Tim Berners-Lee not too long ago made a TED conference speech about the future of the World Wide Web. He claimed that the future is not in the flashy games and movies etc., but in databases.

He gave a few wonderful examples of how sharing databases around the world connects information and leads us to greater understanding of all things on a global scale. The explosion of databases available online since that speech has been rather noticeable, even when simply browsing nonchalantly on the web. Most of these databases utilize the wiki system, including one known as the Green Building Brain a project of the Open vGreen Building Society.

The Green Building Brain is a free to use and add to online database, designed to showcase green building practises, resources, planning tools and more. It is currently still in a beta version, at greenbuildingbrain.org. According to its agenda the goal of the site is to provide green builders, and enthusiasts alike with a place to store and share “an evolving repository of green building knowledge.” The primary piece of the interface is going to be the World Green Building Map.

There will be a large variety of Web 2.0 features including, RSS feeds, tagging, and forums within the interface.

Though in the beta version the content is primarily case studies of green buildings. The hope is that the site will expand to include information on construction methods, codes and standards, products, new technologies, and funding and incentives. Since the project is entirely open-sourced, the founders are constantly looking for more information and people to help push the project forward.

The primary groups running the project are Vancouver Design Nerds a non-profit society of designers and artists, and Recollective, a green building and sustainable community consulting company in Vancouver, Canada. However, there is always appreciation of anyone who wants to contribute.

We are still living in the information age, and with the breakthrough of the internet we have access to vast sources of information, but it is often still difficult to filter through and find credible sources. Utilizing contributions from professionals and showcasing only the most outstanding projects, the Green Building Brain has proven its credibility.

The Green Building Brain is an incredible project that can hopefully allow everyone to find information about Green Building projects that are close to their own home. Sharing databases of information that are built by people across the globe is the future of the information age.

Perhaps in the future, those who understand climate shifts and environmental factors can collaborate with the Green Building Brain, and showcase the ideal places to build certain types of green buildings. Meteorologists could collaborate sharing information on sun rising, and setting times, to maximize solar use. Geologists can assist with databases on rock types that act as the best thermal mass. The possibilities are endless. Our future, is without question a collaborative one.

www.greenbuildingbrain.org

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