Blog 7: The Green Imperative Papanek, Victor. “The Green Imperative: Ecology and Ethics in Design and Architecture.” London: Thames and Hudson, 1995.
1. In Chapter 1, on the first page, Papanek exhorts that we each examine our ethical responsibilities towards our eco-system, based on our specific role in society.
Describe how you could, or already are, making an undertaking to consider the impact of your work/ lifestyle on the environment.
When I was growing up I was told that the single most important contribution one could make to the environment was not to drive. I have kept to this for 50 years, but for most of my life I have lived in places where public transport is very good (Wellington, London and Zurich) and this was not a problem. I am finding that Auckland has been testing my limits as a public transport user and many people tell me it will be difficult to get an interior design job without a license, so my commitment to this is wavering.
I used to fly internationally a great deal in an earlier part of my life, but I changed my attitude to this a lot after seeing Al Gore's “An Inconvenient Truth”.
See U tube link www.youtube.com/watch ?v=wnjx6KETmi4
I am ashamed to say that before seeing this movie in 2007 I did not understand the link between flying and carbon emissions. These days I fly much less. As an interior designer it is important to design to the highest standards possible so that the client will not wish to update the design and to use durable products that will not need replacing. I look for furniture that can be deconstructed into its component parts and recycled and try to select furniture, paints and wood treatments do not release VOCs that could adversely impact interior air quality. In the selection of wood products I look for renewable timbers. I also look at the statements made by manufactures about the waste products created in the manufacturing process. I try not to print materials for clients but instead show them on a laptop or email material to them.
As a lighting designer I recommend products on the basis of energy efficacy (although this is often a bit difficult to do as many manufacturers make misleading claims for their products) and durability of lamps and luminaries.
Do you agree with Papanek that environmental considerations are a contemporary necessity for designers? Why?
I agree with Papnek that environmental considerations should be an important focus for designers because I think that the way in which fashion enters into the design process creates the potential for a lot of waste, as products get thrown out before the end of their useful life simply because they have gone out of style.
In addition in the past, designers have paid little attention to what happens when products get thrown “away”, but I have come to realize that there is no “away”.
I think some of these ideas are well illustrated in the You tube link The Story of Stuff: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM
2. In Chapter 2, pg. 29- 32, Papanek describes 6 stages to consider for designers to produce environmentally sound projects.
Find a “green star” rated building or an “eco-friendly” product in a journal or on the internet with enough information provided to answer the following:
Beesonline is based in Waimauku. It has won numerous awards - Sustainable business Challenge Award – Trailblazer in 2007, the E_Award (for promoting responsible environmental behaviour and ethics) among others. (Beesonline)
The Beesonline building was designed by Herceg Architects. It has many green features like a flat green roof with grass treatment terraces that permits rainwater to be collected and filtered so that it reaches a drinkable state and can be re-used. The green roof (which has insulating properties) and the concrete slab floor combine to reduce the need for mechanical heating or cooling. The building is naturally ventilated, it has a louvre roof which can be opened for ventilation (Herceg). It also features a system of gabion baskets that assist in the water filtration process and protect against erosion. There is no carpet installed in the interior, which assists ensuring the internal air quality. (Turner)
In the Beeonline environmental statement they say that they have chosen “ indigenous site landscaping to increase the local wetlands and encourage wildlife to inhabit these areas”. (Beesonline)
Image Source: David Turner’s Architecture Technology paper – Lecture Notes 7th April 2009
The production process that the company uses is natural and supports the bee population. The honey it produces is very high quality and promotes healing. The product is packaged in glass, which is a good environmental choice. Their land management policy has been to use only organic sprays and fertilisers. (Beeonline)
In many respects this business is exemplary. However, there is an epilogue to this story. I noticed that not much has been heard about this business since about 2008. I also noticed that in the Beesonline website the links to the details of the organic certification of the honey and the sustainability business network no longer work. I found out from an article in Life and Leisure magazine that they have recently suffered an infestation of varroa bee mite that meant forfeiting organic certification for the hives because of the required treatment. I also visited the site recently. The visitor’s centre that was used to raise awareness and provide education about the ecosystem, GE free and organic certification, the healing properties of honey and bees themselves, has been closed. In addition, they told be that they have closed down the factory and moved all honey production to a site in Hamilton.
I think that this a sad outcome and that it shows that building an environmentally sustainable business may be more difficult than it looks. I still think it is very very important to try.
Works Cited
Beeonline website www.beesonline.co.m=nz Web 26th September 2011
David Turner’s Architecture Technology paper – Lecture Notes 7th April 2009
Herceg Architects http://www.hercegarchitecture.com/ Web 17 October 2011
New Zealand Life and Leisure http://www.nzlifeandleisure.co.nz/node/790?page=0%2C1 Web 29th October
No comments:
Post a Comment