SPACES
As worries over building component ingredients are on the rise, programs like the Living Building Challenge promote product transparency. Look for safer materials in all building typologies soon, including affordable housing—they’re not just for über-green commercial and academic structures anymore. The building and design community has fallen in love with shiny concrete floors. We see them everywhere, from multi-million-dollar high-rise condominiums to Walmart stores, Harley-Davidson showrooms and elementary schools. Some, not all, of those floors are green in two ways. One is that polished concrete surfaces eliminate the use of carpets, tiles, laminates, linoleum, hardwood, and glues— materials that end up in landfills when it’s time to replace the floor in 10 years. Second is an innovation in chemicals—lithium silicate, which reacts with concrete to harden the substrate, repel moisture, reduce dusting and resist scratching from everyday spills and traffic—makes these lustrous floors LEED v4—and LBC-ready, and compliant with architectural coating VOC content regulations across North America. Maintenance is much easier and cleaner as well. If this proprietary concrete finish system (called Consolideck) continues its build in popularity, many more buildings will sport this cool look, sometimes with custom designs dyed into the concrete. But while floors catch our attention, there are an awful lot of things going on behind walls and ceilings, unseen and yet critically important. Building envelopes are getting tighter to maximize energy efficiency. As air exchange is reduced in homes and workplaces, worries mount over VOCs and other off-gassing that might adversely affect human health. gb&d
september–october 2016
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