Sustainable design encompasses myriad tactics, from incorporating daylighting to specifying toxin-free materials. This roundup of green products—which includes a rooftop daylight collector that can illuminate high-ceiling spaces and an interior partition made of recycled materials—make sustainability paramount without sacrificing design.
SkyVault Collector, Solatube
Solatube designed its SkyVault Collector to capture the low-angle daylight that conventional skylights typically cannot intercept. The company’s proprietary technology directs light passing through a dome into a tube that descends into the building, enabling designers to daylight high-bay and high-ceiling applications with floor-to-diffuser heights of or exceeding 26’. The collector and diffuser are designed to work with the company’s SkyVault Series M74 DS daylighting system.
Sabi Cladding, Windfall Lumber
Inspired by the Japanese aesthetic
wabi-sabi
—or, the acceptance of imperfection—Windfall Lumber’s
Sabi Cladding
is made from reclaimed Douglas fir and hemlock solid and glue-laminated timber beams sourced from deconstructed industrial, agricultural, and residential buildings in the Pacific Northwest. Its worn, textured surface can be finished in neutral, earth-toned colors. The tongue-and-groove boards measure ½” thick and 4 ½” wide and are offered in 2’ to 8’ lengths.
SkyScape Pregrown Modular System, Firestone Building Product
A recycled high-density polypropylene frame with honeycomb-shaped sides supports Firestone Building Products’ modular extension to its SkyScape vegetative roof system. Built-in moisture-retention reservoirs create a 1.75”-deep gap beneath the modules to encourage air circulation. Each 15”-wide by 20”-long module weighs 50 lbs.
Ecoben, Panelite
This lightweight panel system features a structural honeycomb core made entirely of post-consumer recycled paper cardboard with transparent and sating facings to offer privacy in commercial interiors while transmitting daylight. Each Ecoben panel weighs between 43 lbs. and 55 lbs. and can be used with the company’s Clear Connect hardware-free wall system as well as its Snap wall-and-ceiling system of prefabricated, removable panels. Offered in 13/16”, 1 3/8”, and 2 3/16” thicknesses.
BuzziBlox, BuzziSpace
The alternating depths of BuzziSpace’s modular acoustical wall panels make for an installation that muffles noise and adds visual depth to a space. The foam-filled square, rectangular, and hexagonal panels can be covered in the company’s BuzziFabric, which is made of 70% recycled wool, 25% recycled polyacrylic, and 5% recycled rags.
