Allergy-Free Room An opportunity to provide innovation to the Indoor Environmental Quality beyond the current LEED strategies has been identified. One guest room within the Inn has been designed and designated for use by those individuals with multiple chemical sensitivities, and is known to the project team as the "allergy-free" room. In working with the Independence Center of Virginia (an advocacy group for people with disabilities), the project team identified the following special considerations for this room. These considerations are based upon ease of maintenance (fewer cleaning materials) and minimizing areas for capturing dust, dirt, and other particulate matter:
The concept of providing one room to cater for individuals with allergies and multiple chemical sensitivities is commendable, but your proposal is not comprehensive and does not quantify benefits. From the description above, the approach focuses primarily on the selection of certain furnishings and materials in addition to cleaning practices for one singular room. Your proposal does not address other potential irritant sources that would be typical in a room, such as those chemical emitted from all furniture, wood flooring finishes, all adhesives and sealants, the HVAC system, or even the entryway. In order to qualify for an innovation credit, the project would need to demonstrate that substantial effort above and beyond conventional practice has been adopted to provide an "allergy-free" and chemically-sensitive environment. The project should consider a holistic approach to this concept by adopting a more rigorous strategy that addresses all potential irritants and allergy triggers, and applies similar principles for multiple rooms (i.e., an entire floor or wing of rooms). The project is encouraged to also give consideration for the individual\'s needs when in public spaces, e.g. the lobby, hallways and dining areas. Further, the project should also quantify the annual number and percent of occupants that would benefit from this approach. Applicable Internationally.