Designers want to have their design decisions valued, especially when it comes to the rather uncharted waters of sustainability and enhanced building performance.

That's why there was a lot of head-nodding during the IMI Seminar at Coverings 2010, the big trade show where people come from all over the world to see the latest products and hear from industry experts.

Architects liked what they heard from IMI Director of Sustainability and Program Development Maria Viteri, AIA, LEED AP, at her popular seminar, "Performance, Energy Efficiency, and Improved Air Quality with Tile, Marble, Terrazzo."

They liked IMI's "whole system" approach for using those materials to maximize both LEED credits and energy efficiency. And they like the specific strategies Viteri offered for repositioning what used to be simple material choices into systems solutions that can lead to better building performance. As one architect raved:

"It's refreshing to see passive solar design presented in such an applicable way."

This practical, news-I-can-use approach is just one way that IMI's Sustainable Solutons effort is helping to make the tile industry a major player in the sustainability game.

IMI takes its sustainable systems approach to TMT contractors this fall, in a special Contractor College session on Green & Retrofit Architecture (October 4) and the Sustainable Masonry Certification Program (Oct. 5).

More about IMI Sustainable Solutions