Safety Span
Safety Span is committed to improving our Common Built Environment
Douglas Leonardi, founder of Safety Span and Richard Nelson, founder of the Sola Roof community are committed to cooperation under the umbrella of URGENT Shelter to establish a Technology Transfer to Japan in response to the Nuclear Disaster? - an initiative to reduce the impact of Radioactive Contamination on the food supply and the communities by establishing closed atmosphere greenhouses and Eco Habitat.
The SafetySpan Website presents the goal that Douglas envisions for buildings that survive disaster and also inflict much less loss of life on the occupants:
"We all know that the buildings we work, play and live in everyday have a substantial impact on our environment. It is estimated that as much as 40% of our total energy use as a society goes towards their erection and operation, and millions of tons of material waste are generated every year just in their construction and renovation. Concrete alone is responsible for as much as 12% of all carbon emissions on the planet and is a major source of pollution and environmental degradation.
Furthermore, as our city populations rise to historic levels and our buildings grow ever taller, their very safety and reliability become serious concerns to us in an unpredictable world. Natural disasters and acts of violence are as inevitable as they are terrible, and all too often our tallest buildings become a danger to us when we need their protection the most.
That's why we at Safety Span engineer proactive safety features and multiple redundancy into every component, reducing both the risk of failure and the danger posed to people in times of emergency, inside the building and out. Safety Span is committed to helping builders construct safer, healthier and more sustainable buildings that protect people.