Environmental design

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. It seeks to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environment of particular areas.[1] Classical prudent design may have always considered environmental factors; however, the environmental movement beginning in the 1940s has made the concept more explicit.[2]

Environmental design can also refer to the applied arts and sciences dealing with creating the human-designed environment. These fields include

solar-powered equipment, and other kinds of equipment could serve as examples. Currently, the term has expanded to apply to ecological and sustainability
issues.

History

ecodesign company from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
.

The first traceable concepts of environmental designs focused primarily on

grid pattern
of ancient cities. With the north–south orientation of the houses, the streets of Greek cities mainly ran east–west.

The practice of solar architecture continued with the

Emperor Tiberius during the year.[3]

Along with the solar orientation of buildings and the use of glass as a solar heat collector, the ancients knew other ways of harnessing solar energy. The Greeks, Romans and Chinese developed curved mirrors that could concentrate the sun's rays on an object with enough intensity to make it burn in seconds. The solar reflectors were often made of polished silver, copper or brass.

Early roots of modern environmental design began in the late 19th century with writer/designer William Morris, who rejected the use of industrialized materials and processes in wallpaper, fabrics and books his studio produced. He and others, such as John Ruskin felt that the industrial revolution would lead to harm done to nature and workers.

The narrative of Brian Danitz and Chris Zelov's documentary film

land restoration, New Urbanism, and ecologically sustainable energy
and waste systems are recognized considerations or options and may each find application.

By integrating renewable energy sources such as

environmental sustainability
.

Environmental design and planning

Environmental design and planning is the moniker used by several Ph.D. programs that take a multidisciplinary approach to the built environment. Typically environmental design and planning programs address architectural history or design (interior or exterior), city or regional planning, landscape architecture history or design, environmental planning, construction science, cultural geography, or historic preservation. Social science methods are frequently employed; aspects of sociology or psychology can be part of a research program.

The concept of "environmental" in these programs is quite broad and can encompass aspects of the natural, built, work, or social environments.

Areas of research

Academic programs

The following universities offer a Ph.D. in environmental design and planning:

Virginia Tech until recently offered the degree program, but has since replaced it with programs in "architecture and design research" and "planning, governance, and globalization".

Fanshawe College in London, Ontario Canada offers an honours bachelor's degree called "Environmental Design and planning.[5]

Related programs

Examples

Examples of the environmental design process include use of roadway noise computer models in design of noise barriers and use of roadway air dispersion models in analyzing and designing urban highways.

Designers consciously working within this more recent framework of philosophy and practice seek a blending of nature and technology, regarding ecology as the basis for design. Some believe that strategies of conservation, stewardship, and regeneration can be applied at all levels of scale from the individual building to the community, with benefit to the human individual and local and planetary ecosystems.

Specific examples of large scale environmental design projects include:

See also

References

  1. ^ Caves, R. W. (2004). Encyclopedia of the City. Routledge. p. 225.
  2. ISBN 978-0-262-16088-9
    .
  3. ^ "Una brevísima historia de la arquitectura solar". Boletín CF+S (9).
  4. ^ "Planning, Design and the Built Environment". Clemson University, South Carolina. Archived from the original on Aug 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "Honours Bachelor of Environmental Design and Planning - Fanshawe College". www.fanshawec.ca. 4 August 2015.

External links

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