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
| Jul 28, 2014
LEO A DALY hires Peter Yakowicz to oversee VA projects
New hire will work with healthcare and federal market sectors on programs specifically for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
| Jul 28, 2014
Peterson Associates joins forces with KSQ Architects
Move creates Charlotte, N.C., office with expertise in higher education, K-12, multifamily, and healthcare.
| Jul 28, 2014
Post Tower Wins CTBUH 10-Year Award
The 10 Year Award recognizes proven value and performance in a tall building, across one or more of a wide range of criteria, over a period of 10 years since its completion.
| Jul 27, 2014
Maturing ‘plug and play’ sector could take market share from AEC Giants [2014 Giants 300 Report]
The growth of modular and containerized data center solutions may eventually hinder the growth of traditional data center construction services.
| Jul 27, 2014
Top Data Center Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Holder, Turner, and DPR head Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest data center contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 27, 2014
Top Data Center Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Jacobs, and Syska Hennessy top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest data center engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 27, 2014
Top Data Center Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, Corgan, and HDR head Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest data center architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 25, 2014
Grocery stores choosing Green Globes for building sustainability certification
The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has announced a wave of Green Globes certifications for new grocery stores, including New Seasons Markets, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, Aldi’s, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Publix.
| Jul 24, 2014
SLATERPAULL Architects to merge with Hord Coplan Macht
The merger will create a full-service practice with offices in Baltimore, MD, Denver, CO and Alexandria, VA that offers integrated architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, planning and historic preservation services.
| Jul 24, 2014
MIT researchers explore how to make wood composite-like blocks of bamboo
The concept behind the research is to slice the stalk of bamboo grass into smaller pieces to bond together and form sturdy blocks, much like conventional wood composites.
