JUSTIN R. WOLF




My writing


Architecture | Green Design | Energy Efficiency 

In addition to my content strategy practice, I work as a freelance journalist covering green building trends, regenerative design, and energy policy for a variety of media outlets, including Green Building Advisor, Fine Homebuilding, Metropolis, Architectural Record, ENTER magazine (AIA Minnesota), and others publications. 

Common Edge •

How Will the “Big Beautiful Bill” Affect Renewable Energy Efforts? (interview with Martin Pedersen)

Last week’s passage of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill (BBB), the sweeping spending-and-tax package, will likely have far-reaching ramifications on virtually all aspects of government. For the architecture, design, and planning community, it seems clear that continuing efforts to expand renewable energy have taken a hit. The legislation takes direct aim at many of the tax incentives included in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that were intended to spur the growth in tha...
Metropolis Magazine •

Liz Martin-Malikian is Decarbonizing the Curriculum

Justin R. Wolf: As you prepare to begin your tenure at Miami University, how do you plan to define your role as chair of the architecture school, and how do you think your past experiences will inform that direction? Liz Martin-Malikian: When I was at Cosanti Foundation, we asked ourselves: how do we build a sense of belonging and become accessible to a diverse range of students? Cosanti has strong connections to Indigenous nations, and [founder] Paolo Soleri’s work was heavily influenced by...
AIA Architect •

Can real estate be a tool for social change? Adre says yes

Real estate development can be a prosperous endeavor. Rarely is it a noble one. Anyeley Hallová, the founder and CEO of Adre, an Oregon-based developer and real estate advisor that strives to be an “agent of social progress,” would like to change that. The company’s work is philanthropic in nature. “We’re developing projects for folks that traditionally don’t have access to real estate investment and ownership,” Hallová says. Broadly speaking, Adre’s mission is to help those with a mission—while...
Metropolis Magazine •

Behind the Fine Art and Science of Glazing

TRANSPARENT AND CLEAR, I GIVE SIGHT TO ALL. IN FRAMES OR IN BUILDINGS, I STAND TALL. WHAT AM I? The answer to this riddle is glass. The role of glazing in sustainable and healthy buildings is becoming clearer (pun intended) than ever before. On a basic level, windows provide views and daylight—two simple amenities that can be powerfully transformative for how a building feels to the people in it. But too much transparency can be a problem: Many progressive thinkers in the design community are mo...
AIA Architect •

A regenerative college campus from the ground up

The adage "do more with less" is anathema in the corporate world. It’s an approach to governance that often leads to stress, burnout, and compromised results. However, as an approach to campus planning and energy efficiency, it can produce something inspired and beneficial. Des Moines University has successfully done more with less.In 2019, Des Moines University (DMU) announced its decision to upgrade its campus. Rather than refurbish its existing facilities, the small, private health sciences s...
EnergySage News •

California's War on Rooftop Solar: A New Bill Could Dim Homeowners' Energy Freedom

We won't charge you anything to get quotes through our marketplace. Instead, installers and other service providers pay us a small fee to participate after we vet them for reliability and suitability. To learn more, read about how we make money, our Dispute Resolution Service, and our Editorial Guidelines.Sourced the majority of our data from hundreds of thousands of quotes through our own marketplace.As subject matter experts, we provide only objective information. We design every article to pr...
AIA Architect •

Deaf education design in the spotlight at AIA25

Robert Nichols, Assoc. AIA, is the chairman and co-founder of the non-profit World Deaf Architecture (WDA), an organization devoted to bringing together deaf and hard of hearing architects, designers, and educators for the purpose of professional networking and career development. In a Wednesday session at the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design® 2025 in Boston, “Deaf Education Design: How to Create a Learning Building,” Nichols helped attendees understand the emerging concept of deaf educat...
Green & Healthy Maine HOMES •

Rain screens: What they are and when to use them

Dan Kolbert, a high-performance contractor and homebuilder in Portland, says that forgoing a rain screen will likely decrease the lifespan of the cladding or sheathing and prematurely age the paint job. “Condensation or bulk water can get stuck between the siding and the house with no easy way to escape,” he says. While a lot of builders will stop short of proclaiming rain screens essential, Kolbert says that if you’re re-siding your house, particularly with wood siding or shingles, adding a rai...
AIA Architect •

Low-carbon concrete solutions are showing high potential

Cement and concrete have built entire civilizations, according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA), the major trade group that represents U.S. cement manufacturers. They're not wrong. From Roman aqueducts to interstate highways, the Parthenon to Habitat 67, concrete defines so much of how we navigate and consider our built environment. And in recent history, it has also wrought terrible harm on our natural environment. A quick scroll down PCA's site reveals how the association has pivoted t...
Green & Healthy Maine HOMES •

Air control: The balance of airtightness and ventilation

By Justin R. WolfThis is because we can’t smell it or see where it gathers, lingers and escapes. Hot or cold, dry or humid, a healthy home controls not just temperature, humidity and airborne contaminants but the movement of air as well. And there are other related factors to consider.An airtight home has been properly sealed top to bottom, creating a continuous air barrier (also called a “continuous air control layer”) from the cracks that exist between the concrete foundation and mudsill (or w...
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Contact me to inquire about other writing samples, including ghostwritten articles, website copy, and special projects.

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Art Criticism | Art History

Gallery Crawl •

“Remember That You Will Die: Death Across Cultures” at the Rubin Museum of Art

Memento Mori is the Latin-Christian maxim translated as “Remember that you will die.” It is altogether sobering and, in some perverted sense, comforting; it’s an epitaph for the masses—commoners and kings alike. It is also the subject of the ’s latest offering, of the same name, and although said offering is a modest one, this exhibition is, quite literally, breath-taking.
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