Story at a glance:
- Greenbuild 2023 was themed around building transformation and celebrated creating a more sustainable and resilient future.
- Solutions exhibited were aimed at decarbonization, equity, health, biodiversity, and resilience in the built environment.
The 2023 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo marked 30 years of USGBC as well as the debut of LEED v5—the latest iteration of the LEED green building program.
This year’s Greenbuild showed off many new, exciting sustainable products. Innovative flooring, insulation, and wood solutions were among some of the standout solutions we saw at the expo in Washington, DC in 2023.
Greenbuild 2024 is scheduled to take place November 12 to 15, 2024 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
Here were some of this year’s standout products we saw at Greenbuild.
KlearSky Metal Framed Glass Skylights
KlearSky metal framed glass skylights include standard configurations like pyramids, polygons, segmented barrel vaults, single slopes, and ridges as well as fully customizable shapes for complete freedom of design. UV-stable glass glazing options are also available to meet stringent energy code performance requirements. Photo courtesy of Kingspan Light + Air
Kingspan Light + Air’s new KlearSky Metal Framed Glass Skylights are changing the way light enters buildings. The new skylight daylighting system is set to revolutionize the way architects integrate natural daylight into buildings to create stunning visual aesthetics while still achieving high levels of building performance. Architects and designers can choose from standard configurations like pyramids, polygons, segmented barrel vaults, single slopes and ridges as well as fully customizable shapes for truly flexible design. A varied array of UV-stable (non-yellowing) glass glazing options are also available to meet the most stringent energy code performance requirements, including high-performance insulating glass and laminated glass.
TimberHP Wood Fiber Insulation
TimberBatt is easy to install. Photo courtesy of TimberHP
Wood fiber insulation is an affordable insulation solution that stores carbon, according to TimberHP. Their products meet Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative certifications and are manufactured in Maine to become TimberBoard, TimberBatt, and TimberFill. These blown-in insulation, insulation batts, and fiber board insulation solutions can stand alone as drop-in replacements for other above-grade products or work together to create protective wall and floor insulation, ceiling insulation, attic insulation, and exterior continuous insulation with industry-leading sound dampening.
The Mycelium Collection from HMTX Industries
The Mycelium Collection is a non-vinyl, circular multilayer flooring system. Photo courtesy of HMTX Industries
HMTX’s new Mycelium Collection is part of the company’s new category of flooring—SRP Rigid Core TPU flooring, a non-vinyl, circular multilayer flooring system. Two plastic bottles (PET) are upcycled into each square foot of SRP flooring, which is then constructed with a PET top layer, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) core layer, and a cross-linked polyurethane foam back layer. The collection’s designs are inspired by mycelium—the network of fungal threads that often grows underground. The SRP flooring can be ground up and transformed into an engineered TPU giving HMTX the ability to recycle each plank into new planks, making it a circular product.
WholeTrees Structural Products
Photo courtesy of WholeTrees
Based in Madison, WholeTrees provides turnkey structural systems, custom designed configurations, and decorative components from round timber. Their scanning technology allows them to bring the life of the forest to modern building design—like at the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire. This two-story timber structure opened in 2022. WholeTrees’ founding team brought CAD and BIM to the organic shapes of SRT and fabricated ground-breaking structural systems across the country to become an expert in engineering unmilled timber for commercial construction. They serve as a hub between well-managed forests, biophilic architectural designs, 3D scanning and inventory management tools, and solid structural timber products
Leadax Roov
This sustainable roofing membrane is made from plastic waste. Photo courtesy of Leadax Roov
Leadax Roov is the sustainable roofing membrane that’s made from plastic waste. The single-ply, off-white waterproofing membrane has a high reflection value, so less energy is needed to cool buildings. Leadax Roof is up to 90% more sustainable than traditional oil-driven roofing membranes and suitable for any flat roof, contributing to lower carbon dioxide emissions. It’s highly durable and easy to apply and can be recycled and reused at the end of life.
Polycor Natural Stone
Polycor offers the industry a large range of iconic natural stones for paving and more. Photo courtesy of Polycor
Polycor’s natural stone can be found on some of the most beautiful, iconic buildings in the world—from the Empire State Building to the Pentagon. As a top natural stone quarrier, they are also leading the way in carbon neutrality with a commitment to be carbon neutral by the end of 2025. To achieve this they are working to improve their energy efficiency by reducing energy intensity by 10%, switching vehicles and equipment to electric models by electrifying 30% of their light vehicle fleet, and converting their building heating system to an efficient and low-carbon source of energy, among other steps. Their natural stone is a sustainable solution to other building materials, too, as it has an extremely low embodied carbon footprint.
