Our Projects

Here’s what we’re currently working on in our commitment to raise awareness about toxic chemicals in building products, and the importance of healthy materials through research, demonstrations and education.

Design & Build Partners

See all 9 projects

Healthier Interior Renovation: Parsons’ Exec. Dean’s Office

Parsons School of Design

HML selected healthy, sustainable materials for a renovation designed by Jordana Maisie Design Studio (JMDS) of the Parsons’ Executive Dean’s Office. The renewed office design employs a simple, minimal palette, using high-quality, materials with mechanical fasteners to avoid harmful adhesives and to enable reuse.

Sustainable Housing in Vermont with Smokey House - Part I

Danby, Vermont

Sustainable housing design in Vermont with local material sourcing.

Indigenous Hemplime Housing: White Earth Reservation, MN

White Earth Reservation, Minnesota

In collaboration with Honor the Earth organization, HML is designing new Elder Housing on the White Earth Reservation using HempLime and other healthy materials.

HempLime Renovation: P.A. Hemp Home

New Castle, PA

A new HempLime home designed as healthy, affordable, and visitable housing, supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and partnering with expert HempLime builder, Cameron McIntosh from Americhanvre, and DON Enterprise.

Research Reports

See all 12 projects

Making the Case for Healthy, Climate Positive Manufactured Homes

This report highlights the critical need to rethink the industry’s reliance on petrochemical-based construction materials and explores how switching to plant-based or mineral alternatives can help sequester carbon and improve both indoor air quality and climate outcomes.

From Plastic-Based Homes to HempLime Healthier Housing on Lower Sioux Land

Lower Sioux

A research report from Healthy Materials Lab and the Lower Sioux Indian Community reveals the health and climate impacts of plastic-based manufactured housing, and makes the case for non-toxic, carbon-sequestering hemplime homes.

Advancing Material Health with Henning Larsen and Ramboll Foundation

In collaboration with Henning Larsen Architects and the Ramboll Foundation, HML is collecting and sharing select resources to expand awareness of how building materials affect the health of people, the climate, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

Building Healthy Homes: An Open Database

HML’s new Building Healthy Homes initiative is a collective living map and data-base of projects across the USA that have made healthy material changes to an affordable housing project. Read more to find out how you can participate!

Materials Guidance

See all 7 projects

Community MusicWorks: A Healthy, Low-Embodied Carbon Center for Music

Providence, Rhode Island

Community MusicWorks Center is an inclusive gathering place in the heart of Providence’s West End for music education and HML guided the material health strategies for the new center.

Memphis House Rebuild with Hopscotch

Memphis, Tennessee

A template for reconstructing affordable workforce housing in the Mississippi Delta region to be healthier.

Sustainable Model Making

Copenhagen, Denmark

How can healthier Model Making set the stage for designing healthier buildings? This question is the foundation for a collaboration between BIG’s (Bjarke Ingels Group) Model Making Center in Copenhagen, Denmark and HML.

Healthy Affordable Brooklyn Housing with STAT Architects + RiseBoro

Designing and Building Healthier Housing with Stat Architecture and RiseBoro Community Partnership

Healthy Materials Lab EU

See all 2 projects

Restorative Housing and Building Community

Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine

Student proposals from Parsons' BFA Architecture Studio with HML EU envision regenerative, restorative housing for post-war Ukraine - prioritizing community care, adaptive reuse, and local materials in response to real sites in the city of Kryvyi Rih.

Advancing Healthy Building Materials in Europe

HML EU gGmbH | Wiesbaden, Germany

Healthy Materials Lab EU (HML EU) gGmbH is a design-led research lab dedicated to advancing material knowledge and research for building solutions, healthy for people and planet, tailored to the European context.

Trace Material Podcast

See all 31 projects

Annual Reports

HML 2022-2023 Annual Report

HML 2021-2022 Annual Report

HML 2020-2021 Annual Report

Interested in supporting our work?

There are many ways to support the work of the Healthy Materials Lab.

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