ARSENIC IN WOOD — DANGERS PERSIST

When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a report last year on the safety of pressure-treated lumber, they acknowledged the danger of arsenic, a poison and carcinogen, which is used widely in wood preservatives like chromated copper arsenate (CCA). They announced a phase-out of some uses of the preservative by the end of 2003.

POST-INDUSTRIAL AFFORDABILITY

It is often tempting for architects and builders, when designing low-income housing, to look for any possible way to reduce the costs of initial construction. But if cheap materials lead to higher maintenance or utility bills in the long run, such economies may prove short-lived. A different approach is based on the idea that affordable housing can be not only attractive but durable and environmentally sustainable as well.

SANTA MONICA ELECTRIC

In light of rising energy costs and potentially disastrous environmental policies, timing couldn't be better for the opening of Colorado Court, one of the first 100-percent energy-neutral housing developments in the United States. Located on a busy, urban street corner in Santa Monica, California, the award-winning five-story, "green" building is designed not only to reduce energy consumption but to return unused power back to the city's electrical grid.

More Environment

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by ArchitectureWeek.

Library : more Green Design and Building

Environment Last Week

Environment Department Archive