IIDA Student Sustainable Design Competition

Its floor will be made out of bamboo, which is one of the most renewable wood resource. Bamboo grows very quickly and can regenerate in three to five years. The green and brown non-VOC paints will be composed of 99% food ingredient, such as: milk casein (as in yogurt), titanium dioxide (as in powdered donuts), food emulsifiers, and preservatives (as in milkshakes and chocolate). These paints reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, irritating and/or harmful to the comfort and well being of installers and occupants. The stains and sealers will be water based as well. In addition, the walls will be covered with wallpaper made out of recycled polyester. As for the counter top, this will be made of recycled glass which comes from curbside recycling programs. The rest of the counters will be Dakota Burl, a unique bio-based material, which exhibits the beauty and elegance of traditional burled woods. The material is created from agricultural fiber, sunflower hulls, making this a beautiful environmental option to hardwood. Production of Dakota Burl has a low embodied energy process as opposed to production of wood pulp-based materials. No out-gassing solvents are added and thus no VOC’s are released into the atmosphere to make this material.