The five main goals of ecological design
30 May '07 from David Arkin
The first goal is to harmonize with the site. Real estate folks like to say, "location, location, location," and the same is really true in ecological design: understanding the topography, the microclimate, the vegetation and the ecosysystems that are at work at a place and really trying to put those into action.
Our second goal, which is somewhat ironic as architects, is to build as little as possible. And that, for us, is being as space efficient as we can. The simple answer is to build less house.
The third goal is that buildings should be able to heat and cool themselves and generate their own electricity.
The fourth goal is to maximize resource efficiency: understanding where materials come from, and what the resources are behind them, and also integrating natural building systems such as straw bale, rammed earth, cob or adobe where appropriate.
And then, the final goal is to show that ecological design can be beautiful and bring it to the mainstream.
(Want to read more of David Arkin's thoughts on ecological design? Check out his interview at Treehugger!)
image Edward Caldwell
Buy Local
Understanding where the products come from is such an essential aspect of green building and one that is often overlooked. We're looking for ways to incorporate local purchasing into our "green features" checklist/rating system. Each listing posted on www.GreenHomeFinder.com is assigned a "leaf" value based on the number of energy efficient, sustainable and healthy features it contains. Right now we have "25% of building materials purchased locally", "50% of building materials purchased locally" etc., but I'm afraid it's too general/broad and would like to give more points to those that have earned it. What are If you have any thoughts or suggestions for us, please share them :-)
Great Post...just one addition, please!
All of what you have written is important and although you mentioned knowing where materials come from, I'd like to just expand that a little to include interior finishes. I have been hearing some very disturbing news from some of the manufacturer's reps we work with; they are saying some of the interior finishes, like recycled carpeting and other sustainable flooring, are being switched out for flooring that does not qualify, in terms of VOCs, for being environmentally friendly. Although every part of the building process is important, I would urge build/design professionals and homeowners to not compromise the indoor air quality in their homes by using toxic finishings, furnishings, etc... after putting in so much thought and effort into the rest of the project.