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Exploration of Sustainable Design: A Coffeehouse Discussion
Continuing Professional Studies
University of Minnesota College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
February 13, 2000

Contents
COURSE DESCRIPTION
DEFINING SUSTAINABILITY
LIST OF SUSTAINABILITY RESOURCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEB REFERENCES
WEB SITE LOCATIONS OF EXAMPLE RATING SYSTEMS
EVALUATION FRAMEWORK

Course Description

Most cultures build to fulfill a set of needs and desires that reach well beyond simple shelter and basic sustenance. The discussion group will explore the role of resources in creating society and identity through design. What is sustainable design? Is it different from environmental or green design? Is it a hoax? Is it a religion? How do you explain sustainable design as an architect speaking to a client? The premise of this course is an exploration through discussion of how we choose to use our resources for building. We will look at a number of approaches to sustainable design, from theoretical frameworks to practical tools and explore their underlying values and applicability to practice. Five sessions with readings short oral briefs and discussions.

  1. What is Sustainable Design?
    1. Welcome and Agenda - David Eijadi - 5 minutes
      • Course overview - purpose, agenda, readings, credit
      • Coffee rules
      • Introduce facilitators
    2. Overview of Sustainable Design in the profession - Tom Fisher - 5 minutes
    3. Facilitator - self-introductions - 4 minutes each
      • David, Terry, Jonee and Prasad
    4. Participants - self-introductions - one minute each - 30 minutes
      • Personal observations of what sustainable design means to them and/ or Expectations of the course
    5. Definitions - 20 minutes
      • Each willing participant read one to begin a discussion
  2. Approaches to Sustainable Design
    1. Malcolm Wells' Wilderness Values
    2. Natural Step and Max-Neef Basic Needs
    3. NCAARB Sustainable Design Monograph
    4. Why Sustainability is Wrong
  3. Approaches to Sustainable Design
    1. Bill McDonough and Hanover Principles
    2. Hunter and Amory Lovins Paul Hawken's Natural Capitalism
    3. Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees' Ecological Footprint
  4. Approaches to Sustainable Design
    1. AIA Environmental Resource Guide
    2. Green Building Challenge Tool
    3. U.S. Green Building Council's LEEDS Program
    4. Minnesota Sustainable Design Guidelines
  5. Next Steps in Sustainable Design
    1. Individual or group presentations of their approach to sustainable design, including philosophy and/or practical application (paper optional)
    2. Further educational opportunities

Defining Sustainability

At its root, the word, sustain means "To keep in existence or; maintain" and "To supply with necessities or nourishment or; provide for."1 However, the essential meaning of sustainable for the "Green Building" movement seems to be derived from the definition of a sustained yield; "The continuing yield of a biological resource, such as timber from a forest, by controlled periodic harvesting."1 Implicit in this biological definition are the concepts of conservation and renewal.

Agendas for Sustainable Design can be many things, but the desired outcome should always the same; a healthy, productive and affordable built environment knowingly achieved with minimized impacts on important environmental resources. Sustainable Design goals should be as specific as possible to each project and to a vision of the environments that we want to create and protect. ---The Weidt Group

Historical Teachings

  1. The sun also arises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it arose.
    The wind goes toward the south and turns about to the north
    it whirls about continuously and the wind returns again according to its circuits.
    All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full.
    Unto the place were the rivers come, they return again.
    The thing that has been; it is what shall be; And that which is done is that which shall be done.
    -- The Bible, Ecclesiastes I:5-9

  2. In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.
    -- The Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy (Hau de no sau nee)

  3. According to Jewish teachings in the Talmud, God brought Adam to the Garden of Eden and warned: Take heed not to corrupt and destroy My world. For if you corrupt it, there will be no one to set it right after you.
    -- Ecclesiastes Rabba 7.13

