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Materials and Waste: Case Studies

Located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is Pennsylvania’s first green building . The innovators for the construction of the Department of Environmental Protection South Central Regional Office Building used high performance, safe, and sustainable building materials in the construction of this building.[i] To begin, they incorporated as much recycled material into the structure as possible; they then looked at the recyclability and renewability of the virgin materials they needed. The team of designers and builders put much effort into using recycled and renewable resources so as to have the smallest negative impact on the environment as possible. They provided a wonderful list of some of the products and materials used in the building. For example, this building purchased their furniture , namely chairs, from DesignTex. The fabric covering the chairs is made from wool and plant fibers. The dyes used are so toxic -free that they can actually use the “wastewater” as potable water. Additionally, the fabric scraps that are created are used as fertilizer on local fields. Design Tex chairs were designed by William McDonough, co-author of Cradle to Cradle.

Another example of a green building material that is incorporated into this building is Knoll Modular Systems Partitions. The panel fabric is made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic soda bottles. The fabric is incredibly durable and easy to clean. Additionally, this company has a distinguished record because of its outstanding programs in place for waste elimination and reduction. For example, this manufacturing facility is 65.5 percent below Pennsylvania’s acceptable limits for VOC emissions.

Similarly, this building incorporates new and revolutionary materials into its structure, such as Wheat Straw and Environ Biocomposite Wall Panels. Horst, Inc. and Phoenix Biocomposites produce Environ from a combination of recycled paper products and agricultural soy waste. This material is durable, wood -like, and uses only non-petrochemical based binders. As an environmentally friendly backbone to the building itself, Nu-Core recycled structural steel is used. Finally, a solvent-free water based paint called Polomyx which does not emit any VOCs is used throughout this building. This quality paint contributes to good indoor environmental quality .

A second building, which was built and is currently functional, is the Cusano Environmental Education Center, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For this building, several sustainable design strategies are incorporated and followed. In addition to choosing proper materials from recycled and renewable resources, the building is quite energy efficient, maximizing daylighting , natural ventilation, and passive solar heating. The research and development team in charge of this building chose materials with recycled content and materials that were rapidly renewable. They also analyzed the environmental impact they were creating. For instance, they incorporated 60-year-old salvaged timbers into the structure.

Located in San Francisco, California, a daycare and recreation center called the Argonne Child Development Center is the first solar-powered school in San Francisco, completed in January of 2002. Although one of the main goals for this building was to create a warm, welcoming, and inviting environment for pre-school children and community gardeners, another was to cause minimal environmental impact by using daylighting , solar energy, and natural ventilation whenever possible. Recycled materials, as well as low VOC emitting building materials, were also used to create the healthiest environment possible for the children and other users of the facility.