Sustainable Strategies For the Integrated Design Process.

     When an interior designer is part of team that is developing a sustainable design it is important to recognize each role everyone plays in the team. Starting with management. Management is responsible for ensuring that the sustainable attributes of the built environment, like construction, are properly implemented, operate effectively, and are well maintained. The next team involved is the pre-design team.  During this stage the design team should establish polices and procedures for facilitating communication and decision-making. One essential part of this stage includes the collaboration stage where the team members will sit down and discuss what they know about sustainability and how to apply it to the project. Having diverse team members including diverse interest, motivations, and opinions is necessary so every basis is covered. Next is the programing phase that includes two parts: gathering relevant information and then analyzing the data collected. During the programing phase questions like the requirements from the client, an analysis of the area and site of the building, initial budget and life cycle costs, and current codes and regulations are addressed. Next is one of the most creative stages, the schematic design phase. Interior designers can contribute a great deal to this, as they understand the necessary requirements of interiors and how they affect those occupying the space. During the schematic design phase the team will look at the site plan and brainstorm ways for a building to interact with it’s surrounding.  Other solutions the design team will look at are the exploration of water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.  The overall purpose of this stage is to explore all solutions for the project. During this phase the design team should also focus on ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle materials and resources. The next phase is the design development stage. This is where the designers will create detailed drawings and specifications. When the designers present these detailed drawings and specifications they should focus on sustainability and its importance to current and future generations. Emphasizing this not only to the client but also to the contractors should encourage the involvement of the contractors and venders to the commitment of sustainability.

            After the initial design and building process there is maintenance and requirements to ensure a buildings sustainability. The designers should constantly monitor any substitutions that may occur during the progression of the building process or after the building process. This is to make sure that sustainable practices and changes are applied accurately. The design team should also provide the client and the occupants with a variety of documents related to operating and maintaining a sustainable environment. This is for the occupants to better understand sustainability and the interaction between the building they are occupying and sustainable practices. This is also for the client to understand sustainable maintenance practices that should be administered over a buildings lifetime.

*Information received from: Sustainable design for interior environments . (2nd ed.). Fairchild Books.

Sustainable Strategies for Integrated Designs: Commercial and Residential Interiors:

            As an interior designer it is our job to help educated and engage our clients on a design. When designing sustainable interiors interior designers must be educated upon many different strategies to integrate this into their design. There are two main types of design I will touch upon: commercial and residential. Both of these types of interior designs are done inside buildings, so it is therefor important to understand different approaches to sustainable buildings to better understand and apply sustainability to their interiors. There are four basic approaches for the treatments of properties, which can conserve resources, materials, land, and energy all while diverting waste to landfills: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. Preservation, “ places a high premium on the retention of all historic fabric through conservation, maintenance, and repair. It reflects a buildings continuum over time, through successive occupancies, and the respectful changes and alterations that are made”. For example an old building on a plantation would have an interior decorated using the same fabrics and furniture it did when it was first built. Rehabilitation, “emphasizes the retention and repair of historic materials, but more latitude is provided for replacement because it is assumed the property is more deteriorated prior to work”.  Rehabilitation focuses on keeping the historic character of a building by maintain the floor plan for example and the drapery, however the drapery many need to be mended and or replaced. Buildings may also fall under adaptive reuse projects meaning the building is rehabilitated into a building for new use. An example in Laramie including the Civic Center that was once a school but is now used for offices and businesses. Restoration “focuses on the retention of materials from the most significant time in a property’s history, while permitting the removal of materials from other periods”. Reconstruction “establishes limited opportunities to re-create a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object in all new materials”. For example in Green River a historic school caught on fire and burned down so the building could be reconstructed back to its original structure. When considering the optimal strategy for a buildings reuse one must take into account the importance in history, physical condition, proposed use, and the mandated code requirements.

            Commercial interiors are important to include sustainable practices in as these facilities are impacted and used by large amounts of people. Offices have a significant impact of millions of workers, the environment, and financial viability of an organization. As many performances are being held in an office a flexible floor plan is necessary, especially in the fast changing environment we live in today. Spaces should also be designed to serve multiple purposes. As businesses are focused on productivity lots of daylight should be incorporated to increase productivity. Floor plans must also accommodate for changing technologies. Schools are significant buildings that use large amounts of energy and light. It is therefore important to provide controls for mechanical systems like this, as schools are not used all of the year. Daylight should also be incorporated into the design to increase productivity and decrease energy consumption. Room acoustics should be brought into consideration as well to increase productivity and comfort. Anther strategy to include in schools is the educational aspect of the sustainable building. Like the Business building here on campus, the building should provide education material towards how it is helping the environment. Healthcare facilities are another significant structure that impacts the environment, especially when it comes to energy consumption due to heat loss/gain and electricity. Facilities should be up to date to ensure the most effective use of energy and include water-reducing fixtures. Efficient use of space is also important as the healthcare industry and its technology is frequent to change. Hotels, restaurants, and retail stores are unique in that the relay on customer satisfaction. Hotels, in order to engage the owner to incorporate sustainable practices they must be convinced that the consumer will expect or appreciated these practices. Interior designers can share to the client that customers are interested in environmentally friendly practices. Also since the majority of customers are ones who frequently travel it is safe to say they have already been exposed to sustainable design and therefor the design will become standard to them. Restaurants have a very large concern towards energy consumption and durable materials, furnishings, and finishes. It is important to consider an entrance vestibule to reduce heat loss or gain and to provide daylight in breakfast and lunch spots. Retail Stores are another location that uses an excessive amount of electrical light and therefor uses lots of energy and is prone to high heat gain. To find a niche retailers may want to consider environmentally or ecologically focused retailing. This would me recreating the retail experience with more natural daylight, education about the buildings sustainability, and areas for more accurate separating and collecting of recyclables.