More Contemporary Thoughts

  1. Everything you ever needed to know about sustainability you probably already learned from your parents; don't be wasteful; clean up after yourself; turn things off when you leave the room and; never assume - ask. -- David A. Eijadi, AIA 1996

  2. Our vision is of a life-sustaining earth. We are committed to the achievement of a dignified, peaceful, and equitable existence. We believe a sustainable United States will have an economy that equitably provides for satisfying livelihoods and a safe, healthy, high quality life for current and future generations. Our nation will protect its environment, its natural resource base, and the functions and viability of natural systems on which all life depends. -- President's Council on Sustainable Development 1997

  3. A structure is sustainable when all systems are engineered to function reciprocally. -- Sara Heart Architecture August 1998

  4. Each generation is entitled to the interest of the natural capital, but the principal should be handed on unimpaired. -- Canadian Conservation Commission, 1915

  5. A transition to sustainability involves moving from linear to cyclical processes and technologies. "The only processes we can rely on indefinitely are cyclical; all linear processes must eventually come to an end." -- Dr. Karl Henrik-Robert, MD, The Natural Step, Sweden

  6. A sustainable society is one which satisfies its needs without diminishing the prospects of future generations. -- Lester Brown, Founder and President, Worldwatch Institute

  7. Sustainability is our long-term cultural, economic, and environmental health and vitality. -- Sustainable Seattle

  8. 'Sustainable growth' is a contradiction in terms: nothing physical can grow indefinitely. 'Sustainable use' is applicable only to renewable resources: it means using them at rates within their capacity for renewal. -- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

  9. A thing is right when it tends to preserve integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. -- Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac, 1949

  10. A sustainable agriculture is one that depletes neither the people nor the land. -- Wendell Berry, farmer, poet, author, 1984

  11. Sustainability is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just and humane, embodying our highest values in terms of how we treat animals, people and the Earth. -- The Alliance for Sustainability (incorporating the International Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture's definition in Manna, 1984)

  12. Sustainability is the principle of ensuring that our actions today do not limit the range of economic, social and environmental options open to future generations. -- John Elkington, Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottomline of 21st Century Business (Gabriola Island, BC Canada: 1998)

  13. Think of it as extending the Golden Rule through time, so that you do unto future generations as you would have them do unto you. -- Robert Gilman, author

  14. Sustainability is a state in which interdependent natural, social and economic systems prosper today without compromising their future prosperity. -- From Draft of NCARB Monograph: Sustainable Design - 1/2000

  15. Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. -- UN World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, 1987

  16. ...the meaning must be expanded to allow all parts of nature to meet their own needs now and in the future. -- The Hannover Principles

  17. The Natural Step Four Conditions for Sustainability:
    1. In order for a society to be sustainable, nature's functions and diversity are not systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth's crust.
    2. In order for a society to be sustainable, nature's functions and diversity are not systematically subject to increasing concentrations of substances produced by society.
    3. In order for a society to be sustainable, nature's functions and diversity are not systematically impoverished by physical displacement, over-harvesting or other forms of ecosystem manipulation.
    4. In a sustainable society, resources are used fairly and efficiently in order to meet basic human needs globally. -- from the Natural Step Website, www.naturalstep.org
  18. The term sustainable design is chosen over sustainable architecture because design can be both a verb (connoting a process) and a noun (connoting a result) and because design better conveys the interdisciplinary involvement needed to meet sustainable goals.
    As a process: Sustainable design is informed actions that aim at improving a project's contribution to natural, social, and economic prosperity throughout its lifecycle.
    As a result: The characteristics and ongoing operation of a sustainable design contribute to natural, social, and economic prosperity throughout its lifecycle. -- From Draft of NCARB Monograph: Sustainable Design - 1/2000

  19. Sustainable design is the conception and realization of ecologically, economically and ethically sensitive and responsible expression as a part of the evolving matrix of nature. -- William McDonough Architects, The Hannover Principles, 1992

