back to dive into EcoChef—the first electric

It’s Getting Hot in Here! – Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Electric Kitchens

Sep 01 2024 48 mins

Remember when gas stoves became a political issue last year? While all that public debate was happening, there were chefs around the world embracing the concept of all-electric kitchens and getting past the learning curve to induction cooking. We don't hear about gas stoves in the news as much as we used to, but kitchen electrification will always be a hot topic here at Buildings +

Career Diaries – What’s It Like Working As an Accessibility Consultant?

Jul 26 2024 48 mins

Accessibility consultants work at the intersection of architecture and social justice. It’s much more than checking the boxes on accessibility requirements of laws and codes; it takes precision, dedication, and creativity to solve problems and remove physical barriers to access that have historically marginalized people with disabilities. To mark the anniversary of the Americans

Your Top 10 Passive House Questions, Answered – The Long-Awaited Part 2

On the very first episode of Buildings + Beyond, Passive House pioneer Lois Arena answered the most common questions asked about meeting the high-performance requirements of the Passive House standard. You loved the episode—it's one of our most popular of all time—and we loved recording with Lois. So, 6 years later, we decided to record a highly anticipated follow-up episode. L

2024 IECC – What Happened?

Apr 09 2024 62 mins

The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) or "model code" establishes the minimum requirements for building energy efficiency. The code is updated every three years, and for 2024, a new consensus-driven development process brought together diverse stakeholders to determine those requirements. However, the International Code Council's Board of Directors recently voted to go

Choosing Electrification or Efficiency (When Both Aren’t Possible)

Mar 25 2024 35 mins

When is it the right call to improve the energy efficiency of existing building systems, or upgrade and electrify them? Though electrification is important to reduce carbon emissions, electrifying buildings is not straightforward. Factors like cost, existing infrastructure, compliance needs (and we’ll say it again: cost!) can keep building owners from going all-electric. In t

Mind the Gap – Addressing the Skills Gap in the Sustainable Building Industry

Feb 14 2024 31 mins

Buildings are complicated. There’s a bigger learning curve than ever for the people who construct, operate, and manage high-performance buildings—and there’s more demand than ever for skilled workers across the sustainable building industry. In this episode, Ellen Honigstock, Senior Director of Education at Urban Green Council, sits down with Kelly Westby, Managing Director o

Healthy Materials 101 – A Realistic Approach to Creating Healthier Buildings with Jonsara Ruth

Dec 15 2023 48 mins

At the baseline, “healthy” materials should not have a negative impact on people living or working inside of a building. Beyond that, there are materials that have a low impact on people and the planet throughout their entire lifespan—and then there are materials that can have a net-positive impact, such as those that absorb carbon from our atmosphere. Jonsara Ruth, co-founde

The Real Secret to Energy-Efficient Buildings? Operations & Maintenance Training

Aug 30 2023 57 mins

Over the lifespan of a building, operations and maintenance staff arguably have the biggest impact on system performance and energy efficiency. With the right training, staff can keep a building running as it was designed to run and "create the change" to reduce energy usage, reduce repairs, and upgrade vs. replace equipment. So how do project teams create O&M training programs tha