The Philosophy of Sustainable Design by Jason F. McLennan
Handout Pages 1-34
"Sustainable Design is an idea whose time has come." (p. 2) So new ideas begin to emerge in order to solve the problems that exist. It's with time that a transformation emerges in buildings and designing that sparks a new period/process. Using the terms " sustainable design" and "green architecture" people are able to advertise basically anything they want. People just throw out these terms even when they don't truly understand the meaning of them. It's just a form of advertising and getting their idea/name spread. It's interesting because now days we ourselves create new words in order to get things across like "facebooking" and "tweeting". Change is happening everywhere!
"The word 'sustainable' has been applied to many buildings that do not deserve the designation, thus shrouding the few that do." (p. 2) So the few that are actually trying to help us with the hole we have dug ourselves into are getting their creditability ruined due to the posers elsewhere. "Sustainable design is not about features." (p. 2) Yet we have made it such a thing. It's as if we are spreading knowledge that we don't even truly know. So in turn we are actually spreading lies. It's like we are gossiping like some housewives or children!
The older generations are trying to change, but it's the newer generations that hold the key to our survival. The phrase "you can't teach a dog new tricks" comes to mind because the older people are stuck in their own ways and change sometimes scares them. Or for those that are "trying" to change, the attempt is there, but the success isn't.
Do we truly know what being sustainable is?!
The idea of comfort plays a major role in the development towards sustainability because people felt that it meant they would have to sacrifice their comfort. This wasn't the case....it was just false advertising (which appears to be a norm for our culture). So in turn the idea of sustainability scared people away because to them change meant stepping away from their norm.
****"Sustainable design is an approach that looks to the design process to heal as well as it has damaged." (p. 5)**** It's as if we have finally started worrying about our future!
The true, original roots of sustainable lies with our ancestors back in a time when technology was very limited and very primal. During this time they didn't know it, but they were using only what they needed and not consuming in excess and in turn they didn't harm the earth. But for those civilizations that did harm the earth and use too much, their history will forever live on in our history. The trial and error of the world....Greed is a major player in this whole process. Greed at times gets the best of us all and this can be seen throughout time.
Has technology hurt us ultimately?! In the past natives used local materials to achieve the necessary essentials, while today we travel outside our realm because we have the technology too. Examples that we should look towards are the animals around us because they have survived centuries and centuries and evolved along with nature with no problems. We have lost touch with our environment because all we do it drastically alter it to fit our needs versus what is good for the environment. It's the greedy nature of us.
"In general, the harder a place was to reach or penetrate by humans of any culture, the less environmental impact occurred." (p.20) That thought has radically changed through the years. Today, we can adapt to basically any environment due to the technology we possess. With the new technology came new levels of comfort for us. Technology has become the backbone of our society, and without we would surely collapse.
We have created our own problems/consequences!!!
Through countless inventions we thought we were bettering ourselves, but underneath we were actually harming ourselves. Like with the invention of leaded gasoline that we found out lead to cancer and birth defects. I feel that we can't just blame certain people for the downfall of our connection to nature because they invented to help us. We asked them for it and enjoyed it as a luxury; we just want an escape goat to blame our failures on.
Media in my eyes plays a significant role in the whole process. Media could have posted the early warning signs that would have easily spared us. Even today media is providing some information on the concerns at hand, but how are we to know what is true and what isn't. The people, like me, have lost faith in the media as an effective tool.
The 1980s brought about cheaper energy costs, but to people that meant that conserving wasn't needed. It's as if our priorities went elsewhere. This marked a time when there were actually people designing green architecture and all for a great cause, and yet in turn they made not a lot of money. There little greed attached to their actions logic has forever vanished.
The 1990s marked a time of trial and error, just like what our ancestors did before. Hopefully the trial and errors we did won't bite later on like so many civilizations before.
Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
Introduction and Chapter 1 Pages 3-44
This book is unlike another book I have seen before, and this is because of the material used to construct the book itself. It's made of plastic instead of paper, and this helps to keep it waterproof and very durable. In response to the growing issue of recycling and everything, this book can actually be "upcycled", which means it can recycled to create something better than it's original form. Unlike with plastic bottles they can only be recycled into their same form or something of lesser value that has yet another short life spam. This is called "downcycling" that means eventually the recycled item it destined to end up in a landfill, which defeats the purpose of recycling in the first place. One concern I have with this book so far based just on the book itself and not the context within is that I understand it's made for plastic and can be "upcycled" and can have a longer life span than other products.....my issue lies within the fact that the book is under 200 pages long and yet it costs almost $30, which is almost double or triple a typical paper book of that length. I understand the theory behind the chose of material, but what about the cost issue?! That is a HUGE factor that should be greatly considered.
Within society there will always be the group of people entitled the "hippies", which at times can be mocked by modern culture for their beliefs. These "hippies" are the ones that live without certain luxuries, which seems so absurd to others. Yet in time that will most likely be the way we survive....
The problem that has been baffling people everywhere is the development of a universal solution to any concern. But you can't apply "universal solutions to local circumstances" (p. 8). This is something that is throwing us behind because every area around the world has different characteristics that can't be tied to each and every other place. That is what makes each area so unique, but also creates problems that need solving.
This book has already been to shock me and I have just read up to chapter one. It has made me start to question what is within the genetics of every item around me....and that is rather SCARY!!! This book makes me feel like people should start to question what is within everything, instead of just remaining stationary and just accepting around them. This logic is greatly flawed.
Where would we be without technology?
How do we progress towards change in a safe way?
This transition from complex natural items to simple man-made ones is going to lead to our demise. It's like we are just taking the quickest and easiest route. And even with this idea of the high-tech realm we live within....is it really even high-tech....? I think not! The things around you that you deem to be high-tech are actually comprised of low grade material that is actually set to expire at certain times in order to force you to buy one after the other. It's a never ending cycle.
There needs to be a stand and change in the way parts from overseas are monitored and regulated. Companies have found loop holes that satisfy their urges, but at what cost???!!!
