Week 2 - Holistic Approach to Building Design and Construction

 Week 2 - Holistic Approach to Building Design and Construction 

There have recently been some new ways of designing and building over the last decade with the introduction of BIM. This emphasizes a team approach and introduces other green building rating systems. This has lead to Theories of Sustainable Design:

•The Natural Step

• To become a sustainable society we must eliminate our contributions to conditions that systematically undermine people's capacity to meet their basic needs

•Ecological Design

• Integrating the built world and the natural world (Christopher Alexander and William McDonough-Hannover Principles)

•Hannover Principles

1.Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist

2.Recognize interdependence

3.Respect relationships between spirit and matter

4.Accept responsibility for the consequence of design

5.Create safe objects of long-term value

6.Eliminate the concept of waste

7.Rely of natural energy flows

8.Understand the limitations of design

9.Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge

•Biomimicry

• Using design found in nature to solve human problems (Janine Benyus)

•Permaculture

• Creating a local ecosystem that is sustainable (Holmgren and Mollison)

•National Park Service

• Responsible for maintaining and managing preserve national parks, monuments and historical sites across the US

•Cradle to Cradle

• Book and theory of eliminating waste in the behalf of the planet (McDonough and Braungart)

•Biophilic Design

• Integration of nature and design based on nature into interior design 

• Used in new interior design to heal the body soul mind, etc

•Ecological Footprint

• The assessment of the environmental impact of a product, building or system in sustainable design 

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The team members that are a part of sustainable design in a building are

1. Architect

2. Interior Designer

3. Engineer

4. General Contractor

5. Owner

6. Specialists

7. LEED Accredited Professional

• A LEED accredited professional has passed the LEED exam administered by the US Green Building Council. This Accreditation attests to a person’s familiarity with green building practices, and the LEED Rating system

Interior Space study 

I looked around at the Upper commons by the cafeteria to see the way people interacted and the way that it affected people psychologically.  It is very nice how the furniture determines the way that social groups interact with the independent desks for studying compared to the couches and the pool table where there is more collaboration and interaction between students. It is very nice to see people there and makes me happy to study there and get homework done by the nice big windows with natural lighting and good views.