Last year was my first Greenbuild in Chicago and man, was I overwhelmed! Heck, I know I wasn’t the only one, based on the article here I wrote in the DJC. I tell you, me and 23,000 of my closest friends really got to know each other better.

The criticism of that Greenbuild, as quoted in the above article, is that the

This was Greenbuild 2007

conference was “best for beginners,” “too touchy-feely” and too “focused on commercialism.” It will be interesting to see how these issues play out at Greenbuild 2008.

This year in Boston, I’m betting the crowds will be just as big. And thankfully (to my amazing employer), I will be there to witness it yet again and share the experience with you. So if you’re not going, keep your Internet tuned to the DJC Green Building Blog for daily updates on talks, sessions and whatever else comes my way.

If you are going however, and you want to have more than snowball’s chance in a hot sauna of meeting other people from Seattle (last year I recognized a colleague out of the corner of my eye and went running after him, arms flailing so as not to lose sight of him amongst thousands of bodies)… I suggest you visit the Web site Konstructr and sign up for Greenbuild - The Konstructr Delegation. Billed as “the place for construction professionals to connect,” the site is exactly that — plus interesting commentary, events and news articles. If you’re interested in green building at all, you might want to check this out as it seems a great resource.

As for the Greenbuild group, the invitation in my in box cordially invited me to join with this handy description by Vik Duggal:

Anyone who has attended Greenbuild in the past can identify with the
overwhelming number of programs available. And if you are like us, you
probably remember being energized and full of ideas, only to return to
your routine without further discussing or developing these ideas.  We are forming the Konstructr Delegation, which is an offline manifestation of the online community of design professionals we are building, to encourage more interaction during and after the conference.

Sound good? Join up. If you’re going, I’ll see you there (as long as you’re part of this group, that is). And if you’re not, tell me why. And what you’d like me to cover. I can’t promise anything but you never know what you might get if you just ask.

If you’re already a LEED AP, or just want to take your green building education to the next level, the Cascadia chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council has a great opportunity for you.

In June, Cascadia launches ‘Living Building Leader.’ A program designed to go further than LEED and educate participants about the different parts of a living building. The very, very best part of this for people interested in living buildings across the country is it’s an online course, so even if you live in New York City let’s say, you can take it too!

The first session is June 4th. The topic is “spirit and meaning in design” and examines how buildings can celebrate place, culture and the environment. Jason McLennan, CEO of Cascadia, is presenting this topic.

For more about the program, click more (more…)