Water, Water Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink

As a designer I have always specified Kohler or Sterling products because they are well made, beautiful products and made in America. Their faucets, sinks and toilets have been  on the cutting edge
of  technology for conserving water. In taking some courses in LEED certification a few years ago, I learned that “Kohler has been concerned since the 1970’s about water conservation and have global teams of engineers working to improve water efficiency with beautiful designs, excellent performance and keeping them affordable.”

Kohler’s faucets have water saving aerators. The faucets with the WaterSense label will save over 14,700 gallons of water each year, unlike older faucets.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program reviews manufacturers products and gives awards to those whose products conserve water. In 2008, Kohler was named as a Manufacturing Partner in the WaterSense program. To obtain this prestigious award, there must be demonstrated overall excellence in the water-efficiency arena as well as increase the awareness and advance the overall mission of WaterSense. So why would a plumbing manufacturer get involved in this?

In their brochure, Kohler states “that less than 1 percent of the world’s water supply is accessible for human use. Nearly one billion people in the world lack safe drinking water.” By the year 2013, at least 36 states in the United States anticipates local, regional or statewide water shortages.

Toilets account for 25 percent of daily indoor water use in homes in the United States. Out of that, one-half of all toilets in homes in United States are older, less efficient models, which waste approximately 1.6 billion gallons of water each day. For a single individual, a High Efficiency Toilet can save 16,500 gallons of water a year.

What does this mean to you?

If you are paying for your water, multiply the rate they are charging you by 16,500 (per toilet in your house), and that is how much you could save by replacing your toilet. Do the same with the faucets you have in your house. If for no other reason than saving money, it is worth changing out your old toilets and faucets.

Altruistically, by conserving water we all work towards a better future for our families and our children’s children. After all, 2013 is not that far away. Kohler, in addition to creating water conserving products, also reclaims and reuses the rise water in their faucet facility and product testing labs, thereby saving millions of gallons of water.

Do you believe in doing business primarily with those companies that practice and produce environmentally conscious products? Are you thinking about replacing any of your toilets or faucets in the near future? Will you consider WaterSense labeled products?

Gold Certified for Art: Is Your City’s Art Museum LEED Certified?

In the news, most of what we see about the Midwest details how poor Michigan is doing economically. Yet, when you look at sustainability, Michigan is leading the nation. Green design has been going on in Grand Rapids for the past 16 years and has been championed by retired Steelcase chairman Peter Wege. They even have a journal, Grand Rapids Business Journal, that compiles volumes of information on sustainable business practices, building reuse or restoration methods to bio-economy businesses.

Western Michigan has more LEED certified buildings per capita than any other region in the country. The Grand Rapids Art Museum is not only the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified art museum in the United States, but also in the world. It is not just a LEED certified building, but it is a Gold certified building.

When a building is certified green, it does not just refer to the materials used in the building. It also considers operational functioning. Anyone who has ever designed for an art museum knows that there are very exacting climate standards to maintain the artwork in pristine condition. Green features include energy-efficient lighting, use of natural light, heating and cooling systems, and recycling systems for water and paper supplies.

The water collection system is able to reduce the Grand Rapids Art Museum’s demand for water by 20 percent. So in addition to using less water, they will be paying for less city water, which affects their operational costs. Natural lighting was used in 70 percent of the museum’s space and courtyards that can be viewed from the museum are planted with indigenous plants and trees.

Green educational programs and activities are offered as part of LEED requirements. Even the gift store has environmentally friendly retail items e.g. items made from recycled paper and organic cotton clothing are just a couple of items.

In addition to these factors, consideration was also given to where the museum would be located so that transportation to the museum would be easily accessible to public transportation or commute by bike.

Do you have a LEED certified project in your region?

Key Elements of Green Space Planning

Space planning is the act of deciphering solutions for a space based on client criteria and needs. During space planning, a designer will determine needed spaces, arrange the spaces as necessary to address flow of the space and also verify building codes – all at the same time!

Space planning is one of the most important rolls a designer can play – it is the basic step and most time intensive (can be at least) in order to finish selection and furniture planning of the space. When a designer is addressing space planning, they sometimes get to start from scratch. Other times they have to begin from an existing space that has obstacles like existing walls. But what are the challenges and added criteria when trying to plan green??

