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Dealing with green building certifications, even for building material professionals, is anything but easy. Serious Materials, a company dedicated to building better buildings, is creating solutions to improve energy efficiency and building sustainability. This interview with Brandon Tinianov, the CTO of Serious Materials, is a continuation of our conversation on the new windows of the iconic Empire State Building. Here, Tinianov speaks about their new products and discusses the current state of green window certifications. Famous for their EcoRock drywall products, Serious Materials just launched iWindow, a retrofit solution that adds a triple pane to the interior of everyday office windows.
There are many different certifications in the building industry, and the distinct difference is material certification vs. efficiency performance certification. Serious Materials’ first product, the EcoRock drywall, is a material focused product that is Cradle to Cradle certified.
Windows, on the other hand, follow performance and efficiency certifications. A window in a pane can contain glass, fiberglass, steel, foam and other materials: a hybrid that is difficult to deconstruct and recycle. Thus the window industry has yet to require material sustainability certifications. But it should because the future is in full-circle materials that meet the cradle to cradle philosophy. Tinianov believes that modularized designs will unlock the market for sustainable building materials. He is working with Project Frog, and Zetacommunities to innovate modularized designs to allow both easier sourcing and deconstruction. Meanwhile, he urges architects and designers to seek efficiency in their designs. Reducing energy loads by 30% can be achieved through material selection. In addition, the Serious Energy Manager software provides a smart dashboard to allow facilities managers to monitor energy usage, observe peak energy events and identify energy efficiency opportunities.
http://vimeo.com/21040480
Connie Kwan is a GreenTech Marketing professional based in Silicon Valley, CA. She is pursuing an MBA in Sustainability at Presidio Graduate School and blogs about sustainability and business at Sustainable Thinking: Applied. Follow her on Twitter @ConnieMKwan.
Connie Kwan is a Product Manager and Entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley, CA. She builds teams to deliver products that benefit people, planet and profit. She holds an MBA in Sustainability at Presidio Graduate School and blogs about sustainability and business at Sustainable Thinking: Applied (http://blog.conniekwan.com)
