Brogan & Partners

Green Houses
Author(s): John Tibbetts
Source: Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 104, No. 10 (Oct., 1996), pp. 1036-1039
Published by: Brogan & Partners
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Focus

ArchitectGail Lindseyfelt dizzyand nau- andwastemostof it, according to the Rocky * providingcontinuousventilationin build-
seous,with itchyandburningeyes,afterfin- MountainInstitute,a nonprofitorganization ings;
ishingan aerobicsclassin a renovatedgym basedin Snowmass, Coloradothatpromotes * reducing construction
waste;
onedayin thelate1980s."Iknewthatfumes sustainabledesign. * siting buildingsto reduceenvironmental
fromthe newcarpetandfreshpaintjobwere Duringthe oil crisisof the late 1970s, impacton vegetationand nearbywater-
doingme in,"saysLindsey."Ibeganto won- manyarchitectsattemptedto reduceenergy ways;
derwhetherwe knowenoughaboutthemate- consumptionby makingbuildingsairtight. * orientingbuildingsto makeuse of passive
rialsthatwe putintobuildings." But, as a result,manybuildingswhichnow solarheatingandnatural cooling;
As Lindseyexaminedties betweencon- lackadequatefreshaircirculation, intensifies * usingdurablebuildingmaterials thatrequire
struction andhumanhealth,shedis-
materials indoorairpollutionfrombuildingmaterial littlemaintenance;
covereda smallbut growingmovementof emissions, dustmites,molds,andotherpollu- * choosingenergy-efficientheatingandcool-
architectsand environmentalistscriticalof tants.Suchindoorair can causeheadaches, ingequipment, lights,andappliances;
modernbuildingpractices.Proponentsof respiratory problems,and otherreactionsin * choosingwater-efficient landscaping with
"sustainabledesign"-a combinationof new occupants,promptingthe namingof the nativeplants;
drought-resistant
technologies and ancient strategiesthat cumulativeeffect of such reactions"sick * pickingwater-savingtoilets,faucets,andirri-
attemptsto reduceunnecessary wasteof nat- buildingsyndrome." Buildingmaterialsthat gationequipment;
uralresourceswhilecreatinghealthierindoor causesymptomsin someindividuals include * anddesigning energy-efficient
buildingsthat
that and
environments-argue living working methylene chloridein glues,varnishes, and usehighlevelsof insulation.
in modernbuildingsnot only makessome paintstrippers;formaldehydes in manufac- Sustainabledesignis growingrapidly,says
peopleill, but thatthesestructures alsocon- turedwood productsand carpetpads;and Lindsey.Fiveyearsago,she hadto teachher
sumevastamountsof valuableresources and othervolatileorganiccompounds(VOCs) clientsfromscratchaboutthehealthandeco-
harmtheenvironment. usedin floorfinishes,paints,and carpeting logicalbenefitsof environmentally friendly
For example,25% of the virginwood adhesives.Since 1987, the EPA'sScience building.But "starting abouttwo yearsago,
extractedfrom forestsaroundthe worldis AdvisoryBoardhasrepeatedly rankedindoor folkshavecometo me,"shesays,forherspe-
used in construction, according to the air pollutionas one of the top five risksto in sustainable
cialexpertise design.
WorldwatchInstitute, an environmental publichealth.Evenso, "breathing fumesfrom
VOCscouldbe evenmoreof a problemfor Roadblocksto a SustainableDesign
organizationbased in Washington,D.C.
Unsustainable harvestingof forestsleadsto workersinstallingbuildingmaterials thanfor Manyobstaclesto environmentally friendly
flooding, runoff into waters, and loss of occupants" because most of the fumes dis- building remain,however.The building
endangered species.Yet wood productsare perseaftera fewweeks,saysJosephDemkin, industryis oftenslowto acceptnewmaterials
oftensquandered at construction sites,even editorof the Environmental ResourceGuide,a andtechnologies thatsaveresourcesandpro-
whenthe materials couldbe reusedor recy- book publishedunderthe guidanceof the tect indoor air quality,expertssay. "The
cled.A June1993studyby the Metropolitan American Instituteof Architects(AIA). buildingindustryis, by nature,conservative
Service District of Portland, Oregon, a Today,however,theU.S. buildingindus- forgoodreason," saysAlexWilson,editorand
regionalplanningagency,showedthatcon- try could improveits environmentaland publisherof Environmental
BuildingNews."If
structionwastefromthreewood homesof healthrecordby followinga combination of buildersweren't conservative,they'd go
variedsizesrangedfrom3.7 to 4.5 pounds strategies,accordingto the Environmental broke."
