Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality

National Nonprofits Plan to Combine Forces to Advance Healthy Homes and Communities

Washington, DC -The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) and the Alliance for Healthy Homes (Alliance) today announced their plans to join forces. The consolidated organization will continue to operate as the National Center for Healthy Housing, led by Rebecca Morley, with offices in Columbia, Maryland and Washington, DC. Patrick MacRoy, former executive director of the Alliance, will lead NCHH's Community-Based Initiatives. The merger will consolidate all aspects of healthy homes within a single organization - research and evaluation, policy advocacy, consumer education, training, and assistance to local governments and community-based organizations. Nearly 5.7 million families live in substandard housing conditions placing millions of children at risk for asthma, cancer, lead poisoning, and injuries. As a unified organization, the groups will be able to better serve the interest of these families.

For further information see the full press release and information on the upcoming conference.

RBc: For more information on healthy housing see these articles:

1. Current State of the Science: Health Effects and Indoor Environmental Quality
2. Elements That Contribute to Healthy Building Design
3. Toxic homes, toxic bodies

IAQ 2010 Examines Impact of HVAC on Airborne Infectious Disease

ATLANTA –The role of HVA&R in airborne infectious disease transmission, design and control strategies and technology, pandemic preparedness and airborne infection control will be examined at the IAQ 2010 conference sponsored by ASHRAE. Co-organized by CIBSE and ISIAQ, IAQ 2010: Airborne Infection Control – Ventilation, IAQ & Energy, takes place Nov. 10-12, 2010, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This is the first time the conference is being held outside of the United States. “The building industry is increasingly faced with the challenge of providing a healthy indoor environment,” Dr. Chandra Sekhar, conference chair, said. “The SARS episode, the current H1N1 pandemic and fears of avian flu have transformed the built environment landscape, raising not only significant public health concerns but also economic implications on a global scale. Airborne infection and its control in the built environment have tremendous impact in the design, operation and maintenance of buildings and other enclosed environments. IAQ 2010 will review the state of knowledge about airborne infection and help define future directions.”

The conference will feature peer-reviewed technical papers, workshops and tutorials addressing several issues including:

• How do mechanical systems and other building and enclosure characteristics contribute to healthy environments in an energy-efficient manner?
• How can we create and sustain healthy enclosed environments through design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance?
• What metrics and tools can be used to quantify the degree to which an enclosed environment is healthy and energy-efficient?

For further information visit www.ASHRAE.org/IAQ2010or contact: Jodi Dunlop Public Relations 678-539-1140 jdunlop(at)ashrae.org

RBc: Be sure to read, "Current State of the Science: Health Effects and Indoor Environmental Quality"

Alberta Green Building Technologies 2009 Symposium

Join us at this year's Symposium and discover how Going Green makes great business sense!

Some of the symposium topics and presenters include:

• Net Zero Housing,David Silburn, SAIT Polytechnic
• Green Design, Prof. Tang Lee, University of Calgary
• Indoor Environmental Quality, Robert Bean, Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality
• Solar and Wind System, Jeff Bell, Alberta Energy
• Building Green: Green Residential Remodeling, Peter Yost, BuildingGreen, LLC
• Home Automation, Stephen Goodship, Eecol Electric
• Competing in the Solar Decathlon, Mark Blackwell, SolAbode …and many more!

Featured speaker: Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes - Going Green

Alberta Green Building Technologies 2009 Symposium, December 8th and 9th, Calgary Alberta, Canada

Temperature Wars, Savings vs. Comfort

Excerpt: "For many years, IFMA has conducted surveys of its facility management members to find out the top office complaints among employees. Common grievances offered include high noise levels, limited space and unusual odors. However, complaints of the temperature being too hot or too cold always top the list, often alternating from year to year. Research has shown that improvement to thermal comfort issues often results in higher tenant satisfaction scores, so building owners and operators take these concerns seriously. Facility managers go to great lengths to keep facilities comfortable for workers, as this comfort is directly tied to worker productivity. Recent IFMA research has also uncovered the trend that many facility managers have adjusted the thermostat to higher settings in the summer and lower settings in the winter to reduce energy cost and consumption. The purpose of this 2009 study is to identify when most thermal complaints occur, the nature of the complaints, and what building actions and improvements are made to make workers comfortable and able to concentrate on their jobs."

