A Healthier Materials Economy Emerges
By: Lona Rerick, LEED Fellow, WELL AP, LFA
People are more productive, learn better, rest and heal more effectively, and breathe easier when they are surrounded by healthy materials. Conversely, hazardous materials carry negative impacts, such as increased rates of cancer and respiratory disease. Beyond personal wellbeing, the hazards of unhealthy materials have a profound impact on society. Disease and health concerns stemming from issues like air pollution and industrial manufacturing are proven to disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, including fence line communities, construction workers, and first responders.
A holistic understanding of the impact of a given material must include its influence – bad or good – on human health, planetary wellness, and environmental justice.
Architecture firms are particularly well-positioned to tackle healthier materials adoption. While the task of selecting holistically responsible materials that consider both human and ecosystem health can be overwhelming, a robust materials economy is emerging, and the next few years are poised to accelerate significant market transformation.
The task of selecting holistically responsible materials that consider both human and ecosystem health can be overwhelming. Fortunately, a robust materials economy is emerging, with the next few years poised to accelerate significant market transformation.
Lona Rerick, Principal at ZGF
A Materials Health Revolution
Numerous milestones have sparked the healthier materials economy in the past decade. First, healthier, low-carbon materials are increasingly available at the same or lower costs than their hazardous alternatives. Increased transparency and knowledge sharing have also accelerated the transition. For example, the industry has gone from virtually zero Health Product Declarations in 2012 to more than 13,000 today and growing. Just a handful of years ago, conversations about materials health were narrow and only highlighted interior materials. Today, the focus has expanded to exterior building materials and thousands of exterior products now have health information and certifications.
With new materials and products constantly entering the market, we are experiencing an exciting rise in the availability of tools and frameworks to help building owners and project teams identify and implement healthy materials across their portfolios. While it's important for individual projects to target healthier materials goals, single projects alone don't provide enough momentum to shift widespread manufacturing practices.
Architecture firms can help scale healthier materials adoption. Architectural materials experts-including specifiers, materials librarians, interior designers and more-can use their collective expertise across a diverse portfolio of projects to collaborate with manufacturers and product reps to specify materials that support health materials goals, while also ensuring criteria is met for aesthetics and performance.
200,000 board feet of timber was reclaimed from a warehouse previously located at the Federal Center South Building 1202.
A portion of the recycled wood from Federal Center South Building 1202 was repurposed in the interior environment.
Getting Started: Materials of Importance
Today, thousands of chemicals are widely utilized in building materials and products. As the Harvard Healthier Building Academy notes, most of these chemicals have not been properly studied to understand their true health impacts. Resources can help clarify choices, such as the International Living Future Institute’s Red List which catalogs and labels the "worst-in-class materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem that are prevalent in the building products industry." Similarly, SixClasses.org and the Healthy Building Network's Product Guidance compare chemicals and building products of concern to inform more responsible procurement.
The ZGF materials group is also here to support. For building owners wanting a crash course on the healthier materials landscape and where to have the greatest impact, our experts can provide a framework. We have combined decades of project learnings, materials data, and research to aggregate the following basic materials strategies:
Responsible implementation of these materials types offers an effective path for the next generation of healthy buildings and renovations.
Building Owners as a Driving Force for Healthier Materials
The greatest transformation in any market occurs when demand drives product changes. In the case of healthy materials, building owners have a tremendous amount of power in signaling to the industry that materials health is a priority. Owners can provide the incentive for project stakeholders up and down the supply chain to invest in healthy materials and do their part. There are three key actions owners can take today to make a change:
1. Cite material goals when creating requests for proposals
Define expectations in the RFP phase to prepare project teams to best execute healthier materials procurement and installation. Even if materials goals are simple or a small subset of larger sustainability targets, we encourage clients to make them explicit. This will align the team from the beginning and maximize chances of success. Next, continue to advocate for healthier materials procurement through contractual language, as well as materials check-ins throughout design and construction, to hold all project stakeholders accountable.
2. Apply holistically responsible materials criteria
When it comes to the specifics of laying out healthier materials goals, owners should become familiar with the AIA Materials Pledge and mindful Materials' Common Materials Framework. While there are many ways to approach product procurement, one path that is showing promise at this stage of the healthier materials transition is applying all five impact areas of the AIA Materials Pledge. The approach leverages critical synergies for a greater impact overall. Championing this type of ‘holistic systems thinking’ ensures that buildings and renovations prioritize the well-being of people and ecosystems impacted throughout a product's lifecycle, as well as lower embodied carbon materials that help combat the climate crisis.
3. Conduct an existing materials audit prior to any demolition Take stock of an existing building, if one exists, to understand how materials in current spaces could be reused or recycled. Options for reuse are becoming more convenient and economic as materials costs go up. Two suggestions for reuse include re-integrating these materials back into the new facilities or finding a second home for them with third-party platforms such as Rheaply.
Toward a Healthier Future
The next few years hold promise for pivotal advances in the building materials marketplace. A current challenge is the time-consuming nature of manually collecting product information in an organized and efficient manner. Efforts such as the mindful Materials' Common Materials Framework are simplifying the materials landscape by launching a digital data ecosystem. The framework keeps everyone in the industry on the same page by using the same vocabulary to measure and solve problems. These efforts will help design and construction teams find and choose holistically responsible materials exponentially faster, ensuring continued and accelerated healthier materials adoption.
The healthier materials movement is an exciting endeavor for ZGF —creating a built environment that is not only net-zero, but also socially just, free of hazardous products, and regenerates our natural ecosystems. It also doesn’t have to be overwhelming for building owners and partners aiming to make a difference.
We look forward to collaborating with like-minded owners across building types and send a clear signal to the marketplace: healthier materials are here to stay.
Above: The 9-acre roof for the Portland International Airport main terminal features 2.6 million board feet of sustainably sourced wood traceable back to its forest of origin, from landowners and mills within a 300-mile radius.
Right: A rigorous materials vetting framework for the PAE Living Buulding ensured Red List Free materials or fully reviewed exceptions were utilized to avoid potential health impacts to all populations affected by the material manufacturing lifecycle.
Healthier materials goals for the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation at Santa Clara University included the elimination of vinyl flooring.
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