Kristi Loves Green!
Design Philosophy
I’ve known from the beginning of my time at Samford that the concept of “Green Design” was of significant interest to me. Designing in ways that pay respect to our living environment rather than diminishing, or in many cases, totally decimating it, feels to me like a moral obligation; not a fad or some cutsie treehugger mumbo jumbo. Still, I had no idea how much these concepts would affect my design philosophy. Throughout the last two years, and especially this 2010 fall semester, sustainability and responsible design has become a passion, and will remain a cornerstone of my philosophy throughout my career.
Sustainable design philosophy can be summarized as… “Sustainable Design is a design philosophy that seeks to maximize the quality of the built environment while minimizing or eliminating negative impact to the natural environment. This definition is useful because it highlights several important elements.” (J.M. 2006) So what does this mean to me and how does it affect the way I will approach my designs throughout my career? Let me begin by addressing design philosophies of the recent past, specifically in the U.S. Have you ever heard the term dimestore culture? That’s what I think of when I ponder the old way of designing, a dimestore. We, as designers and developers said build as much, as fast, and as cheap as we can. When we are finished with it, be it old carpet from a renovation or an entire building, just chuck it in the trash and grab something new off the shelf. “There’s plenty to go around!” But, as I have learned, this is a linear system, and no linear system can be sustained forever. This leads me to my approach; the sustainable approach. First educate my clients on the value, importance, and benefits of sustainable design. I will assist clients in deciding what design choices will best suit their needs and budget. For example, I will show clients how they can effectively utilize obvious recourses -the sun and rain, rather than solely depending on the grid and local water works. I will also be a guide and information source in their discovery of options that would be less obvious to the average consumer. And finally, design sustainable structures and spaces that are meant to last and doing so responsibly, paying respect to my clients and the natural environment equally.