Download the entire report, "Temperature Wars, Savings vs. Comfort, International Facility Management Association Report, 2009"

Source credit: International Facility Management Association

RBc: This report gets our two thumbs up - it validates what other building researchers have been saying for many many years. To understand the science of thermal comfort be sure to visit the Fundamentals of Indoor Environmental Quality

Bringing together building and health scientists

CONSTRUCTION INNOVATION, June 2009

A recent workshop on the effects of the built environment on health brought together 50 Canadian experts to investigate ways in which they could work together to design better environments that promote the health and well-being of Canadians.

Excerpt: “Dr. John Cooper of Health Canada, one of the final panellists, concluded the workshop by saying: "[W]e want to see improved health outcomes and we'd like to see building designs that incorporate indoor environmental quality and building performance."

Credit: NRC Institute for Research in Construction

RBc: This publication continues to be on our recommended reading list. For further information go to “Building and Health Sciences Network for Canada”.

See also: Fundamentals of Indoor Environmental Quality

Number One Morning Show Warms Up To Hydronics

Number One Morning Show Warms Up To Hydronics

HPAC, together with its columnists, team up to bring hydronics to the small screen

 

Toronto, ON – Things are heating up at Citytv’s Breakfast Television (BT) with the premier appearance of HPAC Magazine columnists Robert Bean and John Siegenthaler slated for the fall. “Siggy and Bean” will showcase the benefits of water-based heating using working models of a variety of hydronic heating products. The Toronto segment is expected to be the first in a series that will include Citytv’s markets in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg.

 

Robert Bean is a registered engineering technologist in the building construction engineering discipline. He is known for telling it like it is with the consistent message of remaining true to achieving optimum comfort for building occupants. Bean hosts www.healthyheating.com, a not-for-profit educational resource for consumers and professionals alike. A popular speaker and trainer throughout North America, he is a regular contributor to HPAC Magazine on the subject of indoor environmental quality.

 

A passionate advocate of good design and simplicity in hydronic systems, John Siegenthaler is well-positioned to offer consumers practical advice on system performance and expectations. A principal of Appropriate Designs, Siegenthaler is also an expert in integrating renewable technologies and hydronic heating. He is a solar and hydronics columnist with HPAC Magazine.

Stay tuned for updates on the premier of Siggy and Bean on the Canadian television scene.

 

About BT:

Breakfast Television broadcasts weekdays starting at 6:00 a.m. on Citytv. Owned by Rogers, Citytv has stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. Each of the television stations reflects the flavour of the community: the serious commentary, the opinion, the celebrations and the unpredictability.

 

About HPAC Magazine:

More than 18,000 qualified industry professionals subscribe to Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning (HPAC) Magazine. Editorial features focus on: heating, plumbing, refrigeration, hydronics, air conditioning, business and marketing. HPAC also produces: the National Buyer’s Guide & Wholesalers Directory (both in print and online), a French-language sister magazine, Plomberie, Chauffage & Climatisation (PCC), and monthly e-newsletters. For details, please visit www.hpacmag.com .

RBc: John (Siggy) and I (The Bean) are looking forward to working with HPAC and Rogers on this consumer education piece...it's no coincidence smart consumers make informed decisions.

New Interpretive Center for the Chattahoochee River Teaches Water Conservation, Practices It, Too

New Interpretive Center for the Chattahoochee River Teaches Water Conservation, Practices It, Too
photo credit © 2009 Jonathan Hillyer / Atlanta 

Sustainably Designed, “Frugal Smart” Building Targets LEED Gold ROSWELL, Ga.,

June 17, 2009 – Providing a drinking water source for more than 3.5 million people, including 60 percent of metro Atlantans, the Chattahoochee River is critical to the continued success and prosperity of the region. With the June 20 opening of the Discovery Center at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, the community – adults and children alike – gains access to a sustainably designed interpretive center that brings to life the important, necessary and timely story of understanding and protecting the Chattahoochee River watershed. Designed by architecture firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent, the 10,000-square-foot Discovery Center and nearby 4,000-square-foot Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion were termed “frugal smart” after early meetings between Lord, Aeck & Sargent and the Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC) determined that economical, standard building components would be used in inventive and efficient ways to show good stewardship at the non-profit organization.

The Discovery Center, with two levels and an occupiable green roof terrace, is targeting LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Blending into the natural surroundings “As an urban nature center, we wanted the Discovery Center and Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion to reflect urban design as opposed to a ‘lodge look,’” said Ann Bergstrom, CNC executive director. “The structures are contemporary in design but also seem to blend beautifully into the natural surroundings so that we haven’t compromised the sense that they are part of the land.”

