Metal Tech-USA and EcoChoice™

In a recent best selling book titled "The Paradox of Choice", Barry Schwartz wrote about how too much choice is just as bad as no choice at all.

"People can't ignore options - they have to pay attention to them. If they make a choice, is there another choice that would have been better? There's more effort put into making decisions, and less in enjoying them. What's nagging is the possibility that, if they had chosen differently, they could have gotten something better."

Schwartz was talking about toothpaste and potato chips. Imagine how much more stressful it is for an architect engaged in a LEED™ oriented project. That's precisely what we were thinking when we created EcoChoice™.

We started by eliminating metals that were toxic, such as lead and tin. We eliminated metals that were difficult and dangerous to refine. We eliminated metals like steel that emitted metallic oxides over their lifetime, and that were often too corroded to be recycled after years of environmental exposure. In the end, there were two metals suitable for architectural use that also met the goals of sustainability and environmental friendliness; zinc and copper.

As luck would have it, both zinc and copper have enjoyed hundreds of years of use in architecture already. These durable metals form attractive protective patinas that enable them to last for decades. At the end of their life, they can be easily upcycled* into new products including new roof, wall and rainwater systems. Their durability and versatility make them suitable for numerous applications. By creating EcoChoice™, we didn't take away options...

We simply made them clearer.