1. Use your walls – One of the greatest elements of green design is to use what you have. So if there are dividing walls in a space then why not use them to their greatest potential. When thinking green, you want to avoid using new materials when not needed. By using rooms and walls that are in existance you are not using any more virgin materials. And that is the key – what you are NOT using from scratch to make new.
2. Think about daylighting – Natural daylight needs to travel throughout a positive green interior. The use of daylighting does not only reduce the dependence on artificial light, and therefore reduce energy consumption, but it also saves money, increases employee productivity and allows space inhabitants to have a connection with the outdoor environment. All this from something that is free. You just have to plan for it.
3. Plan the height – 42” is a general standard of measure that is used in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and at this measurement, the inhabitants of a space can have clear view (meaning a view to the outdoors). If you can plan for this height you can once again increase productivity and make the office a more friendly work environment. Keep in mind that for LEED purposes you can have a clear line of site, including through levels of glazing or interior glass partitions.
4. Plan away from the windows – Be sure to save the aisle for next to the exterior – if you can place the offices and conference rooms toward the interior and the individual work stations on the exterior, all the planning for the above elements will be easier!

So these are just a few ways to plan smart and plan green! How is your office set up? Does it fit in with green design?

Sustainable Desk Chairs

Did you know that many Contract Furniture Companies have been leading the way in sustainability for many years? They are very innovative and forward thinking in the development on their products. The company may choose to have a Life Cycle Assessment done on each chair design before they even produce it.

A Life Cycle Assessment is evaluating the chair’s lifelong impact on the environment, from the chair’s production to the time we throw it away ten or fifteen years down the road. During Life Cycle Assessment, the following may be taken into consideration: the impact on global warming, acid rain, eutrophication (loss of plants and animals in aquatic ecosystems due to loss of oxygen after algae blooms ,which are caused by pollution), air pollution, resource depletion, land and water toxicity and waste. Can you believe that a simple desk chair can possibly affect us and the earth in all these ways?

As you can see, many things are taken into consideration on how sustainable a product really is. Here are just a few things that you may want to look for before purchasing your new desk chair.

Materials: What materials are put into the chair may be determined based upon their environmental impact. Many chairs today contain a percentage of post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content, which can be found in the plastics or even the fabrics!

Toxic Emissions: Next, what toxic emissions may be released during production are taken into account, such as toxic mercury, PVCs, asbestos, solvents, CFCs, PBBs, methylene chloride, formaldehyde or HCFCs. The goal is to have as little or no VOCs emitted during the manufacturing process and the life of the product. So this means that many of these harmful chemicals may continue to be emitted into the air after it has been delivered to your house or office, even after it’s been sitting there for awhile!

Certifications: Some key ways to tell what sustainability measures a company has looked into would be by the certifications a product has received. Some common certifications to look for are: GreenGuard Certification (promotes healthy indoor air quality), Indoor Advantage certification for indoor air quality, Cradle to Cradle certification, and even if it may help contribute towards LEED!

Recycle: Finally, find out if the chair can be recycled when you are finished with it. Many furniture companies offer to recycle the chair for you, but this may require a cost. If you do not have a large quantity of chairs, you may want to consider donating it or selling it. This is just as environmentally friendly as recycling it!

Enjoy your new environmentally friendly desk chair!

Have you Considered How Daylight Can Help You?

Are you looking for a new home or office? Have you taken into consideration how daylight can help you in your space? It may be more important than you realize. First of all, it provides a connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces for the occupants. Secondly, it has been proven to increase occupant productivity and comfort which can lead to increased production and better retention. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building rating system believes that daylighting is so important that up to two credits can be earned for proper achievement.

So are you convinced you want to look for a space with daylighting yet? Remember to take the building orientation, size of openings, floorplan, courtyards, atriums, clerestory windows and/or skylights into consideration. Also, the buildings and trees next to yours can help or hurt your ability to achieve proper daylighting.

If daylighting has been implemented correctly, it has been estimated to help reduce the need for interior electric lighting energy by 50% – 80%! Talk about saving money! But be careful because if it is not designed properly, there can actually be heat gain or loss and that may end up costing more in the long run. Hiring a professional architect or engineer can help make sure you are getting the best design for your space.

One other way to control the interior electrical lighting energy would be through daylighting controls installed in your space. This automatically turns the lights on and off depending on the lighting levels needed for you space. These are great if you live in an area where the weather is unpredictable!