One of the ways the designers achieved union of landscape and building was to select a Discovery Center site that would provide an amalgamated building/landscape experience and minimize impact to the surrounding vegetation and river. “We nestled the Discovery Center into a hillside to reduce thermal gain and maximize the efficiency of the building envelope, and we also chose the site because it allowed us to design a building that interacts with the site,” said Joshua Gassman, a Lord, Aeck & Sargent associate who served as project manager for the Discovery Center and the pavilion.

Gassman explained that the Discovery Center will become the new gateway to the CNC. Visitors will enter on an upper level, where they are greeted by an expansive view of the CNC site through a glass wall or from the rooftop terrace. This dramatic view inspires a sense of connection with the site and the river. From the upper entry level, visitors can easily venture outdoors to enjoy the nature trails with plant and animal habitats or move to the lower level, which features thematic live animal exhibits. The lower level takes them outside and onto the 127-acre site.

Doing the right thing “It’s a Lord, Aeck & Sargent philosophy to do the right thing for our projects and their respective sites rather than to chase LEED credits,” said John Starr, principal in charge of the project. “So even though we originally targeted LEED Silver certification for the Discovery Center, we came out of the design phase with what we feel confident will be a LEED Gold building. “And since the Discovery Center is about the Chattahoochee River, we wanted to make it as water efficient as possible,” Starr continued. He noted that the building’s water strategies include:

• Capturing rainwater via a butterfly-shaped roof. The water is stored in four underground cisterns and used for toilet flushing
• Capturing condensate from the HVAC system. The condensate is pumped into the cisterns, where it and the harvested rainwater will provide enough non-potable water for toilet flushing needs
• Low-flow faucets, low-flow dual-flush toilets and waterless urinals

Other sustainable design features include:

• Building orientation that maximizes daylight harvesting for the non-exhibit upper level. (The lower level, which houses animal, fish and bird exhibits, requires highly controlled electric lighting.)
• A green roof featuring 2,000 square feet of drought tolerant native plants, most of which are found in the rock outcroppings of the Georgia Piedmont. Some of these include native Confederate daisies, moss verbena, broom sedge and other species provided by the CNC’s own nursery
• An energy-efficient HVAC system
• Use of structurally insulated panels for roof insulation
• Use of recycled content materials such as Kirei board, a strong, durable, lightweight and environmentally friendly wood substitute
• High fly ash concrete flooring
• Low VOC finishes “We combined all of these sustainable design strategies and products with our ‘frugal smart’ strategies to create a building that looks good, didn’t cost a lot and won’t cost a lot to maintain,” Gassman said. “For example, the building is clad in cement board siding held down with Southern yellow pine wood battens. This is a highly economical and durable set of materials that creates a façade with an appropriate level of depth, shadow and textures.”

The building program

The Discovery Center houses four distinct areas that explain the intricate web of life comprising the Chattahoochee River’s unique watershed. The lower level features the Explore Your Watershed Gallery and the Nature Exchange. The former has live native animal exhibits and interactive exhibits that teach how plants and animals work together to make the watershed thrive. The latter is a nature trading post and learning environment for young collectors, meant to encourage an interest in and understanding of the natural world. The lower level also includes a 65-seat theater that will be used extensively for video and lecture programs tied to the CNC’s educational mission. The upper level includes the Chattahoochee River Resource Gallery, which serves as a portal of information to the Chattahoochee River watershed and highlights ways to conserve, rethink and enjoy the watershed. The Rooftop Garden Terrace offers visitors beautiful views of the Chattahoochee River and CNC site. With its native plant palate, the rooftop terrace will be a valuable asset for the CNC education staff to teach about the benefits of green roofs, as well as offering an exceptional outdoor gathering space for visitors and the surrounding community. The nearby Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion overlooks Kingfisher Pond. The pavilion and its restrooms, catering kitchen and large outdoor deck will be used for education and as a rental space for special events.

Funding The $9.7 million project, which includes the Discovery Center and Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion, exhibits, landscaping and site work, was privately funded. Major gifts included grants from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation; the Chattahoochee Greenway Fund; The Kendeda Foundation; and a challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation.

“In the end, Lord, Aeck & Sargent delivered a special building that conformed to the tight budget of a non-profit organization,” the CNC’s Bergstrom said. “And after 33 years of operation, we are very excited to finally have a Discovery Center that is a tangible manifestation of our mission.

