Sustainable Interiors
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Contents
What is It?
Sustainable interior design means constructing and organizing interior spaces and choosing materials, finishes, and furnishings in ways that not only support a healthy, productive and aesthetically pleasing indoor environment, but also connect the people that work in the building to the larger community and to the earth.
For Sustainable Interiors:
- Use local, recycled, reused, low environmental impact, and renewable materials and furnishings, and order only what you need to minimize waste
- Use materials that are durable, low-maintenance and attractive in close to their original state
- Use earth- and people-friendly cleaning and maintenance products, and those that help reduce water usage related to cleaning and maintenance
- Allow building occupants access to the light, the life and the views outside and to fresh air
- Discourage building users from practices that contribute to poor indoor air quality (smoking, wearing perfume, burning petroleum-based products, etc.)
- Provide for excellent indoor environmental quality by choosing materials and systems that are low in volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), are mold inhibiting, are dust- and allergen-free, are non-toxic, and by ensuring adequate ventilation.
Also known as: sustainable interior design.
Why is it Important?
Sustainable interiors are important because:
- Connects building occupants to the earth and to the life outside with views and access to the outdoors
- Keeps the indoor air quality high to keep people comfortable and healthy
- Supports the local economy by investing in local materials, services, and labor
- Reduces the amount of waste going to landfills and pollution going into the air and water
- Maximizes daylighting of the space, which decreases energy usage and its associated carbon emissions
- Makes occupants happier, healthier and more productive.
When to Use It?
Sustainable interior strategies can be used whenever a change to the use or care of a building is being considered. These strategies are especially effective when a building is being planned, constructed, renovated, or updated and when there is need for improving a building’s effects on health, safety, welfare, enjoyment and productivity.
Green Garage Use of Sustainable Interiors
Sustainability Goals
- Maximize longevity of the building
- Minimize the creation of waste and pollution
- Create a healthy, attractive, and comfortable environment for the building occupants
- Connect building occupants to the life outside and to the earth.
Strategy and Conceptual Design
Sustainable Interiors Strategy
Our sustainable interiors strategy is:
- Flexibility in function and arrangement for different users at different times
- Allow co-op members (who will be the primary users) to help finish the interior design
- Accommodate growth and change by building few permanent interior walls
- Excellent indoor air quality
- Choose materials, furnishings, and finishes that do not degrade the air inside the building
- Ensure adequate ventilation and access to fresh air
- Maintain air quality by encouraging best practices for maintenance
- Contributions to the local economy and to the environment
- Use local materials, services, and labor
- Zero waste
- Connections between the interior space and the life outside of it
- Ensure that all building users have access to daylight, views, and fresh air
- Allow those outside of the building to see into it
- Let some of the street and nature sounds permeate the building
Sustainable Interiors Conceptual Design
- Flexibility
- Excellent Indoor Air Quality
- Zero Waste
- Connections Between Inside and Outside
Supporting Science
Proposed Materials / Suppliers
- Solatubes lighting - 750 DS is the product. Questions for the Solatube rep's visit 02/03/09.
- Full Spectrum Lighting Solutions - Jackson MI...here's the induction lighting performance page.
Development Story
The Sustainable Interiors - Development Story page contains many images and videos documenting the process used at the Green Garage to design, build and operate our sustainable interiors conceptual design.
Related Internal Links
- Sustainable Lighting
- Natural Ventilation
- Sustainable Materials Management
- Sustainable Materials Management
Resources
- Interior Design Solutions, Susan Aiello, ASID, LEED AP
- Columbus College of Art and Design interior design resource list
- Univ of Minnesota InformeDesign newsletter
- Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines
To Do's
- Short Video
- Upload images onto Development Story page
- Image for top of page?
This page needs to be edited
