GreenClips.223 09.10.03 NUMEROUS NEW STUDIES LINK SPRAWL TO OBESITY AND HYPERTENSION A wave of new research on sprawl's effect on health emerged in August when two journals, the American Journal of Public Health and the American Journal of Health Promotion, jointly released special issues that indicate a significant connection between sprawl and obesity and between sprawl and hypertension. The studies call on urban planners and zoning commissions to consider public health in designing neighborhoods. "How you build things influences health in a much more pervasive way than I think most health professionals realize," said Dr. Richard Jackson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who helped edit both journals. One study in the American Journal of Health Promotion suggests that people in the most sprawling suburban areas, like Geauga County, Ohio, and Walton County, Georgia, weigh as much as six pounds more and have higher blood pressure than people in more densely developed areas like New York City. The New York Times, 31 Aug 2003, p 15, by The Associated Press, and The New York Times, 4 Sep 2003, p D1, by Bradford McKee. [The American Journal of Public Health's September issue includes more than three dozen papers about the impacts of the built environment on health. Download articles for a fee from http://www.ajph.org . The September/October issue of the Journal of Health Promotion (http://www.healthpromotionjournal.com ) includes more than a dozen papers on this topic. COOL ROOF PRODUCTS NEED TO PROVE THEIR LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE The long-term performance of some cool roof products can diminish within a few years due to surface weathering from dirt, UV exposure, acid rain, and other environmental effects. Cool roofs, which are defined by their solar reflectance and infrared emittance properties, are usually made of light-colored materials: when they stop retaining their light color, they stop staying cool. In January 2003, the Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) launched a labeling system to rate the initial and three-year aged performance of cool roofing products. The three-year results won't be ready until 2006, so until then only the initial radiative properties will be printed on the label. Some roof systems, such as EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) membranes, are especially prone to dirt collection, algal or fungal growth, and staining from acid rain. The dirtier these roofs become, the more emittance and reflectance performance is compromised, and the hotter they become. In tests conducted at Oak Ridge National Lab, metal roofs showed little or no degradation in the harshest environments. In one study comparing six roofing materials (asphalt shingle, black built-up roof, unpainted galvanized, unpainted Galvalume, Galvalume Plus, and white-painted PVDF), the outstanding performer was white-painted Galvalume, which showed a small 0.02 decrease in solar reflectance over three years and a 0.02 increase in infrared emittance. Products advertised as cool roof solutions should be investigated for three-year aged test values to prove they retain their reflectance and emittance for the life of the roof. The Construction Specifier, Aug 2003, p 64, by W. Lee Shoemaker. [More: http://www.ornl.gov/roofs+walls/facts/RadiationControl.htm ; http://www.coolroofs.org ] BREEAM ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT SCHEME ADAPTED FOR RETAIL BUILDINGS In the UK, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) has developed a new version of its Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) to improve the environmental performance of retail buildings. BREEAM Retail can be applied at either the design, tenant fit out or operation and management stage of a retail building's life. This version of BREEAM has, with advice from retail sector representatives, been tailored to meet the particular needs of the sector. For example, the BREEAM category for materials has been adapted to reflect the particularly large amounts of packaging waste generated by retail businesses. BREEAM Retail also focuses on the health and well-being aspects of building operation and maintenance. Credits are awarded, for example, for minimizing microbial contamination of humidification and water systems, making good use of daylighting, avoiding glare, and providing local lighting controls, operable windows and good air quality. Credits are also awarded for energy efficient lighting and equipment, daylighting controls, efficient HVAC systems and controls, water conservation and pollution reduction. "We hope to apply BREAM Retail to the design and management of new stores, to refurbishments and, when we have greater experience with the scheme in practice, to the management of existing outlets," says Barry Knight, with the department store chain Marks & Spencer. More: http://www.bre.co.uk/breeam . Building Services Journal, Sep 2003, p 37. NEW COMPETITION TO JUMP-START ENTREPRENEURIAL DESIGN PROJECTS Metropolis magazine has announced a new competition and $10,000 cash prize for designers and architects seeking seed money to develop a "Big Idea" that will make the designed environment better, safer and more sustainable. Entries will be judged on 1) evidence of systems thinking/sustainable and accessible design; 2) excellence of aesthetic expression; 3) technological innovation/inventive materials/atypical processes; and 4) economic potential of the idea, including a business plan for producing it. Deadline: Dec. 15, 2003. More: http://www.metropolismag.com/nextgen . Metropolis, Aug-Sep 2003, p 63. AN OVERVIEW OF DOUBLE-SKIN FAÇADE SYSTEMS From perspectives of both the designers' knowledge and a project's budget, double-skin systems are often beyond the scope of commercially driven North American high-rise projects. But these buildings may be missing out on energy and environmental savings. There are four basic types of double-skin façade systems: buffer, extract air, twin face, and hybrid. BUFFER systems date back 100 years. They use two layers of sealed glazing spaced 250 to 900 mm apart (approx. 10 to 35 in.), with fresh air introduced through an HVAC system or box-type windows penetrating the double skin. EXTRACT AIR systems have a second single layer of glazing on the interior of a main façade of double glazing. These systems tend not to reduce energy requirements because fresh air must be supplied mechanically. They are used where natural ventilation isn't possible. TWIN FACE systems, currently the most popular, have a conventional curtain wall or thermal mass wall system inside a single-glazed building skin. Windows on the interior façade can be opened, while ventilation openings in the outer skin moderate temperature extremes within the façade. The windows can allow for nighttime cooling, thereby reducing cooling loads of the building's HVAC system. HYBRID systems, which combine various aspects of the three primary systems, have a higher incidence of non-glazed components and may use a layer of screens or non-glazed materials on either the inside or outside of the primary environmental barrier. Canadian Architect, July 2003, p 34, by Terri Meyer Boake. [Full text: http://www.cdnarchitect.com/issues/past_issues.asp ] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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