What is sustainability? Why has this topic gained momentum in the past few years ? Does sustainable design methods only reap benefits or does it have a pitfall side to it? These are some of the questions that we are going to be discussing in this essay. Sustainability can be defined as an environmentally conscious design that has a minimal impact on the planet. As a result of external forces in the magnitude of global warming and many other more, as designers we have some social responsibility to cater to such issues. In light of this concern designers have become more conscious of their creative decisions and plan to lead their designs in the “sustainable” (long lasting ) way. The ramification of the damage that we have done to the environment is huge and increasing by the day. The three primary factors that affect the environment are ecological damage, health damage and resource depletion. (Walker, 2013)
One of the most interesting ideas from the course readings was about the eco-design strategy wheel. It is imperative to understand the strategies involved to reduce the ecological impact of a product/system . The eight categories of the wheel are laid out in a system according to the stages of life cycle of a product. This is crucial for designers because it helps designers to innovate new strategies. The other crucial concept is to understand why we throw things away. With the help of statistics , the author clearly describes about how functionality is only a part of the reason why we throw t...
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...conscious of our nature and be socially responsible. The one quote that comes to my mind is “ Think locally and act globally “.The author in the “Small is beautiful” analyses the key issue of how humans are over using the existing resources, this is something I would definitely take into consideration in my designs – optimal utilization of resources. Taking small steps towards the larger context makes it simpler to handle the humungous responsibility. Optimum use of resources, using local resources, renewable resources, being socially and economically conscious before trashing stuff that still are functional. I am confident that incorporating these basic strategies in the base level we can take it up to what we call as a “ sustainable “ ( long lasting) world.
The following case study critiques Upton’s vision to establish a sustainable community through implementing comprehensive sustainable strategy. The urban periphery development is thought to demonstrate superior execution of sustainable principles in development (Jackson 2007). As a parallel, the report focuses on the development of Upton’s design code and demonstrates how large -scale mix-use developments can incorporate sustainable practice and principles of urban growth.
In architecture, the “hip” thing today as Bjarke Ingels puts it, is sustainability. The most popular definition of sustainability was defined at a 1987 UN conference. It defined sustainable developments as those that "meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs." While this definition is the most popular for sustainability it does not define any measurable parameters for modeling and measuring sustainable developments. One definition put forth by Vieria in, “A Check List for Sustainable Developments”, sustainability "identifies a concept and attitude in development that looks at a site's natural land, water, and energy resources as integral aspects of the development." Biomimicry uses a site’s natural environment to influence the design. Different environmental aspects play an integral part in the design of the form and function of a building.
Sustainability is an issue that everyone should be concerned about. If the planet Earth is going to exist, as we know it, everyone should wake up and do their part to help achieve a greater level of sustainability. In my English 101 class we learned about the issue of sustainability. Many different topics were discussed and researched throughout the course of the semester. Overall, I think that the sustainability project has been a learning and enlightening experience for everyone in this class. Many more things can be done next semester, since the groundwork has been laid to continue this project for time to come.
The world is developing every day and we continue to discover new and innovative ways to better our quality of life. A trend that everyone seems to be focused on is saving the environment, which is also known as sustainable living. Not only does this apply to our lifestyle and environment, but it also translates into design. Sustainable living is becoming more popular around the world and is a lifestyle using skillful and sensitive design. It eliminates negative environmental impact and requires renewable resources. We each have decided to research different furniture companies to broaden our knowledge of the innovative practices used in each company. Throughout our paper we will introduce each of our companies and the products and practices they use to produce sustainable furniture. Our research will show that sustainable furniture design is beneficial to consumers by allowing them to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle as their manufacturers develop innovative ways to make renewable furniture.
We live in a beautiful world and have many valuable resources and beautiful views all around us almost everywhere we go. Our world supports not only us, but many creatures that are all interwoven and connected to each other in unique and important ways. The greatest binding point that all of us on the Earth have with one another is that world we live in sustains us in our existence. Without it, we wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be able to live. As we go through our daily lives we need to remember this as we make our choices, because if we affect our surroundings so much that their essence is changed or lost, eventually that change will come back to affect us; positively or negatively. In order to make sure that we can continue to enjoy this world, along for those that will come after us, is to work to live sustainably.
Design has established itself as core elements in societies helping countless communities build infrastructure, invent new ways to better living conditions and create design desirable for consumption hence bettering the economy. Though this is a positive, most designers of the 21st century use their skills and their designs alike for those who can afford it; designing for what’s in fact the minority, 10% of the world’s population. The reason why developmental aid and design for development is essential to improving standards of living for those who live in developing countries, but to also bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. Ilse Oosterlaken (2009, p.100) equates most designs for development that use a `participatory' process as having a limited, user-centred approach; and suggests instead a more universal design approach, which she calls ‘capability sensitive design’. This essay will illustrate designs that have contributed to developmental design through capability sensitive design approach, considering sustainable design that are not only better the environment, community health and social welfare but the country’s economic standing. Through evaluating each example’s potential for real, sufficient, diverse and lasting value for the targeted users we can determine each design’s efficiency.
Hegeman, J. (2008). The Thinking Behind Design. Master Thesis submitted to the school of design, Carngie Mellon University. Retrieved from: http://jamin.org/portfolio/thesis-paper/thinking-behind-design.pdf.
This article review forms part of a report, the intention of this literature is to review five articles namely; “Socially Responsive design: Thinking beyond the triple bottom line to socially responsive and sustainable product design” by Gavin Melles, Ian de Vere & Vanja Misic, published in 2011, CoDesign, Vol. 7, No. 2-4, “A “Social Model” of Design: Issues of Practice and Research” By Victor Margolin and Sylvia Margolin, published in 2002, MIT Press, Vol. 18, No.4, “Rethinking Design Policy in the Third World” by Sulfikar Amir, published in 2004, MIT Press, Vol. 20, No. 4, “Design for Children’s Behaviours in Daycare Playgrounds” By Nathan H. Perkins and George Antoniuk, published in 1999, Alexandrine Press, Vol. 25, No. 1, lastly “The Politics of the Artificial” By Victor Margolin, Published in 1995, MIT Press, Vol. 28, No. 5. By reviewing these articles this paper will expose the social responsibilities of a ‘product’ designer, by looking into the history and context of social design. This paper will further bring forth the “ideal” characteristics of a socially responsible ‘product’ designer, and look into participatory design as a methodology for the socially responsible design process.
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.
Sustainability is a concept with a diverse array of meanings and definitions – a widely used glamorous, ambiguous, ambivalent and vague concept that is used by different stakeholder groups in various ways. Presumably to avoid noodling over a terminology or to avoid the confrontation with a definition, most widely the concept is broken down a planning process (c.f. e.g. Döring & Muraca, 2010). That is why most common sustainability is understood as sustainable development.1
Design, first and foremost, is concerned with solving problems, but from where we currently stand we have created more problems than we have solved. Sustainable product design is focusing on creating products with the least possible negative impacts on the environment, featuring eco-sound materials, energy efficiency, and easy recycling.
... architectures would led to a more organic organization beneficial to the people that choose to make their lives in this city. Although this model of a sustainable city is not a perfectly closed loop, it lays the foundation for one that is. Over time, with constantly evolving and improving technology and new methods of design from the scale of products to buildings, the gaps in the loop could be closed, and a “true” sustainable city could be fully realized.
Design has major impact with concerns to environmental qualities. This field is a direct study of the relationship between behaviouristic actions of its inhabitants. Designers constantly interact with people and communicate to solve the needs of their clients regardless of large or small scale projects. Analysis is key in combining creativity with managerial design solutions. These outside-of-the-box designers have the ability to create beautiful, safe and functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces using common factors, designing for communities as well as,
Yan, J. & Plainiotis, S. (2006): Design for Sustainability. Beijing, China: Architecture and Building Press.
By showing the world the severity of our need for conservation, we will be able to save the earth and get the most out of our resources. We need to fix this problem before it becomes uncontrollable to the point of having no resources to supply our needs. By reducing our consumption of resources, we will be able to become closer to fixing the problem of global warming, high gasoline prices and pesticide filled meats. The outcome of respecting our world and “going green” will better how we live our lives, our communities and the environment. The concept of “going green” is a necessity for the future because “our children deserve cities as beautiful as they are.