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Antimicrobial Materials: The Latest Architecture and News

Architects Must Address the Issue of Toxic Building Materials

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

By the time I was 17 years old, I had moved 11 times. Because of my own experience relocating from one place to another, I’ve spent the better part of the last several decades focused on making sure that everyone has a place to call home, that everyone enjoys the human right to housing. But it was not until my time at Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit focused on community development and affordable housing, that I realized the methods and materials we employ to realize that human right matter. 

Hazard-Proof Fabrics for Interior Design: Repellent, Acoustic and Fireproof

Beyond their features in the world of fashion, fabrics can also be an essential part of an interior design’s creative possibilities. While enhancing the aesthetic appeal of a space, these versatile materials –made from fibers or yarn that have been interlaced, knitted, or bonded together– also provide functionality to space. As part of a holistic architectural strategy, these natural and synthetic elements are essential for designing upholstery for furniture, curtains and drapes, space divisions and wall coverings. Changing the traditional notion of fabrics –known as stain collectors, bug homes and easily catching fire– the latest design innovations are exploring properties which take the use of fabrics one step further. Diving into Architonic’s fabric catalog, we take a look at different products with distinctive acoustic, fireproof and repellent properties.

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Perkins+Will White Paper: Why Antimicrobial Products Should Be Avoided

Perkins+Will and the Healthy Building Network (HBN) have released their latest material health and performance white paper, Healthy Environments: Understanding Antimicrobial Ingredients in Building Materials.

According to the paper, antimicrobial building products “marketed as healthy or beneficial to human health contain ingredients that may have adverse environmental or human health impacts, and alternative products should be considered whenever possible.” Citing a lack of evidence that antimicrobial products prevent the spread of communicable diseases, the report highlights potential impacts like “super bugs,” contamination of aquatic ecosystems, and carcinogens.

Ten top highlights from the paper, concerning antimicrobial products, are: