When it comes to durability, a 50-year building design ideally should include 50-year coatings. Many building products consume substantial amounts of energy, water, and petrochemicals during manufacture, but they can make up for it in the operations phase. The same should be expected from architectural coatings.
This course provides useful advice to design and construction professionals on how the best paints and coatings protect building components long enough to produce a net-positive savings. In addition, buildings should have a beneficial effect on human health, so if coatings release harmful chemicals those exposures should be minimal as compared to the salutary effects on occupants and neighbors over years of facility use.
This course will discuss how to assess the sustainability value of architectural coatings relative to their performance value to end-users.
After reading this article, you should be able to:
- List the sustainability and performance benefits of architectural coatings in general and for specific types of coating products.
- Discuss green standards, labeling programs, and statutory VOC requirements for coatings used in the United States.
- Describe the variables of paint and coating selection that impact sustainability and occupant health, safety, and welfare, including productivity and psychological benefits.
- Explain the impact of sustainability improvements on paint and coating selection.
Take this BD+C University course
Related Stories
Sponsored | Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 25, 2022
Concrete buildings: Effective solutions for restorations and major repairs
Architectural concrete as we know it today was invented in the 19th century. It reached new heights in the U.S. after World War II when mid-century modernism was in vogue, following in the footsteps of a European aesthetic that expressed structure and permanent surfaces through this exposed material. Concrete was treated as a monolithic miracle, waterproof and structurally and visually versatile.
Urban Planning | Jan 25, 2022
Retooling innovation districts for medium-sized cities
This type of development isn’t just about innovation or lab space; and it’s not just universities or research institutions that are driving this change.
Sponsored | Resiliency | Jan 24, 2022
Norshield Products Fortify Critical NYC Infrastructure
New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.
Sponsored | Resiliency | Jan 24, 2022
Blast Hazard Mitigation: Building Openings for Greater Safety and Security
Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022
Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings
Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.
Architects | Jan 17, 2022
OSPORTS adds Robert Hayes to lead operational and business development efforts
Hayes will guide the OSPORTS organization in its mission to offer a unique perspective to designing world-class facilities.
Architects | Jan 13, 2022
Hollywood is now the Stream Factory
Insatiable demand for original content, and its availability on a growing number of streaming platforms, have created shortages — and opportunities — for new sound stages.
Architects | Jan 13, 2022
Robert Eisenstat and Paul Mankins receive 2022 AIA Award for Excellence in Public Architecture
The award recognizes architects, public officials, or other individuals who design distinguished public facilities and advocate for design excellence.
3D Printing | Jan 12, 2022
Using 3D-printed molds to create unitized window forms
COOKFOX designer Pam Campbell and Gate Precast's Mo Wright discuss the use of 3D-printed molds from Oak Ridge National Lab to create unitized window panels for One South First, a residential-commercial high-rise in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Engineers | Jan 12, 2022
Private equity: An increasingly attractive alternative for AEC firm sellers
Private equity firms active in the AEC sector work quietly in the background to partner with management, hold for longer periods, and build a win-win for investors and the firm. At a minimum, AEC firms contemplating ownership transition should consider private equity as a viable option. Here is why.
