Governments and NGOs

Ed Wilson, Our Naturalist and Half-Earth Hero

 |  A man to whom Terrapin owes much of our passion and focus passed away last month. Edward O. Wilson made multiple contributions to science and society. His focus on ants and their behaviors led to a sometimes controversial exploration of innate vs learned behavior in other species—sociobiology, a field in which he was a pioneer. […] — Read More

DGS New Natural Resources Building

 |  The 21-story office building on P Street in Sacramento was a design-build project with AC Martin Architects and Turner Construction for the California Department of General Services (DGS). The building was designed to host about 3,450 employees from eight state agencies, and intended to be net-zero energy. With Glumac Engineering, Terrapin co-facilitated an Integrative Design Opportunities […] — Read More

Natural Ventilation: Learning from the Past

 |  Bill discusses his own experience with natural ventilation systems, and Professor Alan Short’s timely new book, The Recovery of Natural Environments in Architecture. This work is very encouraging as it will not only lower energy costs and improve ventilation, it also offers a new level of resilience when conventional systems fail. — Read More

Biophilic Design Precedents: Three Perspectives on Evidence & Ideation

 |  In an effort to expedite the broad adoption of biophilic design, I’ve been exploring ways to build evidence and communicate success of industry-relevant biophilic design precedents. These are early thoughts on how we might go about filling knowledge gaps, proving the intuitively obvious, and establishing emotional connections to the built environment. — Read More

Cities Lead the Charge Against Climate Change

 |  I spent the last week of November in Mexico City at the C40 Mayors Summit and I wish you had all attended. I was invigorated by the actions and goals of the participating cities. The current C40 chair and Rio mayor Eduardo Paes, former mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Mexico City mayor Miguel Angel Mancera were […] — Read More

Terrapin Supports Low Carbon USA

 |  Terrapin is proud to join over 365 companies in sending a message to President Obama, President Elect Trump, and other elected U.S. and global leaders reaffirming our commitment to the historic Paris Climate Agreement. — Read More

Chris Garvin Appointed to GSA’s Green Building Advisory Committee

 |  Our partner Chris Garvin was recently appointed as a member of the U.S. General Services Administration’s Green Building Advisory Committee. The Green Building Advisory Committee provides advice to GSA to accelerate the successful transformation of the Federal building portfolio to sustainable technologies and practices. Chris will bring his extensive knowledge and experience in the architecture and sustainable […] — Read More

Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper Blue Economy Framework 

 |  Working with the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Terrapin used Phoebe (Framework for the Built Ecological Environment) to help develop their pilot Blue Economy Framework. The Blue Economy Framework is a strategic plan for coordinating the major stakeholders of watershed hydrology (industry, agriculture, municipal supply and wastewater, etc) around the goal of protecting water resources. — Read More

Hegeman Residence

 |  The Terrapin charrette allowed stakeholders to focus on occupant health, indoor environmental quality, and best practices to reduce tenants’ energy bills. — Read More