The Green Building Materials Manual

Evaluating building materials for environmental sustainability is a complex prospect. How do governmental agencies and the design industry actually measure sustainable initiatives and environmental impacts?

This book breaks down the technical vocabulary and principles that define environmentally sustainable choices across interior and exterior architectural products to help the reader understand:

• Material ingredient selection
• Energy and water use
• Emissions, including greenhouse gases
• Human health and toxicity
• Social accountability assessment

This guide explains the structure of green certifications, standards and ecolabels, life cycle assessment, environmental regulations, and more. It presents a historic timeline for context and a snapshot of current trends and future objectives. It is a comprehensive reference for interior designers, architects, building owners, contractors, and students enrolled in interior design and architecture.

• Building material toxicity
• Building materials
• Building materials performance
• Ecolabels
• Energy use
• Environmental certification
• Environmental impact
• Environmental standards
• Green Building
• Green materials
• Lifecycle
• Resource use
• Sustainable Architecture
• Sustainable building materials
• Sustainable interior finishes

• Missouri Gateway Chapter, U.S. Green Building Council, USGBC, Saint Louis, USA

  Hannah Rae Roth

• Carbon Leadership Forum, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

  Meghan Lewis

• School of Architecture and Design, College of the Arts, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, USA

  Liane Hancock

Hannah Rae Roth was a Lecturer in Architecture and Environmental Studies at Washington University in St. Louis until mid-2020. She provides a deep focus on the environmental impact of building materials and architectural finishes, the regional nature of materials, and their vernacular use. She is an active member of the Missouri Gateway Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council's Board and Education Committee, where she has created several programs on architectural building materials. She has in-depth knowledge of the design process, decision making process, contracting, purchasing and construction processes for large complex buildings such as hospitals and digital fabrication facilities. Ms. Roth received a Master of Architecture (M.Arch) degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

Meghan Lewis is a Senior Researcher at the Carbon Leadership Forum, where she leads policy and procurement research focused on reducing embodied carbon in building materials and construction. Previous to joining the Carbon Leadership Forum, Meghan was the Head of Global Energy & Sustainability at WeWork, where she launched the Supply Chain Sustainability program in 2018. Meghan gained her architectural license while practicing at Mithun in Seattle, Washington. Meghan is the Chair of the Buildings Focus Group of the Carbon Leadership Forum and was a contributing editor to the Practice Guide for the Life Cycle Assessment of Buildings. She received her Master of Architecture and Master of Environmental Management from Yale University.

Liane Hancock is an Associate Professor of Architecture in the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Previous to joining the University of Louisiana at Lafayette faculty, she taught at Washington University in St. Louis and was an Associate Professor at Louisiana Tech University. At Louisiana Tech she served as the foundation design coordinator for architecture within the School of Design. Her primary areas of research are on materials and construction methods. In particular, she has focused on both historical and contemporary use of reinforced concrete. Ms. Hancock holds degrees in architecture from MIT and Columbia University.

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