Blog
Check out our latest projects, publications, and more news.
Resilient Housing: Partnering with Net Zero Fellow Jessy Ledesma
We are excited to announce our partnership with Net Zero Fellow Jessy Ledesma of HomeWork development. In our continued efforts towards Mass Plywood Panel Housing, Jessy, ESBL, and IHBE are teaming up to develop "new combinations of systems and technologies for...
Awards: ESBL Part of Mass Timber Innovation Coalition
Lead by the Port of Portland, the University of Oregon's Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory and Institute for Health in the Built Environment are working in tandem with Oregon State's TallWood Design Institute to develop an innovation hub and production campus for...
Students Collaborate to Create Taskshade: The Sustainable Solution to Office Glare
Do you work in a naturally-lit office? You probably have an issue with screen glare. The current fix? Put down the shades and turn on the lights, which undermines energy efficiency. Our Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg and a fantastic team of University of Oregon...
New Paper: Material Testing for VOC’s & Microbial Growth
Ever wondered how that fir trim in your house might be impacting you? What about the microbial community on your concrete basement wall? We are studying how these building materials may influence health. We looked at 4 different building materials- timber, concrete,...
New Paper on Grid-Resilient Affordable Housing
As part of our Open Home Project, an interdisciplinary and research driven response to the U.S. housing crisis, we are working to make affordable, efficient and climate resilient housing readily available. From water reclamation systems to energy storage, we are...
The Bright Future of Healthy Buildings: New White Paper
In our ongoing work to design sustainable, efficient, and healthy buildings, we have a new publication out that talks about the future of healthy buildings, informed by a history of design and our current design problems and questions that have blossomed from the...
On Home, Improved: Daylight & Fresh Air in the Bedroom
Open the curtains! Our Director Kevin Van Den Wymelenberg chats on the science of daylight & ventilation with Charlie Luxton in his Podcast "Home, Improved". Research is proving that getting a light and fresh air really is biologically good for you- from impacting...
What’s the Best View for You? Take a Survey on Window View Comfort
Help Architecture Master's student Sohrab Ghasemi design the best view quality from your office, home, or school windows by participating in his research survey. Sohrab is working to understand how windows can influence viewer experience and comfort, information that...
2020/02/15 Remembering GZ Brown
Lived fearlessly, transformed lives, forever transforming architecture Phillip H. Knight Professor of Architecture, G.Z. “Charlie” Brown passed away peacefully early Saturday morning (2/15/2020) at his home in Eugene, OR at the age of 77 years. He was surrounded by...
Mass Timber in Offices: A Case Study
ESBL has a new study out, which was just published in the journal Buildings. This interdisciplinary case-study examined the indoor environment and air quality of a newly-constructed, cross-laminated timber office building in Portland, OR. Researchers from ESBL,...