Last week I took a tour of NEXUS, Boston’s Green Building Resource Center. An very knowledgeable employee of NEXUS, Shoshana Friedman, showed me around their new space on 38 Chauncy Street in Boston.

NEXUS is more or less the epicenter of green building resources for Boston, MA. It has a product showroom, a material and resource library, space for events, and provide a place for people studying for LEED certification. You can also take a tour of the building from their friendly staff!

I was curious if other similar green building centers exist. They’re a little hard to find—a quick search I did turned up one in Atlanta and one in Santa Monica (which is actually co-sponsored by Global Green USA). Let us know if your searches turn up other green building centers in different parts of the country.

In addition to serving as an educational resource to the building community, NEXUS is a working example of green products in use. They are currently in the process of being LEED certified under the Commercial Interior (CI) bracket. Here are a few “green” features that I found interesting:

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Planning to build a green home can be confusing.What makes a green home green?What factors are most important and why? 

Factors such as, building envelope, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, renewable energy, local conditions and green materials have significant effects on the health and efficiency of our homes. Deciding what matters the most to you and your family is up to you.

Protecting your home from the elements is one of the most important considerations. The building envelope is the separation between the interior and exterior of a home (essentially, it is the outer shell). This separation is usually made up of walls, a roof, and a foundation and is an important factor in the home’s efficiency.

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