Committee on the Environment

  • 1.  Sustainable Flooring

    Posted 03-03-2015 10:35 AM
    This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: 2030 Commitment and Committee on the Environment .
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    Greetings:

    I completed your survey form. 

    We have found flooring to be a fascinating topic for a number of reasons, including its short life relative to other building components, and the fashion element.  As you have asked about flooring in hospitality uses, the fashion element is very important - and means that flooring can be replaced well before it is worn out.  The life expectancy of such building elements is therefore highly uncertain, and that affects any analysis of sustainability. 

    We encountered this in a corporate conference center, where in the process of refurbishment we found some very strange decisions being made by very experienced managers and architects.  Investigation into them led us into over ten years (and still ongoing) of funded research into the factors that were behind their decisions (they were reacting - appropriately - to uncertainty). 

    This should add an interesting aspect to questions about what is sustainable, and leads into a number of fascinating fields (and questions).  Looking at these would enhance your research efforts.

    Some of the results were published,...  you look at one or both (they may be in your university library): 
        Ellingham, Ian & Fawcett, William (2006) New Generation Whole Life Costing, London:  Taylor & Francis.
        Ellingham, Ian & Fawcett, William (2013)  Whole Life Sustainability, London:  RIBA Publishing.

    Good luck with your research.

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    Ian Ellingham, PhD, FRAIC
    Cambridge Architectural Research Limited
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  • 2.  RE: Sustainable Flooring

    Posted 03-03-2015 09:44 PM
    Hello,Ian
    Thank you very much for participating in this research study.
    And thank you very much for recommend the book. I will check them out.
    This study is based on literature review. I found something interesting about attitude of designers. Based on literature review,several studies have shown that designers who have a positive attitude towards sustainability did not always use it in practice and did not encourage clients to use sustainable practices. 
    Designers' attitude play an important role in supporting sustainability. 
    I'm hope that my study will explain what attitudes prevent designers from practice sustainability and this could help supporting sustainability in the future. 





    Supak Inthasoi
    University of Oklahoma
    Norman OK
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