Other problems that could occur if not designed correctly would be glare and visual quality. Ways to reduce unwanted glare would be through interior light shelves, louvers, blinds, fins and shades. Each window needs to be looked at to determine the best glare control. Exterior controls can also help reduce glare, including exterior shading devices and etched or fritted patterns on the glass. This will help prevent the occasional bird flying into your large window also.

And let’s face it, nothing makes you jump more than an unexpected boom behind your head coming from the window!

Finally, remember to look at the interior elements in your space that may enhance the occupant’s thermal and visual comfort. This includes furniture arrangement, wall partitions, surface colors and textures. An interior designer would be a great person to help guide on this.

Enjoy the sunshine in your space!

How to Find a Qualified Designer in your Area

Investing money in an interior designer to work in your home or office is a huge decision. How do you begin your search? Well, you are lucky because there are some key things to look for before making a decision.

Start looking online for interior designers in your area. They will be listed in the yellow pages and often have a website. Many furniture stores also have an interior designer on staff to work with customer’s who would like to do a whole room or house.

Being able to look at a designer’s portfolio is a huge benefit in the designer search. Just like their clients, designers have certain styles they tend to work best in. You need to make sure it is a good fit for both of you!

Important questions to ask a designer would be if they charge an hourly fee or work on a retainer. Ask how long they have been working in the field. What stores do they tend to work with if they are not located within a furniture or design store? Furniture comes in a wide variety of prices ranges and it’s very important that your designer works with manufacturers within your price range! Ask to talk to past clients. If they were satisfied, they should be more than willing to speak with you!

When looking for listed qualifications, you may come across some these terms. Here’s a little bit of information to help get you through the process.

• Many designer’s are involved in the American Society of Interior Designer’s (ASID) or the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). Allied members of these society’s are involved in the organizations and pay a membership on a yearly basis. They are required to have completed 40 semester or 60 quarter credit hours in interior design education from an accredited institution.
• Professional Members are able to distinguish themselves with ASID or IIDA written after their names. They have completed education from an accredited institution and have work experience in interior design, as well as having passed the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination. This is an extensive two day exam that interior designers are tested on their knowledge of the field through education and experience. Professional ASID and IIDA members are required to fill 6 Continuing Education Classes every two years. This is to help insures that they are up to date on codes, products, trends, etc. Some designer’s chose not to pay the ASID or IIDA membership fees and can have NCIDQ certification number underneath their names after completion of the exam.
• It is also a great idea to try to have a designer that is LEED AP, which means they have become an accredited professional through the Leadership and Environmental Design exam. This will help to ensure your home or office is up to date with the sustainability trend as well!

Good Luck with your search!

What is LEED?

How many times have you picked up a newspaper to read about another LEED certified building? Do you find yourself wondering what LEED is? Being green is all over the news these days.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED buildings are certified through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). “LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project meets the highest green building and performance measures.” (www.usgbc.org)

Every couple of years an updated rating system is released and individuals can take the LEED Accredited Professional Exam. In 2009, individuals are now accredited in their specific area of work. There are 5 types of exams:
1. LEED for Green Building Design and Construction
2. LEED for Green Interior Design and Construction
3. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance
4. LEED for Homes
5. LEED for Neighborhood Development.

Many different professionals are responsible for creating a LEED certified building, including architects, landscape architects, electrical engineers, HVAC engineers, civil engineers, interior designers, and construction managers. Basically anyone involved in the building has to play a part in the process; from manufacturers guaranteeing their products meet certain minimum standards to the actual workers who build and execute the installations.

The LEED rating system is determined by meeting a minimum number of credits. Buildings are certified as silver, gold or platinum. Their certification level depends on the number of credits that are reached during the design and construction process.

The main areas that LEED addresses are sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. There is also an additional section for innovation and design which may allow an achievement over the minimum requirements for a credit or a creative solution to make the building more sustainable.

Paperwork, drawings, photos and many other items are submitted at two different times during the development of the project for review through the Green Building Certification Institute. They are responsible for determining if the building has met the necessary requirements to become certified. The Green Building Certification Institute has taken over administrative responsibilities during certification for the U.S. Green Building Council. This is a time consuming process and will only get done if everyone works together as a team!

If you are interested in having your home or business LEED certified, research a qualified professional in your area to assist in determining what your needs will be. This can be done by searching for a LEED AP. For more information go to the U.S. Green Building Council’s website at www.usgbc.org