Sustainable Material Selection Delivers Better Spaces

Sustainable materials, ingredient transparency, and flexible sustainable designs improve interior spaces

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Sponsored by Armstrong Ceiling and Wall Solutions

By Rebecca A. Pinkus

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THE LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE

The Living Building Challenge, developed by the International Living Future Institute, is a certification program that aims to help professionals create projects that reflect an ideal built environment as part of achieving true sustainability. In addition to being a certification program, it functions as a building philosophy and an advocacy tool.

According to the standard, building designers should aim to create projects that are self-sufficient and efficient, connect occupants with the environment and community, create a positive impact on human and natural systems, and are healthy, beautiful, and long lasting.

The certification is based on seven Petals: place, water, energy, health and happiness, materials, equity, and beauty. These are combined in a matrix with the Living Building Challenge “typologies,” which include buildings, renovations, landscape and infrastructure, and community, along with the 20 “imperatives” of the challenge. The imperatives range from growth limits and urban agriculture as well as healthy interior and biophilic environments to beauty and spirit, and inspiration and education.

WELL BUILDING STANDARD

The WELL Building Standard, administered by the International WELL Building Institute, uses innovative, evidence-based medical and scientific research to create strategies to advance health, happiness, mindfulness, and effectiveness in buildings and communities. It is the first building standard that focuses entirely on human health and wellness and stems from collaborative work between scientists, doctors, architects, and wellness thought leaders.

Performance requirements for WELL are set in seven concepts relating to occupant health in the built environment: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. In order for spaces to be certified, they must receive a passing score in each category. Certification is awarded as Silver, Gold, or Platinum, depending on the score.

WELL can be applied to almost any building type or sector, and at any stage of the building’s life cycle. It works with LEED, Green Star, BREEAM, and other globally recognized rating systems for human and environmental sustainability.

Source: Healthy Buildings International, Inc. healthybuildings.com

WELL Performance Requirements

DESIGNING FOR HEALTH, WELLNESS, AND SUSTAINABILITY

When designing its new headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) envisioned the building as a living laboratory that demonstrates the impact of design on the human experience. The design goal was to create the office of the future, incorporating solutions that address health, wellness, and sustainability.

ASID was designed to the WELL Building Standard, a certification administered by the International WELL Building Institute. The office includes biophilic design strategies, which utilize natural elements to reduce stress and increase air quality, stringent water-quality standards, and a lighting system developed to improve productivity by helping to regulate physiological processes, or circadian rhythms.

Architecture Firm Perkins + Will worked with a manufacturer to provide high-performance acoustical ceiling products for several critical areas within the 7,200-square-foot space. These products have performance and sustainability characteristics that help the project achieve its high ratings in both environmental and wellness design. Performance characteristics include impressive ratings for sound absorption (NRC) and sound blocking (CAC), and light-reflectance values up to 90 percent. In addition, the ceiling products are made with a high percentage of recycled content and are highly durable and easy to maintain.

Conclusion

Awareness of healthy building design is growing, and for some building owners and developers, it is becoming a priority. Selecting the right materials is particularly important since the materials and products used directly impact the health and well-being of the building occupants. Owners, architects, contractors, and interior designers all play a role in designing interiors that can positively impact occupants’ well-being and experiences while increasing the overall value and performance of the building itself.

Specifying sustainable interior finishes such as ceiling and wall panels contributes greatly to the overall design strategy of healthier buildings. These products can contribute to improved acoustics, thermal comfort, daylighting, indoor air quality, and aesthetics while providing a comfortable and sustainable environment for occupants. Such qualities not only make the environment more appealing to occupants but can also lead to higher levels of tenant and employee retention and productivity.

Since we spend 90 percent of our time indoors, each of us can do our part to contribute to better spaces where we live, work, heal, learn, and play.

End Notes

¹“HPDs: Why Product Transparency is the New Norm.” Rate It Green. 20 Oct. 2017. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

²Johnston, Katie. “Can an office building make you healthier and more pro- ductive?” Boston Globe. 10 March 2017. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

³“The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings 2016: Tactical Intelligence to Trans- form Building Design and Construction.” SmartMarket Report. Dodge Data & Analytics. 2016. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

⁴Gammon, Katharine. “How Interior Designers See Science in Light and Colors.” Inside Science. 21 April 2017. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

⁵“Sour Mood Getting You Down? Get Back to Nature.” Harvard Health Pub- lishing. July 2018. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

⁶“Building the Business Case: Health, Wellbeing and Productivity in Green Offices.” World Green Building Council. October 2016. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

Resources

LEED v4. USGBC. 2018. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

Living Building Challenge. International Living Future Institute. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

Welcome to WELL v2. International WELL Building Institute. 2017. Web. 3 Oct. 2018.

Rebecca A. Pinkus is an independent communication consultant, writer, and editor focusing on the intersection of technology, environment, and human health. She has contributed to more than 35 continuing education courses and publications through Confluence Communications. www.confluencec.com

Armstrong World Industries is a leader in the design and manufacture of innovative commercial ceiling and wall systems. At home, at work, in health-care facilities, classrooms, stores, and restaurants, Armstrong Ceiling & Wall Solutions offer interior options that help create healthy, sustainable spaces that protect people and cultivate well-being and comfort so they can be at their best.

Armstrong is committed to developing new and sustainable ceiling solutions, with design and performance possibilities that empower its customers to create beautiful, high-performance residential and commercial buildings. Armstrong continues to grow and prosper for the benefit of all its stakeholders. armstrongceilings.com/commercial

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Originally published in November 2018

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