DESIGN

To design is to see a pattern within a relationship and make predictions based on that pattern. The word design derives from the Latin word signare, meaning to mark. Inherent in design then is the concept of a sign, an indicator. When we design with sensitivity to ecology we become aware of the signs that nature provides to guide us in design decisions.

In response to our environmental crisis there is a need for a more cohesive, holistic design intelligence; one that respects all forms of life while taking into account future sustainability; one that reconnects the fragmented pattern between human and ecological systems.

Rethinking design is fundamental to bringing about sustainability because design is the interface to material flows between human culture and natural systems. Design decisions coordinate the exchange of nutrients, energy, and information between humans and the environment. As it is now, the exchange is too simple: we take resources from the environment at rates that are non-renewable and give back pollution at rates faster than can be absorbed.

If examined within a holistic context, the relationship our designs have on the environment are complex and extensive. Let us imagine we are going to design a simple shelter. When seen from an ecologically holistic perspective, many questions arise. Are the materials used to build renewable? Are they processed with toxins, adding pollution to the environment? Are they recyclable or reusable if the shelter were ever to be dismantled? Are the materials derived locally or was a huge amount of energy required to ship them from across the world? Are people suffering in developing countries to produce these materials? Does this shelter displace wildlife? What is the impact of my design on the environment whole? These are the questions of Ecological Design.

Design may then be defined in the context of ecology as, “the intentional shaping of matter, energy, and process to meet a perceived need or desire. Design is the hinge that inevitably connects culture and nature through exchanges of material, flows of energy, and choices of land use.”

“The everyday world of buildings, artifacts, and domesticated landscapes is a designed world, one shaped by human purpose. The physical form of this world is a direct manifestation of what is most valued in our culture. . . In many ways, the environmental crisis is a design crisis. It is a consequence of how things are made, buildings are constructed, and landscapes are used. Design manifests culture, and culture rests firmly on the foundation of what we believe to be true about the world. Our forms of agriculture, architecture, engineering, and industry are derived from design epistemologies incompatible with nature’s own. It is clear that we have not given design a rich enough context. We have used design cleverly in the service of narrowly defined human interests but have neglected its relationship with our fellow creatures. Such myopic design cannot fail to degrade the living world, and by extension, our own health. . .If we believe we can sever our design decisions from their ecological consequences, we will design accordingly.”

Thus nature provides a model for a new way of designing. Whereas the machine was the paradigm of industrial design, nature is the paradigm for ecological design. Incorporating an awareness of ecological sustainability into human systems is the practice of ecological design.