Wednesday, August 29, 2007

"Toward an Organic Sustainable Architecture"


I intend to show that Organic Architecture and Sustainable Architecture are compatible with each other and further that when combined the result will be a higher form of architectural expression.

I have studied Organic Architecture and have defined for myself four core principles:

The Design should be for and of the Site. The unique site should be analyzed and experienced, allowing the design to be created from the inside spaces outward.

The Design should Create Organic Spaces. Organic Spaces allows space and materials to flow around corners and from the inside to the outside. Organic Space continues beyond the corners and engages the imagination.

Part is to whole as whole is to part. Develop a language for the design. Allow the materials to flow around corners and the materials and specific design elements and to repeat from space to space.

Form and Function are One. Allow the unique needs and conditions of the Client and the Site to inform and to drive your design. Design for the Human Scale of the occupants. Allow the materials chosen for your to express their unique nature.

My definition of Sustainable Architecture includes any design parameters and design systems which conserve energy or reduce the buildings "carbon footprint". My focus for Sustainable Architecture will be on the more passive and more low-tech systems which can be integrated into the buildings design. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED system may be used as a guideline, however, I see LEED as a simple measuring or ranking system, not as tool which should drive the design. While there are some LEED certified buildings which also create fine architectural space, just as often the highly technical systems for energy conservation drive the design and thus result in architectural abominations.

Where exactly this exploration will lead, I do not know, but I am sure that I will find out in the next 5 weeks.

2 comments:

smunger said...

Rick, you should read cradle-to-cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart, this book takes an innovative approach to how design (principally of products, but also buildings), can be re-thought.

McDonough, looks at the idea of "organic" and "green" design, not with the eventual idea of recyclable products (which he criticizes as down-cycled), but with the idea that true "green" design can be re-used and dis-assembled ad infinitum.

The difference between this and just trying to have a low impact is apparent in his argument about cherry trees. He argues that cherry trees are not efficient, they produce too much fruit, and have less than a 1% chance of producing a new tree from all the cherries grown. Instead he thinks of all the wasteful "by-products" the tree puts out and how they also are used. The main argument is effectiveness is better than efficiency.

Herb Childress said...

One of the best outcomes I can imagine is an argument that sustainability is not merely measured in BTUs and KwH and carbon emissions, but also in love and respect and loyalty. A house that lasts for 200 years and responds gracefully to new demands is more sustainable (in all terms) than a ranchburger that goes 40 years and out. A community that retains its commercial core and old neighborhoods is more sustainable (in all terms) than the abandonment of town centers for new development. Don't fall into the trap of promoting either of the capital-letter stances of Organic Architecture or Sustainable Architecture -- think of a way of life that uses both of these as tools toward joyful and humane living.