Sustainable Design 2.0

Last semester I had my first dose of sustainable design-- it was enough to completely change my major. Sustainable Design is a necessary part of our future if we want to be able to continue the type of life we expect as Americans. Resources are running out point blank. There is NOTHING that can be done about fossil fuels besides to find ways to replace them. There is NOTHING to do with old trash, but to find BETTER trash. Objects can be made easy and affordable using sustainable materials and in general they will be stronger and better lasting then there non-sustainable predecessors.


What IS sustainability? Quite simply, it is the capacity to endure (wikipedia). Simple concept right? The ability to endure use, to endure production, to endure continual production. Sustainability is continual, and is a cradle to cradle production meaning the end result does not live in a landfill for hundreds of years.

Sustainable design has different factions and ideas to it. It is about the end user, the customer, having a product that is good for the environment that people feel is there own. That is where the idea of "customerization" comes into play. It is allowing the customer to determine the end result of the project. This is very interesting because it takes the final touches away from the artist and makes it more about the person who will be interacting with this object every day of their life. To put this into perspective, this is like when you were a kid and decorated your notebooks for school. It identified it as your own and made it something you were proud to carry around with you.

Another thing sustainable design is interested in is "localism". It is the act of keeping the materials sustainable and close to where they are produced. That is maybe using local wool when you knit a scarf or using a local fabric tailor to produce your clothing line. Localism is more then just keeping shipping costs of materials down, it keeps local businesses IN business.

Sustainable design is new in the U.S. It would be wrong of any of us to say we have it all figured out. It is constantly a question of "Is this sustainable design?" I mean if it is natural and unaltered it might be sustainable but if its a product of industrial wastes it might still be sustainable because its using every bit of the production process for something constructive.