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Long-spans amplify the collaborative relationship between architects and engineers

By: Richard C. Master, AIA, CSI
Chair Emeritus, Specifications and Building Technology, Professional Interest Area (PIA), AIA
Manager, Architectural Systems
USG Corporation

Continuing Education Use the following learning objectives to focus your study while reading this month’s ARCHITECTURAL RECORD / AIA Continuing Education article. 1 LU/1 HSW Learning Objective: After reading this article, you will be able to: 1. Understand the environmental benefits inherent in common wall, ceiling and substrate panels; 2. Recognize the impact that embodied energy has on green product selections; 3. Learn some general guidelines for creating green specifications.

Any way you look at it, sustainability has become a fundamental principle underlying successful building design. From a global standpoint, sustainability is imperative, as it offers a critically important means for conserving our dwindling natural resources. From an architectural business standpoint, it’s becoming an increasingly important consideration, as a growing percentage of building owners and homeowners not only desire “green” buildings, but are now demanding them.

Green has, in fact, gone mainstream. Manufacturers are giving high priority to environmental concerns in their product development processes; builders and developers are acutely aware of how sustainability can impact project success; and retailers are proactively promoting green products.

Despite its growing acceptance, sustainable building design remains a complex undertaking. Because environmental issues can – and should – be considered in virtually every aspect of the design process, specifiers need to have a working knowledge of a wide range of green definitions, criteria, standards and applications.

This article will attempt to clarify some of the issues relative to green product selections and design specifications as they relate to walls, ceilings and substrates.

Green Product Selection

Green product selection is a key component of sustainable design. Green products can loosely be defined as those that reduce, recycle and renew – the three R’s of sustainability. Specifically, sustainable products: