Changing minds is not easy. Changing habits is even harder. As we learn more about what we don’t know, how do we prevent ourselves from drowning in information and sliding back into business as usual. And what is the definition of healthy if various benchmark systems and organizations define it slightly differently if not quite differently? Changing how we select materials and engage owners and the building industry is essential to community health – but can it be done by moving one lever? We believe that through our collective community, we can change habits and get to where we want to get to – empower individuals to help us select, make, create with healthier materials. It takes moving several levers and using different industry languages.
In our session, we will hear the experiences from an architect’s, general contractor’s, specification writer, and owners point of view. There is no perfect approach, just a variety of tools and approaches to help keep the momentum toward a healthier material pool of products. How you get into the pool can vary. Here are some methods that have worked for us.
We will also cover process, educating the team and using material selection to change the design process. Examples of collaboration between builders, vendors and team members will be discussed. The goal is to transition from single minded approach to a multi-attribute analysis that ends with better material selections.
This session is approved for the following continuing education credits:
- 1.5 LFA credits
- 1.5 AIA LU|HSW credits
