by Shane Henson — November 30, 2011—Design firm Perkins+Will has launched a Web site to point architect, design and construction professionals towards building materials that are fabricated of substances considered safe, and away from potentially harmful products. The firm recently introduced what it says is the built environment’s first free, universally accessible database aimed at creating greater transparency into building materials containing substances that are publicly known or suspected to be associated with an adverse finding in relation to human and environmental health.
According to the company, the database is the result of over two years of review of government-published scientific papers, which identify “precautionary” substances that are known or suspected to cause harm to humans and the environment. This research is based on the Precautionary Principle, the idea that in the absence of scientific consensus, an action merits precautionary treatment if it has a suspected risk of causing harm to humans or to the environment.
The intent of the list is to encourage the building product marketplace to become more transparent from extraction to end of life for all points of contact, from manufacturers to de-constructors, so that people are further empowered to make informed decisions about specifying, maintaining and disposing of the products in their buildings.
A truncated list was originally offered by Perkins+Will in 2009; however, the new site includes further publications that delve into topics pertinent to the industry. These publications are targeted towards enhancing the design profession’s knowledge of how material selection has the potential to impact human health by focusing on areas where publicly available information is presently limited.
Included in the site is an “asthma list,” a list of substances that are known or suspected to be common asthma triggers and asthmagens sourced from governmental lists. The firm hopes that this asthma list will raise awareness of the pervasiveness of substances with suspected links to asthma and the need for research on this topic.
Additionally, a “flame retardants list” has been added to the site, featuring original research by the Green Research Policy Institute. The list addresses the historical lack of research on the substances which make up some or all of the content of flame retardants by cataloging these substances and their known or suspected health and environmental impacts.
“Many of the materials we address in the Transparency Site have been opaque to the industry,” said Peter Syrett, associate principal at Perkins+Will. “As architects, we should thoughtfully consider the social and environmental impact of our professional activities, and while there are no perfect building materials, we hope this Transparency Site will aid the building product marketplace in making choices that support the highest ethical intentions.”