per squarefoot, andwood averaged 60% of BuildingNews,a bimonthlynewsletter pub- Most homebuildersare smallbusiness-
thewastebyweight. lishedin Brattleboro, Vermont.Suchstrate- men, constructing 5-10 homesa year,with
Modernbuildings,moreover,areprofli- giescaninclude: scantinterestin learningaboutconstruction
gateenergyusers,usuallyinefficiently lighted, * choosingproductsmadefromsalvaged and researchunlessnewmaterialsareinexpensive,
cooled,heated,andventilated. Buildingscon- recycledmaterials; easyto use,andcomewithstronglocaltrack
sumeaboutone-thirdof theenergyandtwo- * avoidingthe use of paints,adhesives,and records.In thishighlyfragmented it
industry,
thirdsof the electricityin the UnitedStates floorfinishescontainingVOCs; takesabout 17 yearsfor new materialsto

1036 Volume104,Number10,October1996* Environmental

HealthPerspectives

become commonplace,accordingto the sum-
mary report of a meeting, Technology for a
SustainableFuture Workshopon Residential
Construction, sponsoredby the White House
Office of Scienceand TechnologyPolicyand
the Departmentof Energyon 6-7 October
1994 in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.
Moreover, developers, architects, and
builders are often under great pressure to
work quickly and cheaply, pressure that
increasesin times of high demand for new
structures,critics say. A 1994 book by the
Audubon Societyand CroxtonCollaborative,
Architects,entitledAudubonHouse:Building
the Environmentally Responsible, Energy-
EfficientOffice,describesthe rapid develop-
ment of office buildingsduringthe construc-
tion boom of the late 1970s and 1980s. "Fast-
growing businesseslooked to developersto
provide them with inexpensive, ready-to-
occupy space,and developersin turn reward-
ed architectswho could churn out inexpen-
sive buildingsin recordtime while complying
with minimum building codes and stan-
dards."Accordingto the authors,developers
and their clients ignored "the physical dis-
comfortsof the buildings'occupantsand the
buildings'impactson the localor globalenvi-
ronment.
Due to these pressures,many architects
arewaryof alternativetechniquesand materi-
als. Building an environmentally friendly
structurerequiresinnovation and research,
which are time-consuming and, therefore,
costly.To use alternativeproducts,for exam-
ple, building designersmust ask a series of
difficultquestionsincludingwhich chemicals
in materialsseem to causethe most dangerous
healthreactions;will materialsbecomeunreli-
able or ineffectivewhen certainchemicalsare
eliminated;can a materialbe recycled;does
mining, manufacturing, or transporting a
material significantly damage the environ-
ment and, if so, is the damageworsethan that
of a similarproduct;and is a "green"material
just too expensivefor the healthand environ-
mentalbenefitsit brings.
Although many alternativeproductscost
more than conventionalones, they can often
save consumers money over the long term.
For example, compact fluorescent lamps
(CFLs),costing about $10 each, are initially
more expensivethan conventionalincandes-
cent bulbs. But CFLs last about 10 times
longer and are far more energy-efficientthan
incandescentbulbs,savingabout $40 in utili-
ty bills over their life, according to the
WorldwatchInstitute.
Nevertheless,alternativeproductsusually
require years to catch on with the public,
because reliable information on new tech-
nologies and buildingmaterialsis often hard
to find. Even when materialsare tested by
industry,architectswant to know how prod-
HealthPerspectives? Volume104,Number10, October1996
Environmental
ucts have held up over 20-30 years under
real-worldconditions."I tell peoplewe areall
still in kindergarten,"
says Lindsey."Despite
all the testingdone by manufacturers on new
materials,usingthem is still a leapof faith."
But in recentyears,professionalsocieties,
environmental organizations, consulting
firms,and universitieshave increasinglystud-
ied the health and environmental impacts,
cost, and performance of a wide range of
buildingmaterialsand technologies.Growing
Sustainable design is a combination of new
technologies and ancient strategies that attempts
to reduce unnecessary waste of natural resources
while creating healthier indoor environments.
numbers of architects, homebuilders, and
consumersare learningabout environmental-
ly friendly design from demonstrationpro-
jects,which providepracticaladviceand field
testing of alternativeproducts. Meanwhile,
severalgovernment agencies, including the
Department of Energy, the Department of
Defense, and the National Science
Foundation,aredevelopingsustainableguide-
lines for their projects.In September1993,
the National ParkServicepublisheda book,
GuidingPrinciplesof SustainableDesign,that
describeshow to design and manage parks
and visitor facilities with environmentally
friendly methods. The book addressesnine
topics, includingsite design, buildingdesign,
water supply, waste prevention, and energy
management.
IntegratedDesign
A few generationsago, buildersoften made
Americanhomes and officeswith regionalcli-
mates in mind. In hot regions,for example,
homes were cooled by shade trees,wide roof
overhangs,deep porches, and windows that
facedprevailingbreezes.That is, buildersinte-
grated a number of design details that had
evolvedovergenerations,helpingto makeres-
identscomfortableat low energycosts.
Today, however,most developersdestroy
nearlyeverytree on homesitesto make con-
structionmore efficient.And developersoften
ignore regionalclimates, building structures
in New Mexico nearlyidenticalto ones built
in New Hampshire.
In contrast, homeowners should study
their homesitescarefullybeforethey consider
designs,expertssay. For example,homeown-
ers should learn about ancient principlesfor
natural cooling and heating, taking in to
account existing trees and other vegetation,
sun orientation, and prevailingbreezes."In
most parts of the U.S. simply making the
buildingthe rightshapeand pointingit in the
Focus ? Green Houses
right direction can cut total energy use by
30-40% at no extra cost," write Dianna
LopezBarnettand WilliamD. Browningin a
1995 book, A Primeron SustainableBuilding,
publishedby the RockyMountainInstitute.
To further reduce energy costs, some
and tra-
architectsareintegratingpassive-solar
ditional techniques with new technologies
such as super-efficientwindows and smaller
heating, ventilating, and air conditioning
(HVAC) systems. High-efficiencywindows,
for example, cost more than conventional
windows, says Lindsey, but homes that she
designedin North Carolinausing integrated
techniquessave 75% on heatingand cooling
bills.
Moreover,alternativeenergysourcessuch
as solarphotovoltaicsystemsaremore feasible
if buildingownersuse passive-solar strategies.
A conventional household on grid power
often consumes10,000 watt hoursof electrici-
ty daily-more than alternativesystemscan
produceeconomically.Affordablesolarphoto-
voltaicsystemsfor single homes only provide
4,000 to 5,000 watt hours of electricityper
day. Thus, homes with these systems must
rely partly on naturalheating and cooling,
plusefficientappliancesandlightingfixtures.
The building industryhas the technical
ability to make office structuresthat are far
more energy-efficientthan conventionalones,
writesAmory Lovins,researchdirectorof the
Rocky Mountain Institute, in the Summer
1994 RockyMountainInstituteNewsletter.But
to gain these savings,variousplayersin the
building'sdesignand construction-develop-
ers,bankers,contractors,engineers,architects,
and owners-must be broughttogetherat the
beginningof the project,arguesLovins.With
this cooperation they could, for example,
reducethe building'senergycostsby thought-
fully orienting the building, choosing high-
efficiency windows and light fixtures, and
improvingwall and roof insulationto allow
for smallerHVAC systems.
"The building projects that seem most
successful are ones that have used a highly
collaborativeprocess from the beginning,"
agreesDemkin. "The more you have a team
cooperating, the more you have everyone
understanding the project's goal, and you
havemoreinformationflowing."