            Residential interiors are other very important spaces to take sustainability into account. It is important for the interior designer to first understand the scope of clients they will be working with. Many people in the United States find it necessary to go bigger in terms of square footage. However when taking sustainability into account it is important to remind your client to invest in residencies with quality finishes and furnishings, rather than spaces with unnecessary large square footage. One important element of designing a sustainable residence is to make sure the floor plan is flexible and adaptable. As many people will live in a home for an extended period of time their family may increase or decrease and it is important to have a home that will adapt well with the changing seasons. Adaptable rooms also do not have to serve a specific purpose, similar to Japanese interiors; they can be large open rooms with dividing screens or flexible rooms in general. Residences should also be designed to encourage sustainable lifestyles. Well-designed and accessible recycling areas, easy to use compost, and easy to use grey water systems are something to consider when designing a space. To reduce the use of transportation the location of the building should be considered as well as including spaces with bike storage. Sustainable energy practices can also be incorporated into residential interior design. Controllable thermostats, energy-efficient lighting, low-flow water systems, and the reducing or elimination of convenience appliances should be considered.

            Renovating residential interiors is a great way to incorporate sustainability into ones life style as well as updating a house that uses too much energy. When renovating one should try to use all finishes like built in cabinets or tiling and furniture that still has a usable life span. Updating the HVAC systems and implementing prevention methods to reduce mold are necessary to increase the overall life span of a building and will help improve the IEQ.

*Information received from Winchip, S. (2011). Sustainable design for interior environments . (2nd ed.). Fairchild Books.

Regulations, Programs, and Organizations.

            The whole world has started to address sustainability in some way. Either through recognizing there needs to be a change or actually establishing change governments, organizations, and agencies have been developing policies, laws, regulations, and building codes regarding sustainable practices. One regulation that is the basis for protecting the environment is NEPA or the Nation Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Some main goals of this act include preventing or eliminated damage to the environment and biosphere, to stimulate health and welfare of people, to Enright the understanding of ecological systems and the importance of natural resources, and to establish the council on Environmental Quality. As sustainability encompasses so many aspects I will further explore acts, laws, and regulations that affect sustainability.

            Water and energy are two very important components that have a large impact on a buildings ability to be sustainable. The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1977 and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 are two of the most important legislations created to protect the quality of water. They strive to eliminate the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters, provide the protection and propagation for fish shellfish, and wildlife, provide for recreation in and on the water, and prohibit the discharge of toxic pollutants in toxic amounts. It is important to be aware of this act as an interior designer as you may be working with a business that discharges pollutants and you must be aware if they are doing so in water. The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975 introduced a array of important federal environmental legislation related to energy conservation. Including a national energy plan in the United States stating to encourage energy conservation and efficiency, promote alternative and renewable energy sources, reduce dependency on foreign sources of energy, increase domestic production, modernize the electricity grid, and encourage the expansion of nuclear energy.  Interior designers can be aware of the energy crisis, incorporate energy efficient practices into a design and in return help prevents crisis in the United States and around the world.

            Not only do the United States address energy and the environment in their legislation, the United Nations is an excellent resource for initiation environmental programs. The UN has an UN Environmental Program (UNEP), which helps coordinate a global environmental assessment process. Another international sources are the World Green Building Council (World GBC). The World GBC has a vision that, “through leadership collaboration, the global construction industry will transform traditional building practices and fully adopt sustainability as means by which our environments thrive, economies prosper, and societies grow to ensure the future health of our planet”. World GBC also partners with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development that promotes and finds solutions to achieve a zero-net energy challenge.

            There are so many agencies, organizations, programs, and legislation around the world and locally. It is important for interior designers to be aware of these practices to not only incorporate into their designs but also work with business and companies that promote these practices. In order to achieve a sustainable world every person needs to recognize, act, and practice sustainable practices in their everyday lives and businesses.

*Information received from: Sustainable design for interior environments . (2nd ed.). Fairchild Books.