Design in the sustainability movement

Human beings have been building their wealth by taking advantage of natural resources without putting much thought in the future and the environmental impact. Everything we do has its consequences and it has got to a point where we have to redesign our way of living.

Our job as designers is to integrate human life with nature’s processes. Since the beginning of time nature has solved many of the problems we are struggling with. All nature’s creatures are talented engineers, they know what works and what lasts here on Earth. Human civilizations started designing with what they could find on site, they created architecture as an immediate response to nature.

Knowing what works, we still favored development, industrialization, technology and individualism. Today’s economy has led us to believe that creating something and distributing it as fast and cheap as possible are the most important concerns. Instead of worrying if the material was appropriate or by which means was it created. Each design should respond to a specific place or purpose, trying to emulate something is not the solution. Designers have the responsibility of creating with positive intentions, always keeping in mind that the more we design new things, the more we encourage consumerism.

The preservation of our planet relies on designing one that returns human spirituality, which will reconnect us with our ancestral origins and the environment. We have seen this happen throughout time, past civilizations have risen and fallen due to some ecological problem. Having past cultures to learn from, we can not underestimate the importance of nature and see how inspiring it can be.

Two summers ago, I had the opportunity to visit Helsinki and came across with

this magnificent church. The Temppeliaukio Kirkko, or best know as the "Rock Church" is a

great example of architecture working with nature.

This modern building was designed in 1969, by architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen.

The underground church is built inside of a massive block of natural granite

in the middle of the ordinary residential square.

Inside, the church is circular an enclosed by walls of bare rock. The ceiling is the most astonishing thing, a giant disc made of cooper wire. The interior is lit by natural light streaming through 180 vertical window panes that connect the dome and the wall.