what is sustainable design?

Through my research in ten or so different magazines and journals, I have formulated my own definition of what sustainable design is.

From the November 2007 Dwell; an article about product designer Richard Hutten:
"'The plywood seat and metal frame [chair] has been done so many times before... So I thought, how can I add anything to that?' ...he decided to reduce raw materials and create a lighter, more sustainable chair."
From this tiny snippet of an article, Sustainable design is: looking at what's been done before (precedent studies), picking out what works, reducing the excess, and making something just as good or ever better that is longer lasting, and more durable.

From the December 2007 Architectural Record; an article about the sustainability of zinc:
"Durability is not only a matter of simple longevity, but also of the costs necessary in maintaining a material throughout its life, and those involved in disposing of it at the end (or, ideally, at the beginning of its use in yet another product)."
After reading this article, I learned that zinc is "virtually 100% recyclable and ecologically friendly at every step in it's life cycle." It can be used time and time again, and in this particular article they are using it for roofing and siding on buildings. The idea of sustainability in this article is that we must research existing materials and learn which ones are recyclable and able to be used again. This way, we can eleminate the not-so-good materials and replace them with more recyclable ones, so this way a larger percent of our world is recyclable. I also learned from this article that sustainability is not only making materials that last, but making sure it will be able to be used again.

From the November 2007 issue of Dwell; letter from the editor in chief, Sam Grawe:
"This issue is filled with stories about real people who are doing, people who can inspire and teach us how to be better to our planet. They know about things like gray-water filtration and the advantages of factory-built housing. Together we'll see how this sustainability fad unravels, and we'll keep on plugging away, quietly doing what we've always done without all the pomp and circumstance."
This whole letter was about how Grawe is "over" sustainability. Well, not necessarily "over" it, but more so- tired of hearing about everyone talking about it and not acting on it. Grawe says that we should have done something about making our building greener a long time ago, which is extremely true. I like that he features real people in his magazine, actually acting on making our world greener. From this article, sustainability is something that we constantly need to have in our minds. We need to be aware of the state of our planet, and make sure that the things we use can be used again. We need to listen to all those celebrities who are going green, and actually do something about it. Sustainability is something that we must practice every day.

From the November 2007 issue of Interior Design; an article about Envision's headquarters for the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America):
As the byline for this article is, "'Green' is the greatest hit in the new office design..." I figured the article would tell me that the RIAA was looking to reform their headquarters into something more environmentally friendly. After reading, I discovered instead that one of the main reasons behind their "going green" was because it "reflects the current thinking about sustainable office design..." This angers me, because this should definitely not be the only reason, and I really couldn't find another one in the article. I suppose what the RIAA is doing can be a good thing, because maybe all the "hipsters" (as the article calls them) will follow the RIAA in going green (although all the "hipsters" hate the RIAA for not letting them download music...?)
Sustainability needs to start becoming less of a fad and more of a daily practice. (On a side note, Envision also designed the headquarters for Greenpeace.)

In almost every one of the magazines I've been researching in, I've found more than one advertisement for sustainable and recyclable building materials. This shows that sustainability is becoming more and more accessible to the general public- anyone that reads a design related magazine. Hopefully in the future, going green with life- not just design- will be extremely common and easy for everyone.

My working definition:
When I first learned about sustainable design, I had no idea that it was such a popular and talked about issue. Now, after researching in 50 or so different magazines throughout the course of my design research (I saved this part for last), I realize how prominent and important it is in the world of design. You would think that sustainability is an easy thing to define, but in actuality there are many different and separate parts that make up what it is to design sustainably.

Firstly, to be sustainable in your design, you have to know what isn't sustainable. You have to do a little research and find out what's worked and what hasn't, as well as learning about materials that are durable, lasting, and recyclable. You also have to make sure that the material will definitely be able to be using sometime in the future, hopefully a really long time into the future.

I've never really been that big of an environmentalist, but after doing this research, I am beginning to feel more and more strongly about it. Towards the end of my research, I saw an ad for a new high-tech electronic shower-controller thingy, and was outraged when I read that the maximum water power was 21 gallons per minute!!! That is a ridiculous amount of water! I've learned that it really is up to us to take care of our environment, and what better way to start than the spaces that we build to live in?

Sustainability is something that we constantly need to think about and explore. We need to talk about to others, and get others thinking, but eliminate the fact that it is a fad. We can't forget about it, because one day, our planet might not be here. We need to make the things that we build on this earth last, and become things that help the earth, not destroy it. After all, the earth helps us survive everyday, so why shouldn't we help the earth survive?