Using the High Performance Buildings Database

Each project description may or may not include details on various aspects of its design process, costs, and/or environmental performance. You can limit your search to projects that include details in a particular topic area by using the Detailed Search function. Once you have a list of projects that meet your search criteria, clicking on any project brings you to an Overview screen with general information about that project.

From the Overview screen, you can use the "Topics" menu on the left to view additional screens that provide additional details about the project. You can also go through all the available screens using the arrow buttons at the bottom of each screen. To begin a new search, click on "Case Study Search" in the footer of any page.

If you wish to view another project from your current list, you can select it from the pull-down menu in the upper right. When you are viewing an Overview screen, all the projects in your list will appear in this menu. When you are viewing any of the detail screens, however, the list in the pull-down menu will only display projects from your list that have that screen available. You can retrieve your full list by switching to an Overview screen in any project, or selecting "back to search list" from the pull-down menu. Note that the project you are currently viewing will appear in brackets on this menu (unless you use your browser's "back" button to return to a previous project, in which case the brackets will not be accurate).

Detailed Search

Region

By checking one or more boxes from the first column, you may search the database for projects located in a particular area. For projects in the U.S.A., you may further limit your search by checking one or more boxes from the list of sub-regions of the United States. The search will include all projects located in the area represented by any checked box. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by location.

Context

By checking one or more options, you may search the database for projects that are built within one or more particular contexts. The search will include all projects that fit the context represented by any checked box. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by context.

Scope

By checking one or more options, you may search the database for projects that are single buildings, parts of buildings (such as a tenant fit-out of a commercial office), and/or multiple buildings (such as a corporate campus or neighborhood housing development). The search will include all projects that fit the scope represented by any checked box. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by scope.

Building Type

By checking one or more boxes, you may search the database for projects that are used in one or more capacities. The search will include all projects that fit the type represented by any checked box. Multi-use projects are listed as having more than one "type", and they will show up if you select any of their use types. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by building type.

Building Size

By checking one or more boxes, you may search the database for projects that fall in a particular size range. You may choose to search using English (IP) units by checking boxes from the first column or using metric units by checking boxes from the second column. (If desired, you may also search using a combination of English and metric units by checking boxes from both columns.) The search will include all projects that fit the size range represented by any checked box. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by size.

Building Program

By checking one or more boxes, you may search the database for projects whose space is used for particular functions. You may search by indoor spaces with the first two columns and/or outdoor spaces with the last column. The search will include all projects that have space used in the capacity of any checked box. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by building program.

Keywords

By checking one or more boxes, you may search the database for projects that have emphasized various environmental building areas. The search will include all projects for which any checked keyword box applies. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by keywords.

Details Available

With the exception of the Overview screen, every project information screen is optional for any particular project. By checking one or more boxes, you may limit your search to projects that include details on various topics of planning, costs, and environmental performance. The search will include all projects that include pages describing the topics you select. If no boxes are checked, the search will not be limited by the details available.

Recent Updates

By clicking on the pull-down menu, you may search the database for projects that have been published or updated within the past week, month, 90 days, or year. Note that any change to the publication status of a project or even a specific screen will reset this date, so some projects may show up even if they have been available online for longer than the specified time frame. If no time period has been selected, the search will not be limited by the time since a project's entry or last update.