Lit Review
Jakob Perryman
The ideas of building design have always changed to try to improve human’s way of living. From the invention of concrete to the stopped usage of asbestos, building design has improved dramatically in the past century. Now, in this modern age, two of the new types of designs that people seem to be focusing on are sustainable and accessible design. Sustainable design focuses to reduce negative impacts on the environment, and the health and comfort of building occupants (US General Services Administration). Universal design strives to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost (Center for Universal Design). However, there has been little collaboration between the two designs, with just a few examples of a combination.
Although sustainable design is defined differently by many companies/committees, the overall theme is the same: to lower the output of greenhouse gases and energy use while still providing comfort to the people. For example the Whole Building Design Guide, which is run by the National Institute of Building Sciences, states that the key principles to sustainable design optimizing size potential and energy use, protect and conserve water and to optimize operational and maintenance practices. The American Society of Designers says that sustainable design is “a design that cares about how such goals (like efficiency, budget, attractiveness) are achieved, about its effect on people and on the environment.” They mention that the local environment should be protected but also mention that collaborative multi-disciplinary teams should develop the integrated building design.
Accessible design has not been written about nearly as much as sustainable design, but the news has really picked up in the last 10 years. Again, Whole Building Design Guide helped set and write guidelines for accessible design. For them, the most important part of accessible design is to proactively plan for it. That is, they say that in the long run it is more expensive to renovate buildings and then to keep these renovations running than it is to build a new building. The American Architectural Foundation thinks that universal design is supposed to enable people of all abilities to live independently in our world. Young to old, all people should be able to access whatever they want, from movie theaters to a workplace.
As mentioned before, combinations of accessible and sustainable design have been far and few between. One of these few examples of the designs coming together are in a building in Chicago. The headquarters of Access Living, which is one of the leading “companies” in accessibility legislation, is believed to be the first building to integrate sustainable and universal design. Not only is the building accessible to anyone of any ability, but it is also LEED gold Certified. The gold certification is the second highest certificate a building can get when it comes to green design, which takes into account everything from the faucets to building structure. Building Green, which, as the name suggests, is a website that helps people think about green design, reiterates the point of planning proactively for universal design. However, the site also mentions that planning for universal design from the get go can cost less money than renovation, which could then lead to the “saved” money being used to help make a building more environmentally friendly.
Personally, I think that a lot more can and will be done in regards to sustainable and accessible design. Both concepts are relatively new because people are just now realizing how much easier and safer their lives can be by combining the two design structures. It could save a lot of money and effort, too. There wouldn’t be nearly as many lawsuits against companies who didn’t have accessible buildings, and energy costs would be lowered, too. Overall I think it is a win-win situation to build completely new buildings that are fitted with accessibility and the environment in mind. As people have proven before, we can only continue to improve our building designs and ideas.
WORKS CITED
Works Cited
"Beyond Accessible: Universal Design for Green Buildings." Building Green. Environmental Building News, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
"Sustainable Design." ASID. American Society of Interior Designers, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://www.asid.org/content/asid-position-sustainable-design>.
Sustainable Design." Sustainable Design. GSA, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104462?utm_source=OGP>.
Katz, Ashley. "About LEED." U.S. Green Building Council. N.p., 25 July 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. <http://www.usgbc.org/articles/about-leed>.
Sykes, Kathy. "Sustainable, Visitable, and Universal by Design." American Architectural Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.archfoundation.org/2013/06/sustainable-visitable-and-universal-by-design/>.
Unknown. "Integration of Universal Design and Green Design – Access Living." Integration of Universal Design and Green Design – Access Living. Lutron, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
WBDG Accessible Committee. "Accessible." WBDG. National Institue of Building Sciences, 31 July 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
WBDG Sustainable Committee. "Sustainable." WBDG. National Institute of Building Sciences, 4 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
Jakob Perryman
The ideas of building design have always changed to try to improve human’s way of living. From the invention of concrete to the stopped usage of asbestos, building design has improved dramatically in the past century. Now, in this modern age, two of the new types of designs that people seem to be focusing on are sustainable and accessible design. Sustainable design focuses to reduce negative impacts on the environment, and the health and comfort of building occupants (US General Services Administration). Universal design strives to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost (Center for Universal Design). However, there has been little collaboration between the two designs, with just a few examples of a combination.
Although sustainable design is defined differently by many companies/committees, the overall theme is the same: to lower the output of greenhouse gases and energy use while still providing comfort to the people. For example the Whole Building Design Guide, which is run by the National Institute of Building Sciences, states that the key principles to sustainable design optimizing size potential and energy use, protect and conserve water and to optimize operational and maintenance practices. The American Society of Designers says that sustainable design is “a design that cares about how such goals (like efficiency, budget, attractiveness) are achieved, about its effect on people and on the environment.” They mention that the local environment should be protected but also mention that collaborative multi-disciplinary teams should develop the integrated building design.
Accessible design has not been written about nearly as much as sustainable design, but the news has really picked up in the last 10 years. Again, Whole Building Design Guide helped set and write guidelines for accessible design. For them, the most important part of accessible design is to proactively plan for it. That is, they say that in the long run it is more expensive to renovate buildings and then to keep these renovations running than it is to build a new building. The American Architectural Foundation thinks that universal design is supposed to enable people of all abilities to live independently in our world. Young to old, all people should be able to access whatever they want, from movie theaters to a workplace.
As mentioned before, combinations of accessible and sustainable design have been far and few between. One of these few examples of the designs coming together are in a building in Chicago. The headquarters of Access Living, which is one of the leading “companies” in accessibility legislation, is believed to be the first building to integrate sustainable and universal design. Not only is the building accessible to anyone of any ability, but it is also LEED gold Certified. The gold certification is the second highest certificate a building can get when it comes to green design, which takes into account everything from the faucets to building structure. Building Green, which, as the name suggests, is a website that helps people think about green design, reiterates the point of planning proactively for universal design. However, the site also mentions that planning for universal design from the get go can cost less money than renovation, which could then lead to the “saved” money being used to help make a building more environmentally friendly.
Personally, I think that a lot more can and will be done in regards to sustainable and accessible design. Both concepts are relatively new because people are just now realizing how much easier and safer their lives can be by combining the two design structures. It could save a lot of money and effort, too. There wouldn’t be nearly as many lawsuits against companies who didn’t have accessible buildings, and energy costs would be lowered, too. Overall I think it is a win-win situation to build completely new buildings that are fitted with accessibility and the environment in mind. As people have proven before, we can only continue to improve our building designs and ideas.
WORKS CITED
Works Cited
"Beyond Accessible: Universal Design for Green Buildings." Building Green. Environmental Building News, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
"Sustainable Design." ASID. American Society of Interior Designers, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. <http://www.asid.org/content/asid-position-sustainable-design>.
Sustainable Design." Sustainable Design. GSA, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. <http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104462?utm_source=OGP>.
Katz, Ashley. "About LEED." U.S. Green Building Council. N.p., 25 July 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. <http://www.usgbc.org/articles/about-leed>.
Sykes, Kathy. "Sustainable, Visitable, and Universal by Design." American Architectural Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.archfoundation.org/2013/06/sustainable-visitable-and-universal-by-design/>.
Unknown. "Integration of Universal Design and Green Design – Access Living." Integration of Universal Design and Green Design – Access Living. Lutron, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
WBDG Accessible Committee. "Accessible." WBDG. National Institue of Building Sciences, 31 July 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
WBDG Sustainable Committee. "Sustainable." WBDG. National Institute of Building Sciences, 4 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.