Fast Company: Transparency is becoming increasingly important for a number of industries; you probably have some idea about the ingredients in your food, and thanks to sites like GoodGuide, your electronics, cleaning products, and clothing. But the building products industry remains disturbingly opaque. You have no idea what your house or office is made of. Since we spend so much of our time indoors, shouldn't we have a better idea of what, exactly, we're being exposed to? The Building Product Transparency Project, a partnership between design firm Perkins+Will and architectural product company Construction Specialties, is planning to shed a little light on the industry.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
A Nutrition Label For Building Products
Fast Company: Transparency is becoming increasingly important for a number of industries; you probably have some idea about the ingredients in your food, and thanks to sites like GoodGuide, your electronics, cleaning products, and clothing. But the building products industry remains disturbingly opaque. You have no idea what your house or office is made of. Since we spend so much of our time indoors, shouldn't we have a better idea of what, exactly, we're being exposed to? The Building Product Transparency Project, a partnership between design firm Perkins+Will and architectural product company Construction Specialties, is planning to shed a little light on the industry.
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3 comments:
I think that the idea of a nutrition label makes sense, but I am not sure if it can successfully translate. I get that it is about empowerment for the 'consumer', but if a person doesnt like what a building is made out of what are they going to do? Not use that building anymore? I mean they could try to get it torn down I guess, but I dont know what grounds that they could do that. Also if the labels are posted outside of the buildings so people can see them thats fine. But will the general public really know what theyre reading? Because the list wont just consist of 'wood, concrete,etc' will it? Because if they dont put everything on the labels then what is the point of them? I dont know, I just dont know if this will really change many people's opinions, or notions about chemicals or building materials, but it could.
With a majority of buildings it would scare people who are ignorant of how the materials are enclosed in the structure. It would make a lot of hypochondriacs have conniptions over what is around them daily. If building inspectors did their job and removed hazardous materials we would not need this service. Also the accuracy of building material will be suspect as the building gets older. I like the idea but having all the information without an understanding of the information will just cause panic.
I think that this, while a little bit ridiculous, would actually save people time and energy. Right now the only way to get a lot of that information is to go to the MSDS, however, with this type of "quick access" information, it may become easier to quickly determine what can be used and in what way.
I also agree that giving this information to just about anyone would be somewhat is a mistake. Some products are dangerous, but only when they are being used. Many paints can cause a lot of damage while they are drying, but once it is dry, hold little to know danger.
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