Through studies completed in response to a sustainable building materials exploration course, I have become more knowledgeable in these areas:
- Materials research in identifying categories (LEED/CSI) of design and construction uses such as masonry, wood/plastics/composites, concrete, metals, thermal & moisture protection, finishes, etc.
- Determining general materials that correspond to these categories and how they can contribute and be integrated into a complete building system. Accomplished by accessing the LEED and CSI specifications and understanding how they segregate materials and with LEED, then assign a points rating.
- Determining specific materials and products that are available within these general materials groups by accessing various websites. These included: greenbuildingpages.com, greenbuildingsupply.com, the National Institute of Building Sciences, jetsongreen.com, buildinggreen.com, as well as blogs and other sites that explore possibilities for reclaiming and/or salvaging materials to be repurposed.
- Understanding how to establish a criteria for evaluating materials for their sustainability. By looking at various established systems for analyzing "green" materials I was able to identify the most significant characteristics that were valued. These appear to be pre-consumer recycled content, post-consumer recycled content, toxicity, packaging, transportation, durability, maintenance, and greenhouse gas emissions. Most all of these factors can be evaluated in the various stages of the materials life cycle. From natural resource and mineral extraction, transportation to production facility, the manufacturing energy needed and emissions produced, transportation to distribution locations, transportation to building sites, machinery needed to install, lifespan of materials, recycling of used materials, and waste produced. There are many ways to evaluate and interpret the sustainability of building materials. There seems to almost always be a cost/benefit relationship with an individual material and even more so when multiple materials are being used in the same application and their characteristics can work for and against each other.
- Established a format for evaluation of materials criteria in order to quantify information gathered. By inputting all data into a spreadsheet document findings could be more easily understood and graded by parameters listed.
- Identified established furnishings that have an interesting design concept but may not utilize sustainable materials in their construction. Documented materials used in these items and successes and failures where applicable. Proposed alternative solutions for the implementation of materials to execute the chosen designs.
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