Breathing easy: Air quality adds value to new buildings in LI

Something is in the air in architecture these days - or maybe it isn't in the air quite as much. Construction companies are doing more to clear - or at least clean - the air in offices and residential buildings, recognizing that clean air is a valuable asset.

Builders are using environment-friendly

The push for clean air is part of a move toward green architecture; benefits include more efficient use of electricity and reduced impact on occupants' health.

"One of the goals of a green building is to provide better indoor air quality," said Russell C. Albanese, president of Garden City-based developer, Albanese Organization, which specializes in green architecture. "That's done through various measures, including better air-filtration systems, better ventilation. In the case of high-rise residential buildings, we introduced humidification."

"Providing a healthier indoor environment for employees, clients and visitors has become a priority for many companies," said Russell G. Matthews, executive vice president at Albanese and head of its Long Island development and leasing operations.

"In terms of indoor air quality, a lot of it has to do with the design of systems that are more efficient," said Frank Relf, an architect in Huntington Station. "These units have become more intelligent in terms of filtration. That's giving you better quality air."

The Environmental Protection Agency considers indoor air pollution a risk to public health: Unhealthful air drifts through as much as 30 percent of buildings.

Albanese said in cities, filters remove the soot that otherwise might end up in your lungs.

But Relf said the problem isn't only toxins from outside: Buildings themselves can spew toxins into tenants' lungs.

"Eco-friendly carpeting doesn't emit chemicals from the manufacturing process," Relf said. "The same thing holds true for paint and ceiling tiles. In the more green buildings inherently the products and materials utilized are healthier. They're not emitting smell, particulates or chemicals into the air."

Albanese touts 1001 Franklin Avenue, a 115,000-square-foot, 3-story building in Garden City, as having filters that remove volatile organic compounds from the air, providing enhanced "indoor air quality."

The New York area's dry winter air can be a problem in buildings that don't recirculate air. Many windows remain closed all winter, trapping toxins.

Albanese's Manhattan high-rise residential building, The Solaire, sports filters that remove 85 percent of particles from the air, providing apartments with fresh, filtered air. The firm also heats and humidifies air during cold periods and cools and dehumidifies air during hot weather.

In addition, Albanese chose materials for the Solaire to minimize or eliminate off-gassing, in which toxins are emitted from the materials themselves.

Special flooring is designed to attract particulates from shoes that otherwise would enter the air.

Machinery also can mess with your air: Albanese has used chiller and heaters that are more environmental than traditional oil-fired systems, emitting fewer toxins.

Albanese said his firm has "many tenants who have given testimony to the fact that the quality of the air" is better in his firm's green buildings.

Some tenants say their asthma has subsided and colds are rarer, particularly in the winter, he said.

Credit: Claude Solnik