  20. Sustainability as interdependence of concerns of Social Equity, Economy and Ecology:
    -- From Draft of NCARB Monograph: Sustainable Design - 1/2000

List of Sustainability Resources

Prepared by Terry Gips

Anderson, Ray C. Mid-Course Correction. 1998 by Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, VT

Building Sustainability with the Natural Step: University of Texas-Houston's Journey (video). 1999 by Northcutt Productions (415-337-7044)

Co-op America. National Green Pages, 2000. 1999 by Co-op America, Washington, DC

Durning, Alan. How Much is Enough?: The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth. 1992 by Worldwatch Institute, W.W. Norton and Company, New York and London

Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) Sanga-Saby Conference Center (Kurs & Konferns). Environmental Report 1997. www.sanga-saby.se

Gips, Terry. Breaking the Pesticide Habit: Alternatives to Twelve Hazardous Pesticides. 1987 Minneapolis: Alliance for Sustainability and Penang, Malaysisa: International Organization of Consumers Unions www.mtn.org/iasa

Gips, Terry, et al. The Humane Consumer and Producer Guide. 1993 Minneapolis: Alliance for Sustainability and Washington, DC: The Humane Society of the United States, Washington, DC www.mtn.org/iasa

Gunn, Eileen P. "In the future, people like me will go to jail." Fortune, May 24, 1999 p 190-200.

Hawken, Paul. The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. 1993 by HarperBusiness (a division of HarperCollins), New York, NY

Hawken, Paul; Lovins, Amory and Hunter. Natural Capitalism: Creating the next industrial revolution. 1999 by Little, Brown and Company, Publishers, New York, NY

Holmberg, John. Socio-Ecological Principles and Indicators for Sustainability. Goteborg, Sweden: Institute of Physical Resource Theory, Chalmers University of Technology, 1995

Lovins, Amory, et al. "A road map for natural capitalism." Harvard Business Review, May-June 1999, p 145-208

Max-Neef, Manfred. "Development and Human Needs" in >Real Life Economics: Understanding Wealth Creation edited by Paul Ekins and Manfred Max-Neef (London and New York: Routledge Publishing, 1997)

Nattrass, Brian and Mary Altomare. The Natural Step for Business. 1999 by New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada

The Natural Step Newsletter. www.naturalstep.org

Robèrt, Karl-Henrik, Herman Daly, Paul Hawken and John Holmber. "A Compass for Sustainable Development" in International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 4 (1997) p.79-92

Wackernagel, Mathis and William Rees. Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing human impact on the earth. 1996 by New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada

Websites:

The Alliance for Sustainability: www.mtn.org/iasa

The Natural Step: www.naturalstep.org

Bibliography

Prepared by Jonee Kulman
From NCARB Sustainable Design Monograph: Third Draft 1/24/00

Adams, William Mark. 1990. Green Development: Environment and Sustainability in the Third World. London: Routledge.

American Farm Land Trust. 1997. Farming on the Edge.

American Institute of Architects. 1991. Design and the Environment; Environmental Resource Guide. Washington D.C.: American Institute of Architects.

American Institute of Architects. 1996. Environmental Resource Guide 1996. Washington D.C.: American Institute of Architects.

American Institute of Architects. 199x, updated annually. The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice: AIA Press

Anderson, Ray. 1999. Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model. Chelsea Green Publishing Company.

Branch, Mark Alden. 1993. "The State of Sustainability", Progressive Architecture vol. 74, pp 71-79.

Brand, Stewart. 1994. How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built. New York: Viking.

Brown, Lester R. 1998. State of the World 1998: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society. New York: Norton & Company

Brown, Lester R. 1999. State of the World 1999: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society. New York: Norton & Company

Calthorpe, Peter. 1993. The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Carson, Rachel. 1962. Silent Spring. Cambridge: Riverside Press.

