Healthy Child Healthy World Announces Plans for Healthy Home 2010: Designer Showcase & Tour

Healthy Home 2010, opening in September in suburban Chicago, to set a new precedent for green, healthful living and raise the bar on healthier indoor air

CHICAGO, May 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a groundbreaking partnership with industry leaders in green design, Healthy Child Healthy World today announced plans to create a real-life, interactive, educational model for healthier living.  Healthy Home 2010:  Designer Showcase & Tour will be a cutting-edge initiative that will raise the bar on sustainable design by focusing on healthier indoor environments.  The home will be open to the public when completed in September and available for tours through mid-October.

• Healthy Home 2010 will be the first designer showhouse in the nation to bridge the gap between traditional green building and healthy interiors by implementing a new interior design protocol developed by a distinguished advisory board consisting of industry leaders in sustainable design.

• Healthy Home 2010 will be the first house in the U.S. to incorporate elements of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute's first-ever Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Management Plan for Residential Construction, a system for creating—from the ground up—buildings that contribute to healthier indoor air.  The GREENGUARD IEQ Management Plan for Residential Construction is an innovative supplement to sustainable building programs like the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED® Rating System. By meeting some of the world's most stringent indoor air quality standards, these GREENGUARD Certified products will help reduce the number of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the home's interior, thereby creating healthier indoor air.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cites that indoor pollutants can be 2-5 times higher than outdoors. Research indicates that people spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors and homeowners today are increasingly concerned about indoor air quality.  Contaminants like mold, radon, carbon monoxide, and toxic chemicals have received much attention as poor indoor air quality is increasingly linked to myriad health problems.

"We're happy to collaborate with Healthy Child Healthy World to create a healthier indoor environment for children and their families," says Henning Bloech, executive director of the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.  "The implementation of the new GREENGUARD Building Construction and IAQ Management Plan, which includes the use of GREENGUARD Certified products and materials, will help minimize indoor air pollutants that can negatively affect human health."

A newly formed board of distinguished product and design experts will comprise the Interiors Advisory Board (IAB), which will vet all materials, furnishings and products under consideration by the building and design team for inclusion in the home.  The IAB will establish Healthy Interiors Guidelines, which will be used to direct the design process while also setting a series of standards that promotes non-toxic, healthier homes.

Members of the IAB include:

-Penny Bonda, FASID, LEED AP, Partner, Ecoimpact Consulting

-Annette K. Stelmack, USGBC LEED Faculty™, LEED® AP, Sustainable Design Consultant, Educator, founder and principal of Inspirit-llc

-Leslie Gage, LEED® AP, GREENGUARD Environmental Institute

-Leigh Anne Vandusen, Owner, O Ecotextiles

-Jill Salisbury, principal and founder, el: Environmental Language

-Victoria Di Iorio, education outreach coordinator, Healthy Child Healthy World

The project's collaborative spirit will also bring together the expertise of leaders in building, design and technology, who will join forces to design and build the home.  Dior Builders, Susan Fredman Design Group and First Point Technologies will develop a plan for sustainable and healthful home solutions that include green building materials, energy efficient products, innovative technologies, and furniture and accessories that will foster a healthful living environment and showcase some of the highest standards of environmental integrity.

"We believe Healthy Home 2010 will be the new benchmark in residential sustainable living," said Christopher Gavigan, Executive Director and CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World (www.healthychild.org).  "Our collaboration with the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute will allow us to encourage more product manufacturers to achieve third-party certification for low chemical emissions, which will, in turn, help families choose healthier products for their own homes.  In addition, the new design protocol, established by leaders in the building and design industry, will be a first-step in implementing a cohesive approach to sustainable exterior and interior design."  

Located in Chicago's northwest suburb of Palatine, the home will feature a wealth of sustainable design - from landscaping to building to healthful interiors – and will seek U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes certification.  Each material and product will be pre-approved by Healthy Home 2010's Interiors Advisory Board.  Many of these products and materials will meet the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute's standards for low chemical emissions.

Setting a new precedent for non-toxic, healthier homes

Healthy Home 2010 is spearheaded by Victoria Di Iorio and Jill Salisbury, who will lead representatives from all facets of the sustainable design industry to focus on the healthfulness of each material and product that is recommended for use in the home.  

"We are going beyond the notion of what is sustainable to create a home that has human health at the heart of our objectives," noted Victoria Di Iorio.  "The project seeks to raise awareness on cleaner, safer, healthier living."

Healthy Home 2010:  Designer Showcase & Tour will host a kick-off gala in Chicago on Thursday, September 23, 2010.  The home officially will be unveiled during an opening event the following day on Friday, September 24, 2010, and will feature a book-signing appearance by Christopher Gavigan, whose book, Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer World, is touted as a must-read for all parents seeking to make better product choices for their homes and families.  More details will become available.  For additional information on the home, events and tours, please visit www.healthyhome2010.com.

Healthy Child Healthy World is a national, nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization that inspires parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals. The organization exists because more than 125 million Americans, predominantly children, now face a historically unprecedented rise in chronic diseases and illnesses such as cancer, autism, asthma, allergies, birth defects, ADHD, obesity, diabetes, and learning and developmental disabilities. Credible scientific evidence increasingly points to environmental hazards and household chemicals as causing and contributing to many of these diseases. Healthy Child Healthy World aims to educate parents, support protective policies and engage communities to make responsible decisions, simple everyday choices and well-informed lifestyle improvements to create healthy environments where children and families can flourish. Please visit http://www.healthychild.org for more information.

SOURCE Healthy Child Healthy World