Today,some localgovernmentsarework-
ing to integrate regionwide systems for
reusingand recylingconstructionwaste.Most
1037
Focus * Green Houses
modernhomes arebuiltwith little thoughtto
recycling construction materials. Huge
amounts of waste from constructionsites-
including solid lumber and manufactured
wood products, leftover bricks, metal, dry-
wall, yard and landclearing debris, and
metal-end up in landfills.But the regional
solid-waste planning agency for Portland,
Oregon,learnedthat raisingtippingfees (fees
to dump trash and other materials) for its
landfillsbecame"astrongmotivator"for con-
tractorsto start recycling their wastes, says
Bryce Jacobson, associate planner for the
MetropolitanServiceDistrict.When the dis-
trict raisedits tipping fees beyond $65 a ton
for solid waste, a private market began to
develop for recycled construction materials
becausecontractorscould no longeraffordto
throw away trash,Jacobsonsays. Today, 75
processorsaccept contruction waste in the
Portland metropolitan area, where tipping
fees are $75 a ton. Fees around the nation
rangefrom $6 a ton in some Utah municipal-
itiesto more than $100 in the Northeast.
In Missoula,Montana,wheretippingfees
are $18 a ton, the nonprofit Center for
ResourcefulBuildingTechnology is organiz-
ing local businesses that collect recyclable
materials, such as wood products, asphalt,
and drywall, according to researchdirector
TracyMumma. Insteadof pushingfor higher
tippingfees, the organizationwill educatethe
local building industry on opportunities to
recycle. "Many builders aren't aware that
these businessesexist,"Mumma says. "So we
are trying to coordinateall these effortsand
establish a central site where builders can
bringor send theirmaterials."
Choosing Better Materials
When choosing buildingmaterials,architects
considercost, durability,and aesthetics,plus
how materialsresistfire, moisture,and decay,
1038
among other qualities. But most architects
don't take into account the health and envi-
ronmental impacts of materials,says Chris
Schmitt, an architect in Charleston, South
Carolina who has designed several green
homes. Part of the problem,says Schmitt, is
that architects have had difficulty locating
credible guidance about environmentaland
health impactsof materials.As a result,most
building designers use only conventional
products that have been proven reliablefor
years. "The dissemination of information
about alternativematerialsis poor," Schmitt
says. "Evenas an architect,it's very hard to
find out about alternatives.Consideringthe
lawsuit-crazyenvironment,architectsarecau-
tious aboutusingthem."
To address this problem, the AIA has
published the EnvironmentalResourceGuide
since 1992. Guide authors gather materials
researchpublished by the government and
universities,but "we work especiallyclosely
with industrybecause industry has most of
the data,"saysDemkin.
The 1996 guide analyzes 20 building
materials, including stains and varnishes,
ceramic tile, linoleum, vinyl flooring, and
wall coverings.Materialassessmentswerecar-
ried out under a cooperative agreement
between the EPA and the AIA. The project
was originallymotivated by the EPA's con-
cern over indoor air quality, according to
Demkin, so most categoriesaddressproducts
thatareusedindoors.
The guide provides designersand their
clientsa way to learnaboutpossiblelife histo-
ries of buildingmaterials."Materialsprovide
a centralframeworkfor sustainabledesign,"
says Demkin. The guide's authors analyze
how products affect the environment from
"cradleto cradle,"saysDemkin. The firstcra-
dle is when raw materialsare mined or har-
vested.The second cradleis aftermaterialsin
Volume104, Number10, October1996 Environmental
a structurethat is being demolishedor reha-
bilitatedare made availableto be recycledfor
anotheruse.
The assessmentsare comprehensive."We
traceall constituentsof a productfromacqui-
sition through processing, manufacturing,
use, and then to what happens when the
building is demolished or remodeled,"says
Joel Todd, vice president of the Scientific
ConsultingGroup in Gaithersburg,Virginia,
which performsassessmentsfor the guides.
