Justin Wolf

Minnesota, Portland

Freelance Writer at Freelance

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Articles

A Different Kind of Prefabricated Housing Solution

2 weeks ago | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

America isn’t building enough homes. There are numerous reasons for this: retrograde zoning laws, worker shortages, trade tariffs, a lack of unionized labor (at least in certain regions), and the list goes on. It is a complex problem with no silver bullet. If there is an X factor, it’s speed. We don’t build fast enough, and each of the reasons listed above inform this tangential truth.
Trump Administration Wants to Eliminate Decades-Old ENERGY STAR Program

3 weeks ago | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

The Energy Star program has been around for about as long as the internet. Jointly overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Star was launched in 1992 to designate and promote energy efficient appliances. But the program’s significance stems less so from when it was created than how it came about. Energy Star was created as part of the 1990 Clean Air Act, the law that broadly defines the EPA’s responsibilities for improving air quality.
Passive House on Piers

4 weeks ago | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

South Harpswell sits at the end of a narrow peninsula, facing due southwest toward Casco Bay. Like a lot of coastal hamlets in Maine’s mid-coast and Downeast regions, the land formations are long and irregular, resembling flecks of paint being thrown onto a canvas from a distance. In other words, the topography is unique.
Envision Resilience Participants Design for Vulnerable Coastlines

1 month ago | metropolismag.com | Justin Wolf

The climate crisis will not be solved in a silo. Designing for the what if demands an interdisciplinary approach, with landscape architects, environmental scientists, design professionals and likeminded disciplines operating in tandem while tackling one interrelated challenge after the next. This outlook is embodied by annual design studio Envision Resilience.
Green Banks' Funding is in the Trump Administration's Crosshairs

2 months ago | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is coming after America’s green banks. Once you’ve had a moment to process the naked irony of this statement, let us review the facts and what has transpired of late. Green banks have long been considered a reliable institutional response to the climate crisis.
The Edison in Milwaukee Wants to be More Than the Next Mass Timber High Rise

2 months ago | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

The Edison is officially going up! The planned 31-story, hybrid mass timber building in Milwaukee, being developed by Neutral (formerly the Neutral Project), began construction earlier this month. Appropriately, the building site, which is situated in the city’s Deer District, on the eastern bank of the Milwaukee River, was once a lumberyard. When completed, the Edison will become the world’s tallest mass timber residential building.
How about Quonset Huts as Sustainable and Resilient Homes?

2 months ago | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

The strongest structural shape is the arch. (To all proponents of the triangle, I’ll see you in the comments.) As a model for compression-focused design, the arch represents one of the oldest forms of construction, dating back to ancient Rome. And because compressive forces are distributed efficiently along its surface, an arch can span wide distances without the aid of other large structural supports like beams and columns.
Taisugar Circular Village is a Model Case Study for Circular Economies

2 months ago | metropolismag.com | Justin Wolf

The Taiwanese project byBio-architecture Formosana claims to be the first residential village in the country to be integrated within a circular economy. Green buildings alone cannot save our environment.
Cambridge, Mass. Goes All in on Renewable Energy Certificates

2 months ago | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

The city of Cambridge, Mass., famed for being the home of Harvard, MIT, and the birthplace of the Continental Army preceding the American Revolution, is a town of immense wealth, historical heritage, and very old buildings. As the fourth largest city in the state, there are several things that make Cambridge unique.
A New Product from Wood Waste Streams

Mar 3, 2025 | greenbuildingadvisor.com | Justin Wolf

Waste comes in many forms. When it comes to felled timber and lumber products especially, any and all waste is a serious problem. In past pieces for GBA, I have written about the need for larger industry players to better synergize their operations. “The waste industry is not connected to the lumber industry,” Eric Law, co-founder of Urban Machine, told me in 2023.