Hinge Studio is committed to furthering the use of materials that don’t have repercussions. These pages are intended to bring awareness and resources to clients and contractors.
The following slides are from the Healthy Materials Course offered by the Parsons Healthy Materials Lab. The Lab is a valuable resource for additional information on this topic, both through continuing education programs and by providing resources to help make informed choices when selecting materials.
Why Healthy Materials?
PEOPLE
- As architects hate the idea that the materials we use in buildings could make people sick or impact their health.
- We want to support the health of people who build the buildings, who live/work in the buildings, who maintain the buildings and people who manufacture and install the products.
- We spend 90% of our time indoors, indoor air quality is in some ways more important than outdoor
- Small children touch and lick things to learn about the world
- People are more productive, they use less sick time, they are happier
- Pets touch things and then lick themselves clean
ENVIRONMENT
- We’re thinking about materials end of life, natural disasters and what happens when things burn or are demolished
- We want to conserve and preserve resources for future generations
PRACTICE
- We want transparency in the impacts of materials on our health and the environment
- We want to educate ourselves and others on the impacts of materials
- We want to advocate for better products
