Sustainable design! well, what exactly is sustainable design? According to Wikipedia, sustainable design (also called environmental design, environmentally sustainable design, environmentally conscious design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. By the way the definition of site Wikipedia was still less simple, right? If so, I will try to simplify.
Sustainable Design
Sustainable design is general reaction to the global environmental crisis, the rapid growth of economic activity and human population, depletion of natural resources, damage to ecosystems and biodiversity loss. Thus, 'sustainability' in this case is the concept of environmental linkages, economic, and social justice, a journey, a way forward, as the responsibility for the future of our heritage, for the sake of a better life for our offspring. It's all about what we can do for the future of the earth getting better and better.
The principle of sustainable design has the ability to:
- Optimizing the potential sites
- Reduce consumption of energy sources that can not be regenerated
- Using environmentally friendly products
- Protecting and conserving water
- Improving indoor environmental quality
William McDonough Architects developed the principles that should be possessed of the earth in the future through sustainable design:
1. Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist
2. Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend on the natural world, with a broad and diverse implications at every scale. Increase the design considerations and consider the long-term effects.
3. Respect relationships between spirit and matter. Consider all aspects of human settlement including community, residential, industrial, and trade in terms of existing and developing the relationship between material and spiritual awareness.
4. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design.
5. Create safe objects of long-term value. Do not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance or vigilant administration of potential danger due to careless creation of products, processes, or standards.
6. Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and optimize the full life cycle of products and processes, to approach the state of natural systems where there is waste.
7. Rely on natural energy flows. Human design should be like the world to live, get their creative forces from perpetual solar income or the sun. Optimizing this energy efficiently and safely for responsible use.
8. Understand the limitations of design. No human creation that can stand forever and design can not solve all problems. Those who create and plan should practice humility in the use of nature. Treat nature as a model and mentor, rather than inconvenience to be avoided or controlled.
9. Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge. Encourage direct and open communication between colleagues, customers, manufacturers and users to link long term sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility, and reestablish the integral relationship between natural processes and human activities.
Microcosm and Macrocosm
Then how is the application? Have you ever heard the term micro or macro? Microcosm / micro is small objects for everyday use. Macrocosm or macro is a building, the city and the physical surface of the earth. Micro and macro is a philosophy that can be applied in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, urban planning, engineering, graphic design, industrial design, interior design and fashion design.
Ann Arbor, Michigan - Sustainable City
One example of sustainable design in the city of Michigan, Ann Arbor. This city planners are interested in creating sustainable urban design in designing their infrastructure using a variety of design and engineering principles.
They make the theory of Intelligent Growth, transit-oriented development, sustainable urban infrastructure and new urbanization. Smart Growth theory is a theory of urban planning and transport in growth-oriented filler sites within the existing infrastructure in the city to avoid urban explosions, land use for cycling, including mixed use development with a variety of housing options. Also there are efforts to develop transit transport, namely to maximize access to public transport and thus reduce the need to use private vehicles. Public transport is regarded as a form of sustainable urban infrastructure, which is a design approach that promotes conservation, energy efficient buildings, wildlife corridors, distributed power generation and wastewater treatment. The term 'New Urbanism' is more of a movement of social and aesthetic urban design from one green, but do not emphasize the diversity of land use and population, as well as walkable communities that reduce the need for travel or reduce the use of automotive fuel vehicles.
Coclusion
That's a quick explanation about sustainable design, hopefully the language that I use in this article are quite simple and hopefully for those of you who read can begin to preserve the earth in the future, by thinking carefully the impact of the construction of a building, be it building mall, trade center or housing, think about how nature will respond ...
