Week 1
Course Introduction
Properties of Materials (handout)
Materials should be selected so that the material's properties meet the requirements of the project.
Visual Properties
- Color
- Pattern
Tactile Properties
- Texture
- Temperature
- Hardness
- Resiliency
- Density
Auditory Properties
- Sound transmission
- Sound absorption
- Sound creation
Optical Properties
- Reflectivity
- Transparency
- Refractivity
Performance Properties
- Durability
- Longevity
Care & Maintenance
- Maintainability
- Stain resistance
Economic Properties
- Cost of material
- Cost of installation
- Life-cycle cost
Safety & Health Properties
- Building codes
- Accident and injury
- Health
Sociological Properties
- Perception
- Fad and fashion
Environmental Properties
- Sustainable
- Recycled
- Recyclable or biodegradable
- Renewable
- IAQ issues
- Shipping
Manufacturing Properties
- Embodied energy
- Water use
- Raw material production
- Raw material toxicity
- By-product toxicity
- Waste percentage
Assignments:
Read the handout from the Sustainable Interiors book to familiarize yourself with the process of selecting sustainable materials.
Read the document Residential Remodeling Guidelines, downloadable from www.regreenprogram.org. The guidelines were written by the USGBC and ASID. Make notes; we will discuss this in week 3.