Presenters:

Max Richter, Intern Architect, Stantec Architecture, Vancouver, BC

Elia Sterling, President, Theodore Sterling Associates Ltd., Vancouver, BC

William Lambert, Professor of Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Sciences University

Eden Brukman, Research Director, Cascadia Region Green Building Council, Portland, OR

 

We are what we build. The act of manufacturing and specifying building materials has far reaching impacts on human and environmental health, which are being compromised by pollutants and persistent toxic chemicals as a result of human activity. The Living Building Challenge requires architects, designers, engineers, owners, manufacturers and builders to re-think the way they practice and to investigate deeply into the materials they are creating, selecting and using. The science behind the Materials Petal in the Living Building Challenge needs to be better understood, and design teams will need to tap into this information if we are to truly achieve sustainable buildings. Cascadia has offered a questionnaire that will spur new dialogue about building materials and help the industry become better educated about the impacts of their choices.

The ultimate goal of this session is for all contributors to the built environment to share expectations and needs as they relate to the green building material market, and to have the relevant knowledge to do so. Session attendees will learn new information about the effects of building materials on indoor environmental quality and human health, as well as Cascadia’s questionnaire and the science behind it. Participants will then have the opportunity to engage with others in round table discussions about the related issues at hand.

Presenter Bios

Max Richter

Max Richter is an Intern Architect in Stantec’s Vancouver office. Max is the chair of the Sustainability Committee in the Vancouver office, which holds the distinction of being the only design practice in Canada to have its environmental management system registered under ISO 14001. He has worked with the City of Vancouver on their Green Building Strategy and the Province of British Columbia on greening the building code. He has worked on projects in Alaska, New York, and Canada.

Elia Sterling

Elia Sterling, ASHRAE, RAIC, AIA, is founder and president of Theodor Sterling Associates Ltd., providing indoor environment consulting services to the North American construction and real estate industries since 1973. Mr. Sterling chairs the Canadian Advisory Committee to the ISO on IAQ and serves on the National Building Code of Canada as an expert on IAQ and ventilation. He has also served on the ASHRAE committees responsible for their Indoor Air Quality, Thermal Comfort and Building Commissioning Standards.

William E. Lambert

Dr. Lambert, PhD is Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at OHSU.  He is the Associate Director of OHSU’s CDC-funded Prevention Research Center, the Center for Healthy Communities.  Dr. Lambert received his PhD in environmental epidemiology from the University of California, Irvine.  His research has focused on indoor and outdoor air pollution.  Recently his research has considered pesticide exposures in the children of migrant farm workers and the health effects of toxins in fish eaten by Northwest tribes.  Dr. Lambert is past Chair of the Oregon DEQ’s Air Toxic Science Advisory Committee and continues to serve as a member.  He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors for the Josiah Hill III Clinic, a Portland non-profit providing blood lead screening and asthma prevention services to children in north and northeast Portland.

Eden Brukman

An architect, sustainable building advisor, LEED Accredited Professional, and Research Director for Cascadia, Eden has focused her professional career on incorporating socially and environmentally responsible strategies into design and construction. Since 2004, her work expanded to also include research and implementation of sustainable policies, particularly related to building certification using the LEED rating system and the selection of appropriate building materials. Eden received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s degree in Illustration from the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland.