Sustainability Essay

1.
Sustainable Design
Transformation of Sustainable design.
In the widest sense, sustainability refers to the ability to maintain or "sustain" itself through
time, It is a long-term objective of creating a more sustainable world. (Mollenkamp, 2021)
The term "sustainability" has already permeated several industries. With construction
contributing for a substantial portion of global energy consumption, it is no wonder that
sustainable architecture has emerged as a key concern in the design of cities. Architects are
now pushed not just to create designs that excel in form and function, but also to develop
integrated solutions that include environmental considerations. Sustainable design seeks to
minimize negative environmental consequences as well as the health and comfort of building
occupants, ultimately increasing building performance. The primary goals of sustainability
are to limit the use of non-renewable resources, eliminate waste, and promote healthy,
productive ecosystems. (Barker, N.A.)
According to the World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainability is
defined as development that satisfies the demands of the present without endangering future
generations' ability to satisfy their own needs. When implemented in design or architecture,
this concept refers to design that generates healthy living conditions while attempting to
minimize negative environmental consequences, energy consumption, and human resource
utilization. Sustainable design is expressed in the materials, construction processes, resource
utilization, and overall design of a structure. The design must also allow for sustainable
operation throughout the building's life cycle, including eventual removal. While it must be
useful and visually pleasing, the space must also be built with the goal of ensuring long-term
energy and resource efficiency. (Barker, N.A.)
Picture 1: Principles of Environmentally Sustainable Design [Accessed at: 15th December]
Green architecture or environmental architecture are other terms for sustainable

architecture. It pushes architects to create smart designs and use existing technology to
guarantee that structures have the least amount of negative impact on the ecology and
communities. While cities continue to grow, the Earth as a whole is shrinking. This
expansion has a significant environmental effect since the process of creating new habitats
for our people continually consumes a large portion of our natural resources. The Earth is
not an infinite well that can be replenished at the rate of modernisation. (Stipo, 2015)
The notion of sustainable building first appeared in 1994 during the First International
Conference on Achieving Sustainability in Tampa, Florida, when diverse methods to defining
sustainable construction were expressed. Charles Kibert presented the idea of greater
consensus for the sustainable construction projects at the conference, defining it as "the
creation and operation of a healthy built environment based on ecological principles and
resource efficiency," with soil, materials, energy, and water as being the most important
building resources. Architects must use these resources to establish the following principles
for achieving sustainability, Minimization of resource consumption, Reduction of
maintenance requirements, Recycling of materials at the end of the building life cycle,
Protection of natural systems and their function in all activities; and Promotion of the
quality of the built environment. It also has good social implications, such as ensuring users'
health and comfort through indoor air quality and acoustical comfort, as well as
accessibility, security, and cultural heritage preservation. Furthermore, long-term economic
benefits are provided by sustainable building. (Feria and Amado, 2019, P. 2)
When it comes to the delicate process of adjusting to new circumstances, particularly
something just as wide and incommensurable as the global environmental disaster,
designers can assist in transforming it from a global to a very local, personal scale. The
design process also goes backwards, from the individual to the general, and it is capable of
translating people's aspirations. (Antonelli, 2012)
In the 1960s, Victor Papanek was among the first to address concerns of sustainability and
social design. Design for the Real World, his most significant work, is still the most widely
read design book in the world, having been translated into 23 languages since its release in
1971. In it, Papanek argues for inclusivity, social fairness, and long-term sustainability. These
principles are still very relevant now and have grown essential in many sectors of design and
building. His views, such as opposing the production of useless things, were ahead of their
time, as was his aim to create the groundwork for sustainable and responsible planning in a
society plagued by resource and energy limitations. (Scarzella, 2020)
Picture 2: Victor Papanek.[Accessed: 16th Dec 2021]

Papanek was born in Austria but had to escape to the United States due to Nazi persecution
in 1939. After beginning his career as an industrial designer, he developed a critique of
consumerism that would make him famous throughout the world in the 1960s. This
viewpoint was reflected in Papanek's projects, which he often worked on with students or
collaborators: he built radios and TVs for African nations, electric cars, the Fingermajig (an
device meant to excite the sensation of touch, 1965-1970), and the Living Cubes series in
1973. (Scarzella, 2020)
Picture 3: Victor Papanek on the set of Design Dimensions, a WNED-TV Channel 17 show in
Buffalo, New York (1961-1963) [Accessed: 16th Dec 2021]
Papanek always used simple, plain language with a neat twist of comedy to reach as large an
audience as possible. His purpose was to criticize materialism, propagate the principles
underlying the 1968 protest movements, and address real everyday difficulties. (Scarzella,
2020)
Picture 4: Victor Papanek, Gallery of Living Arts: concept for an exhibition's entry lobby in
Corona Del Mar, California (1949-1952) [Accessed: 16th Dec 2021]
Over his career, Papanek was the first to discuss design as a political tool, a novel notion at
the time that is now widely acknowledged. Design is more than just giving things shape; it is
a transformational instrument that must reflect social and ethical viewpoints. Indeed,
designers like Catherine Sarah Young, Forensic Architecture, Jim Chuchu, Tomás Saraceno,
Gabriel Ann Maher, Brazilian collective Flui Coletivo, and Questtonó are bringing his ideas
into the twenty-first century, addressing complex issues like climate change, non-binary
gender, consumer behavior, and the economic realities of migration. (Scarzella, 2020)
James Hennessey, a designer, was born in 1945, and his family stated that he died on April
6, 2020, from cancer. He received a Fulbright Scholarship and married Sara, his wife of 50
years. Jim had to relocate frequently since he alternated between teaching in North America
and Northern Europe at regular intervals. During his nomadic existence, he gathered
experiences and impressions, which he shared with Victor Papanek in the 1971 and 1973
books Nomadic Furniture 1 & 2. The result was instructions that were more than merely
instructions for self-constructing readily transportable furniture: they rapidly became
international bestsellers and are frequently used as a source of inspiration by budding
designers. (Magnuson, 2020)
Picture 5: Nomadic Furniture 2. Pg.6. [Accessed at: 17th Dec 2021]
The first specifically committed to the production of low-cost, lightweight furniture. This DIT
approach was vitally significant in political and social terms, since it stood in direct contrast
to the unrestrained materialism that dominated at the time.
Their house design concept envisioned everything being light and space-saving: foldable,
inflatable, stackable, and lowering. The guides include step-by-step directions for creating
beds, chairs, couches, stools, and tables out of inexpensive and repurposed materials. Ideas
that inspire creativity while also saving money, and that popularized a practical and
responsible attitude at a period when environmental awareness was not as advanced as it is
now. (Magnuson, 2020)
Picture 5: Relaxation Cube
Nomadic Furniture 1, Pantheon Books, 1973. [Accessed at: 17th Dec 2021]
Bibliography.
1. Barker. (N.A.) “Sustainable Architecture: What is it and How do we achieve it?”

Available At: https://www.barker-associates.co.uk/service/architecture/what-is-
sustainable-architecture [Accessed at: 15th December 2021]
2. Stipo, Francisco J. Farias. (2015) “A Standard Design Process for Sustainable
Design” Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050915009217 [Accessed at:
15th December 2021]
3. Feria, Margarida and Amado, Miguel.(2019) “Architectural Design: Sustainability in
the Decision- Making Process” Available at: www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings
[Accessed at: 15th December 2021]
Image
1. Environmental Sustainable Design Principles. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Environmental-sustainable-design-
principles_fig1_283317217 [Accessed at: 15th December]
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Green architecture or environmental architecture are other terms for sustainable

Picture 2: Victor Papanek.[Accessed: 16th Dec 2021]

1. Barker. (N.A.) “Sustainable Architecture: What is it and How do we achieve it?”

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