Although the assessmentsdo not address
individualproducts,architectsand clientscan
identify materialsthat they want to avoid,
Demkin says. And manufacturerscan find
out what parts of a product'slife cycle pose
environmentalproblems."We can often tell
which materialsare better in their environ-
mentaland healtheffectsthan othersin each
step of their life cycles,"saysTodd. One sec-
tion of the reportallowsindustryrepresenta-
tives and environmental groups to refute
pointsand add information.
Still, deciding which environmentaland
healthimpactsare leastsevere-and which is
the greenerbuilding material-is tricky. So
clients must know their priorities, says
Wilson.
Most homeowners who pursue sustain-
abledesignwant to build with recycledmate-
rials,and with paints,glues, and preservatives
that do not emit toxic pollutants indoors,
architectssay.And they want to use materials
that will last longer and need less mainte-
nance than conventionalones. Durabilityis
an importantprincipleof sustainabledesign,
becausefewerresourcesare used when mate-
rialslastlonger.
Some buildersand architectshave found,
however, that alternative products can be
hard to locate and purchase,as they must be
special-ordered. "Alternativematerials are
usually more expensive and difficult to get
Components of
Environmentally
Sustainable Design
A.Siting(e.g.,use oftreesforshade)
B.Sunorientation forheatandlight
C.Super-efficientwindows
D.SmallerHVAC systems
E.Photovoltaic panels
F.Recycledbuilding materials suchas
drywall,asphalt,andlumber
G.Nontoxicmaterials suchas paints,
carpetglues, and varnishes
H.Water-conserving toiletsandshowers
HealthPerspectives

than what's found at the lumberyard,"says
Schmitt. Moreover,some alternativemateri-
als are difficult to install. "Some sustainable
materialstake twice as long to install,"says
Lindsey."Sobuilders[raise]the price."
Increasingly,though, a number of alter-
native productsare becoming more popular
with buildersand architects,especiallywhen
the products fill a compelling need in the
marketplace. For example, in the hot,
humid Southeastern United States, some
homeownersare seekingalternativesto con-
ventional wood siding. Schmitt says, "Real
wood is becoming exceptionallyexpensive,
and the quality of wood sidings made from
redwood, cypress,and cedarhas declined in
recent years as older trees have been cut
down. The requiredmaintenanceof a wood
house has also increasedgreatlybecauseinfe-
rior wood warps and rots more quickly.
Sophisticated clients understand that they
will likely spend tens of thousandsof dollars
painting a wood house over the years they
own it," he says.
Consequently,some homeownersin the
Southeast are choosing "cement board"for
siding instead of wood. The only available
cement board for use in the Southeast is
Hardiplank,a mixture of 10% virgin wood
fibers from New Zealand and 90% cement
that can be texturedto look like wood siding,
produced by James Hardie Building
Products, based in Fontana, California.
Hardiplank,which won't rot like traditional
wood sidings, was developedin Australiain
the 1980s and introduced in the United
Statesaboutsevenyearsago.
Hardiplankis comparablein cost to tradi-
tional wood siding, but unlike wood,
Hardiplankdoes not warp or shrink, is fire
resistant, and doesn't require maintenance
after initial staining. In contrast, the high-
VOC paint required for traditional siding
protection releases VOC emissions, notes
Wilson. And some stains commonly applied
to cedarsidingmay be highlytoxic.
Yet one builder who has installed
Hardiplanksaysthat he doesn'twant to work
with the materialagain. HomebuilderTodd
Poore of Charleston,South Carolinafound
Hardiplankdifficultto install,"sendingup a
tremendous cloud of dust" when it was
sawed, fouling his tools. In addition, the
May/June 1993 issue of Environmental
BuildingNews calls Hardiplank'sreportcard
as a green building material mixed at best
because Portland cement requiresextensive
energyto manufacture,and the virgin wood
fiberused in Hardiplankmust be transported
all the way from New Zealand. However,
editor and publisher Wilson acknowledges
that Hardiplank'sdurabilityand low mainte-
nance requirementsare strong positives for
the environment.
HealthPerspectives* Volume104, Number10, October1996
Environmental
Demonstrating sustainability.MahoBay Camps
on St. John'sIslandwere designedwiththe envi-
ronment inmind.
