Sustainable Design: Designing for the Environment
BDES 1201 — Week 11
This week’s readings are “The Environment, Product Aesthetics and Surface” by Stuart Walker and “Design for a Sustainable World” by Victor Margolin. Walker exemplifies the downside of unsustainable architecture that has a detrimental impact on the environment. The primary sources of this impact are consumerism, manufacturing, and disposable products. Margolin reflects on the environmental concerns that are related to products, the strategy to manufacturing sustainably, and the value of becoming mindful of these concerns to our quality of life as a designer.
Walker believes that there are numerous paths to sustainable design as well as explanations as to why designers do not perceive sustainability to be a must-do while designing, with the key explanation being cost, which I find strange since a designer, in my view, should take on the task of designing sustainable when significantly reducing costs. He assumes that the required reforms are being made slowly due to indifference denial, and the complexities of issues that result from manufacturer adjustments. “Environmental considerations are rarely included in client demands” (Walker 179).
Victor Margolin claims that we have adjusted how sustainable design is generated. Previously, we didn’t have the data or the desire to adapt, so it was more of an idealistic vision(Margolin 87). However, now that we do, sustainable design has become a necessity. Margolin argues that we are not going ahead quickly enough; he suggests that designers lack the willpower and inspiration to produce concepts that are simultaneously revolutionary and practical. I agree with Margolin because I believe designers are not concentrating on making our goods and services more affordable. Most of the time a sustainable product exists with a higher price tag and functions more like a premium product, which ensures it would not be available to the majority of the population.
Today, there are many designs that work towards the environment. For example, reusable grocery bags stop us from using and wasting a great amount of plastic bags. Using reusable grocery bags is an easy way to break the habit without sacrificing comfort. Also, reusable bottles have become a trend in the earlier years and have played a role in the world of sustainable design as it encourages people to have colourful bottles to drink from and use constantly rather than wasting plastic water bottles.
Questions:
- What are some examples of new designs or technologies that do not follow other sustainable designs?
- Do you think sustainable designs are making a visible difference in our world?
Work Cited:
- Week 11 Walker, Stuart. “The Environment, Product Aesthetics and Surface.” Design Issues, vol. 11, no. 3, 1995, pp. 15–27.
- Margolin, Victor. “Design for a Sustainable World.” Design Issues, vol. 14, no. 2, 1998, pp. 83–92.
