Green Building in Educational Sector

Educational facilities are jumping on board with LEED certification and sustainable design practices in construction. Whether you’re interested in entering the educational sector or simply a person who has gone to school and sat in an educational facility for most of your childhood and adolescence, this should be very exciting. The USGBC began pushing a new initiative this month that encourages legislative representatives from each of the fifty states to hold private caucuses to address the issue of green building for schools. Not only will green buildings improve the quality of the learning experience by allowing for better interior conditions, but they will also train the future generations on what makes a building healthy for both the occupant and the earth. The USGBC reports that over 1000 school buildings have or are pursuing LEED green school certifications at this point.

Imagine sitting in a classroom where the lighting designer and architect carefully thought out the position of windows and fluorescent fixtures to reduce glare and utilize all natural daylighting. Imagine: no headaches or asthma attacks resulting from poor construction maintneance or high VOC materials. Taking care of the environmental aspects of design will also take care of the student, there's no doubt about it!

Currently there is a bill awaiting response from the Senate that proposes 6.4 billion dollars to be used for the repair and construction of schools. This bill, the “21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act,” would allow schools the funds necessary not only to continue building, but to build to a higher standard. If you are interested in learning more about what your state is doing for the “Fifty for Fifty” green school initiative, visit http://www.usgbc.org/News/PressReleaseDetails.aspx?ID=3811

Universities are concerned with building green as well, as they should be. Environmental awareness is a major initiative and should be focused on in our schools of higher learning. Research models, competitions, case studies, etc have been implemented nation wide to learn more about the relationship between sustainable building and educational facilities. Business Week's article from last week gives a few examples. http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/sep2008/bs2008099_035677.htm

Solid Surfaces Resources

Solid Surfaces
These are manufacturers that make extremely environmental solid surfacing materials. These specific materials will contribute to LEED certification. However, not all of the products manufactured by the companies listed below are 100% sustainable, so be sure to specify the correct ones!

Manufacturers and Products Tried and True for Commercial and Residential:
100 percent by 3Form http://www.3-form.com/
EnviroSLAB by enviroglas http://www.enviroglasproducts.com/index.asp
Alkemi by Renewed Materialshttp://www.renewedmaterials.com/
Certified Series by Paperstone http://www.paperstoneproducts.com/
Corian by Dupont http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_US/index.html
Environbiocomposite by Environ Biocomposites http://www.environbiocomposites.com/products.php


Other Products:
UltraGLAS by Ultraglas Inc. http://www.ultraglas.com/
ShetkaStone by All Paper Recycling http://www.shetkastone.com/
Richlite by Richlite Co. http://www.richlite.com/
Armstone recycled colors by Petrostone http://199.237.240.65/

I haven’t seen all of these specified in commercial spaces and I’ve heard that Richlite scratches easily. However, the listings in Other Products have high ratings for residential, so they would still be good to investigate.

Green Resources Part 1

I have had many requests for a database of green resources that can be used for interior design projects. There are so many that narrowing it down to a list will be difficult! However, I can give a list of requirements that can be used as guidelines for ANY project, even if it is not following LEED certification.

For interiors:
1. Check the MS data sheets for VOC levels and any health warnings. These can be obtained from the manufacturer upon request. If you’re working with a big manufacturer like Shaw carpets, you can probably find this info on their website. VOC levels should be below 150 g/L no matter what the product is. If it’s an interior paint or an indoor adhesive, it should be below 50 g/L.
2. Check for certifications. If it has an FSC label, it’s promoted and has been checked by the Forest Stewardship Council. This applies to wood based products. Energy star will tell you that it’s efficient. There is no reason to EVER not specify appliances that don’t meet energystar requirements. Greenseal certifies all types of products, including furniture. The Carpet and Rug Institute also approves all carpets and carpet materials to be at acceptable environmental levels. Just look for the labels; this is a quick way to tell!
3. Use rapidly renewable resources and resources with recycled content. These eliminate the need for unnecessary manufacturing.
4. Look for local materials. Using regional materials eliminates the need for trucks to ship from far distances and reduces pollution. It also encourages local development and community support of the resources that are nearby. This can also be a great way to incorporate the exterior landscape to the indoors.

Those are the baseline standards; but there is so much more to consider! Feel free to ask questions or dig deeper to find design solutions that work for your client. Thinking about long term comfort will make the design so much better.
What resources should you use? This is a tough question, considering that there is a new product on the market every day. However, there are many products that have been in use for some time now that have proven worthy of recommendation. I will post blogs with resources for each of the following topics:
Solid surface materials
Regional to west coast/within 500 miles
Resilient flooring
Lighting manufacturers
Paints/ Wall Finishes
Textiles
Furniture
Ceiling systems
Carpet
Wood
Let me know if there are other categories that would be of interest. Also, the links on the side of the blog are great resources for finding competitive products. For example, Greenspec is terrific if you know what you’re looking for. I tend to focus more on the commercial market, so my list of residential resources will not be as extensive as residential. However, please feel free to tell me if you have some resources that you would like included in these databases.