Some homeowners are also building
decks and guardrailswith composite lumber
products made from recycled plastics and
waste wood. These products are expensive
initially, but could pay off down the road
becausethey can last longer than traditional
wood products,and do not haveto be stained
or paintedeveryfew years.
Pilot and Demonstration Projects
Sustainablebuildingproductsthat find wide
marketsusuallymust move throughtwo ini-
tial stages, says Wilson. First, pioneering
companies experiment with materials and
technologies,developingtheir products.But
the public rarelyacceptsnew productsuntil
the secondstagewhen demonstrationprojects
show the materials."Once that second phase
begins,"Wilson says,"adoptionof alternative
materialscan happenat a much greaterpace."
A numberof nonprofitorganizationsand
private developershave establisheddemon-
strationand pilot sustainabledesign projects
in recent years. In 1992, the Audubon
Societycompletedrenovationsof a 19th cen-
tury buildingfor its office in New YorkCity,
using the projectas a case study on sustain-
able design and indoor air quality. Project
coordinators decided that clean indoor air
was a priority and thoroughly studied sub-
stancesused in variouspaints,drywall,furni-
ture,and flooring.For example,they request-
ed materialsafetydata sheets from manufac-
turers to check whether building products
contained harmful chemicals such as
formaldehyde or other VOCs. They also
rejected synthetic carpet pads and instead
installedan underlaymade from plant fiber.
To minimizethe use of adhesives,a wool car-
pet was laidoverpadsand tackeddown.
Focus * Green Houses
On St. John's Island in the Caribbean,
developerStanley Selengut built Maho Bay
Camps, speciallydesigned tent cottages that
attract"ecotourists," people who are interest-
ed in tourist destinationsthat preservelocal
wildlife and culture. Constructed on leased
National ParkServiceproperty,the tent cot-
tagesarewood-framedand built on platforms
that disturbthe environmentonly minimally.
In a more recentresortcalledHarmony,cot-
tages were built using recycled materials.
Water is collectedon roofs and storedin cis-
terns, and electricity is provided by solar
power. Now Selengut, who contributed to
the National ParkService'sguidelineson sus-
tainabledesign, is exploringthe possibilityof
building similar cottages on the U.S. main-
land. To cope with a four-seasonclimate,he
sayshe could designcottageswith super-insu-
lating fabricsto keep in warmthplus special
heat-reflectivematerials,both developed by
NASA.
One of the biggestflaws of environmen-
tally friendlydesign, criticssay, is that it has
not reachedlower-incomepeople. "It'srela-
tively easy for higher-incomefolks to pursue
sustainabledesign,"saysMel Goodwin, exec-
utive director of the nonprofit Harmony
Project,Inc., in Charleston,South Carolina.
"But lower-incomefolks have fallen through
the cracksand have been unable to partici-
pate." In cooperation with the EPA, the
Department of Energy, Environmental
BuildingNews, Dewees Island (an environ-
mentally friendly residential development)
and the U.S. Green Building Council, the
HarmonyProjectis establishinga programto
createexhibits,trainingworkshops,and prac-
tical demonstrationsof sustainabledesign for
architects,builders, and neighborhood and
city leaders.The project has also opened a
10,000-square-footHarmony Warehousein
Charlestonto disseminatebuilding materials
to affordable-housing and church groups,
Goodwin says. In many cases, developersof
building projectshave donated over-ordered
supplies, such as paint and concrete block,
that otherwisewould havebeenwasted.
Demonstrationprojectsaroundthe coun-
try areshowingthat environmentallyfriendly
structures can improve indoor air quality,
save energy, and provide attractiveplaces to
live and work. Still, many developers,archi-
tects, and buildersresistchange. As a result,
most green materialsand technologies will
not becomepartof the mainstreamuntil they
clearlyout-performconventional ones. And
alternativeswill not become affordableand
easily available until greater numbers of
homeowners, office workers, government
agencies,and other consumersdemand these
productsand createbroadermarkets.
John Tibbetts
1039