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Design & Sustainability Principles

Respond to the Triple Bottom Line:

  Take care of the people - clients | users | consultants | builders | neighbors | culture

  Take care of the environment - climate | flora | fauna | resources

  Take care of the financial resources - initial expenses | operational expenses

To do this:

Prepare - fully understand the problem before offering a solution

Integrate the process - sustainable/regenerative design is to be embedded in the process, not applied on top

Integrate the team – involve all decision makers, users and disciplines early in the process

Be sensible -– use discipline in size, scale and program | find simple, elegant solutions | know when to streamline

Promote density -– include the most functions & people that can sensibly be included in a given volume of space | reduce the footprint per person ratio

Properly Site & Orient -– connect to public transportation systems | orient buildings to take advantage of the sun & natural amenities | minimize impact on nature

Consider human health & well being -– incorporate nature | be thoughtful in material selections | apply indoor air quality strategies | incorporate daylighting and views

Reduce water consumption -– select plant material & design irrigation systems to reduce consumption | select water efficient plumbing fixtures

Reduce energy consumption -– first focus on a quality building envelope | incorporate energy modeling to analyze all energy related building forms & systems | Utilize daylighting to reduce artificial lighting | incorporate on-site energy production

Think local -– use local materials & resources wherever possible

Work towards timelessness -– understand what expressions and innovations will last | avoid the trendy, ostentatious and insincere | architecture should speak of its time and place, but have a greater longing for timelessness

Be Poetic - Find “the soul” and express it poetically

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