In the future, visitors will have a much-enhanced learning experience when they visit the Discovery Center and learn about our local watershed and the role each of them can play in individual stewardship.” The project team The Discovery Center and Ben Brady Lakeside Pavilion project team included:

• Chattahoochee Nature Center (Roswell, Ga.) – owner
• Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Inc. (Atlanta) – architect
• EDAW (Atlanta) – landscape architect
• Newcomb & Boyd (Atlanta) – MEP/FP engineer; commissioning agent
• AEC (Atlanta) – civil engineer
• Palmer Engineering Co. (Atlanta) – structural engineer
• AldrichPears Associates (Vancouver, British Columbia) – exhibit designer
• WaveGuide Consulting (Atlanta) – acoustical & audio-visual consultant
• Genoa Construction (Atlanta) – general contractor
• Silverman Construction Program Management (Atlanta) – program manager

About Lord, Aeck & Sargent

Lord, Aeck & Sargent is an award-winning architectural firm serving clients in scientific, academic, historic preservation, arts and cultural, and multi-family housing and mixed-use markets. The firm’s core values are responsive design, technological expertise and exceptional service.

In 2003, The Construction Specifications Institute awarded Lord, Aeck & Sargent its Environmental Sensitivity Award for showing exceptional devotion to the use of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials, and for striving to create functional, sensitive and healthy buildings for clients. In 2007, Lord, Aeck & Sargent was one of the first architecture firms to adopt The 2030 Challenge, an initiative whose ultimate goal is the design of carbon-neutral buildings, or buildings that use no fossil-fuel greenhouse gas-emitting energy to operate, by the year 2030.

Lord, Aeck & Sargent has offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For more information, visit the firm at www.lordaecksargent.com.

For further information on this and other Lord, Aeck & Sargen projects contact:
Annie Kohut | Kohut Communications Consulting (tel) 770-913-9747 (fax) 770-913-3197 annielk(at)bellsouth.net www.kohutcommunications.com http://twitter.com/kohutcomm
___________________________________

RBc: Thanks again to Annie from Kohut Communications Consulting.

Living Shelter Design Architects - A Road Less Travelled Shows Clients The Green Aspects of Design

 Every once and awhile we feature a designer who catches our interest for their skills and leadership.

This month we’d like to introduce our readers to Terry Phelan, the Founder and Lead of Living Shelter Design Architects.

Terry is a self taught architect, working in the home design and building industry since 1976. In her own words, she has, “never been one to take the most traveled path, having apprenticed for many years with several architectural firms, rather than going the college route, before taking the Washington State exams to become a licensed architect.”

This should tell you a lot about Terry – not many folks take this route and it is a real testament to her capabilities as the leader of an architectural firm.

Living Shelter Design Architects is a west coast operation promoting zero net energy, the use of local natural materials, resource-efficient construction methods, and non-toxic finishes to produce an integrated, sustainable and energy efficient design that is personally in tune with its environment, and nurturing to the people who use it.

Terry hosts a radio program on the Green Talk network. The Living Shelter Café, where she and her guests will inspire you to live within a deeper shade of green! She is also an outgoing co-chair of The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, an alliance of builders, designers, suppliers, homeowners, and partners concerned with ecological building in the Pacific Northwest.

Be sure to visit Terry’s website and tune in to hear her weekly broadcast.

To see some of our past features click here.

Indoor temperatures may improve the health of the occupants.

 

Photo credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

New research suggests that operating buildings in ways designed to save energy – with indoor temperatures slightly cooler in winter and warmer in summer – does more than just save energy. It improves the health of the occupants and makes them more comfortable besides.

Read the full press release here

RBc: As we have said a hundred times before, your building can help or hurt you.

For more articles on your health and indoor environments visit this link.

Environmental Noise Seminars

Credit: District of Craven in North Yorkshire
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Dear Robert,

I just want to let you know that we have posted our 2009 seminar schedule (www.navcon.com/seminars.htm).

In 2009 we will present three Hands-On Modal Testing Seminars, one Advanced Modal Seminars, two Acoustic Intensity Seminars, two Environmental Noise Seminars, and two SoundPLAN training class. (For more information please review the seminar descriptions below and/or follow the hyperlinks). Please feel free to contact my associate, Hans Forschner or me if you have any questions. We hope to see you at one of our upcoming seminars.

Sincerely, Jim ~

RBc: We don't post enough on the influences of sound quality so thanks to Jim for keeping us informed on their 2009 training programs.