Chen, Allen, and Vine, Edward L. 1998. A Scoping Study on the Costs of Indoor Air Quality Illnesses: An Insurance Loss Reduction Perspective. Berkeley: Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Cole, Raymond J., and Larsson, Nils. 1998. Preliminary Analysis of the GBC Assessment Process, Green Building Challenge '98, Conference Proceedings, Volume 2, 251-267.

Crosbie, Michael J. 1994. Green Architecture: A Guide to Sustainable Design. Rockport: Rockport Publishers.

Daly, Herman E. 1997. Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Boston: Beacon Press.

Demkin, Joseph. 1997. Environmental Resource Guide: John Wiley and Sons

Derderian, Kevork. 1999. Personal communication with author. Kevork Derderian is a developer with (xxx) based in Chicago, IL.

Eijadi, David A. 1999. Measurable Success in Sustainable Design, presented at the American Institute of Architects 1999 AIA National Convention. Minneapolis: The Weidt Group.

Elkins, P. and Jacobs, M. 1994. Are environmental sustainability and economic growth compatible? In: Energy-Environment-Economy Modeling Discussion Paper No. 7 Cambridge, UK: Department of Applied Economics, University of Cambridge.

Fisk, W. and Rosenfeld, A. 1997. Estimates of Improved Productivity and Helath from Better Indoor Environments. Indoor Air 7: 158-172.

Gottfried, David A. 1995. Economics of Green Buildings. Presentation to OG&E Electric Services.

Gottfried, David A.; Osso, Annette (ed.). 1996. Sustainable Building Technical Manual: Green Building Design Construction and Operations. Washington, DC: Public Technology, Inc.

Hammer, Christine. 1998. Evaluation Report on the use of rating systems for the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility. Minneapolis: Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

Hawken, Paul. 1994. The Ecology of Commerce : A Declaration of Sustainability. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Paul Hawken, Amory B. Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. 1999. Little Brown and Company.

Heschong Mahone Group. 1999. Skylighting and Retail Sales: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance - Condensed Report. Fair Oaks: Heschong Mahone Group.

Hiss, Tony. 1991. The Experience of Place. New York: Vintage Books.

Jacobs, Michael. 1991. The Green Economy: Environment, Sustainable Development, and the Politics of the Future. Concord: Pluto Press.

Kennedy, Declan, and Kennedy, Margrit (ed.). Designing Ecological Settlements: Ecological Planning and Building: Experiences in New Housing and in the Renewal of Existing Housing Headquarters in European Countries. 1997. Verlag, Dietrich R., and Kaufman, Friedrich, and the European Academy of the Urban Environment. Berlin.

Kincaid, Judith; Walker, Cheryl; and Flynn, Greg. 1995. WasteSpec: Model Specifications for Construction Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling. Research Triangle Park: Triangle J Council of Governments

Lawson, Bill. 1996. Building Materials Energy and the Environment: Towards Ecologically Sustainable Development: Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

Madsen, Greg. 1999. Personal communication with author. Greg Madsen is a project manager with Ryan Companies.

McDonough, William. 1992. The Hannover Principles: Design for Sustainability. William McDonough Architects.

McHarg, Ian. 1971. Design with Nature. Garden City: Doubleday and Company, Inc.

McKibben, Bill. 1989. The End of Nature. New York: Random House.

Minnesota Department of Planning. 1999. SMART Growth Criteria for Evaluating Capital Budget Requests.

NAVFAC (Naval Facilities Engineering Command ). 2000. Website on sustainable design policies www.efdlant.navfac.navy.mil/Lantops_15/sustainable_design.htm

Papanek, Victor. 1993. "Design for the Real World", Design and the Environment. Washington D.C.: American Institute of Architects.

Pirages, Dennis Clark. 1977. The Sustainable Society: Implications for Limited Growth. New York: Praeger.

Ponting, Clive. 1992. A Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Reed, William G. 1999. A Whole Systems Approach to Building From Lessons Learned: Four Times Square - Integrating Sustainable Design Into Your Practice, presented at the American Institute of Architects 1999 AIA National Convention

Rees, William. 1998. The Built Environment and the Ecosphere: A Global Perspective. Green Building Challenge'98 Conference Proceedings, Volume 1. October 26-28, 1998, Vancouver, Canada. Natural Resources Canada.

Rees, William. 1989. Planning for Sustainable Development: A Resource Book. Vancouver: INFO Vancouver and the UBC Center for Human Settlements.

Romm, Joseph J. 1994. Lean and Clean Management. Kodansha International.

Roodman, David Malin, and Lenssen, Nicholas. 1995. A Building Revolution: How Ecology and Health Concerns are Transforming Construction, Worldwatch Paper 124, March 1995

Schaeffer, John; Van Der Ryn, Sim; and Van Drryn, Sim. 1997. A Place in the Sun: The Evolution of the Real Goods Solar Living Center (Real Goods Solar Living Book). White River Junction: Chelsea Green Publishing Company.

Steele, James. 1997. Sustainable Architecture: Principles, Paradigms, and Case Studies. New York: McGraw Hill Text.

Strain, Larry. 1997. Resourceful Specifications: Guideline Specifications for Environmentally Considered Building Materials and Construction Methods. Emeryville: Siegel and Strain Architects.

Sustainable Building Industries Council. 1996. Designing Low-Energy Buildings: Passive Solar Strategies and Energy 10 Software. Integrating Daylighting, Energy-Efficient Equipment, and Passive Solar Design in Commercial, Institutional, and Residential Buildings.

Titus, James G., and Narayanan, Vijay K. 1995. The Probability of Sea Level Rise. Washington, D.C.: US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 230-R95-008.

Turner, R. Kerry. 1993. Sustainable Environmental Economics and Management: Principles and Practice. John Wiley and Sons.

United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. 1987. Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

US Environmental Protection Agency. 1991. Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers. EPA/400/1-91/033

US Green Building Council, LEED Green Building™ Rating System. San Francisco, CA.

Vale, Brenda; Vale, Robert. 1991. Green Architecture: Design for an Energy-Concious Future. Boston: Bulfinch Press.

Van Der Ryn, Sim. 1993. "Sustainable Communities", Design and the Environment. Washington D.C.: American Institute of Architects

Van Der Ryn, Sim, and Calthorpe, Peter. Sustainable Communities: A New Design Synthesis for Cities, Suburbs and Towns. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Vitruvius. 1986. Ten books of Architecture, translated by James Leoni. New York: Dover Publications.

Watson, Donald. 1979. "Energy Conservation through Building Design", in Energy Conservation at the Building Scale: An Innovation Program. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wilson, Alex; Uncapher, Jen; McManigal, Lisa; and Lovins, L. Hunter. 1998. Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Wines, James (Editor). 1997. The Architecture of Ecology. London: Academy Editions.

Zeiher, Laura C. 1999. The Ecology of Architecture. New York: Whitney Library of Design.

Web References

Prepared by Jonee Kulman

Web Site Locations of Example Rating Systems

Evaluation Framework

Prepared by Prasad Vaidya

Identify the Underlying Values

  • Ecological:
  • Economic:
  • Scientific:
  • Legal:
  • Religious:
  • Political:

Questions to ask:

  • Does the author define cause or place responsibility for our sustainability issues? If yes, where does the author place them?



  • Does the author offer a theoretical framework for resolving the issues? What is it?



  • Does the author offer actionable solutions to the problem they define? If yes, what are the solutions and who is to be responsible?



Points to note

  • Are the shortcomings/limitations of the theory recognized by the author?
  • Does the theory/tool depend on other ecological theories? Tools will typically need to do this.
  • Is the theory robust (complete and consistent)?

1 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Prepared and Presented by David A. Eijadi, AIA; Terry Gips; Jonee Kulman, AIA; Prasad Vaidya

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