The Role of Nature and Ecology in Sustainable Design

biomimicry inspired cactus building

The concept of sustainable design appeared recently on our society, but all of this principals have been put to use a long time ago. Even though, we are aware of how dependent we are of Nature, we some how managed to move in a different direction and worked against it. Now that our environment is going to dramatic changes, we have to come to our senses and realize that we can not continue doing things as we used to.

Nature is the creator of life, and for life to happen natural processes are implied; we just need to learn more about these processes that have been working for Nature since the beginning of times and we can find solutions to the problems poor designs have created.

We now know what works and lasts here on Earth, natural processes can teach us how to design things without harming the environment. All systems are interconnected with one another, that is why all designs should be made from cradle to cradle and always following patterns of Nature. However, it is also very important to make sure we are living off renewable resources at the rate they are created, otherwise, we would be endangering our planet and screwing up future generations.

This cactus-inspired design for the Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture building in Doha, Qatar. It's a fascinating example of biomimicry -- the skin of one of the hardiest plants of the desert is applied to the design of the facade of a desert building -- with hundreds of smart shades that open and close depending on the strength of the sun.

The energy-efficient structure was designed by Aesthetics architects GO Group, and the big cactus (not to be confused with that other towering figure currently living in Phoenix) also features an ancillary botanic dome, which is supposed to further its green rating.

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.

Sketching and Perspective Drawing

Here are some of my assignments...

Drawing Floor Plans and Elevations

Using an image provided in class, we drew the floor plan

in hard-lineat 1/8" or 1/4" scale.

One Point Perspective using plan projection

Using a plan provided, we drew a one point perspective of the room using

the plan projection method.

Two point perspective

We had to create a two point perspective using the plan provided. The view had to include the back wall, one side wall, the rug and table.

All assignments had to be retraced onto 11" x 17" vellum.

Shoes for the sole

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania + Melissa Spring/Summer collection 2010

50 million shoes have been sold. Each shoe takes one minute to produce. Melissa Shoes are made from MELFLEX plastic, a patented, hypo-allergenic, recyclable, and extremely flexible PVC. Recycled thermoplastic is injected into a mold at Brazilian shoe shop Melissa. Because they're mono-material, shoes can be easily recycled. The Brazilian based factory is totally rad in its recycling of 99.9% of factory water and waste, and they also go the distance by recycling overstock styles into next season's collection. Even better? Melissa Shoes employees are paid above average wages and benefits. What's not to like in these plastic fantastic accessories?

Zaha Hadid + Melissa Spring/Summer collection 2010

Molded plastic box for Melissa + Zaha Hadid Shoes

With designers like Vivienne Westwood, Campana Brothers and recently architect Zaha Hadid, you might just begin to like plastic shoes. This is a real cradle to cradle design, a unique and yet stylish well made shoe.

Campana + Melissa Spring/Summer 2010 collection

Sustainability

Whenever I heard the word sustainability the first thing that always came to my mind was recycling; I always thought that by recycling cans, reusing bottles and using both sides of a piece of paper was more than enough contribution. Now after obtaining my degree in Architecture and learning about the existence of sustainable design, I can say that my perspective has changed.

The concept of sustainability is basically an understanding between Nature and Human Beings, we can not subsist without our precious natural resources. Everything we do, we create and we expect from life should always reflect a concern for the environment; nature has already given us everything we need to survive, we just got carried away with an erroneous meaning to life.

We already got to a point where he have access to almost everything, processed food, appliances that with the press of a button can do wonders, trips to the moon, even artificial insemination; life has never been so comfortable for those who can actually afford it. For the idea of sustainability to succeed it is important that we all have true knowledge of what is really happening, education is a key element to the solution of many problems.

It was not until grad school where I had a class called theory in sustainable design, in which I learned how bad the problem was and started changing my anti-green habits. I started unplugging every electronic item when not needed (TV, DVD, microwave, blender, etc.), bought a thermos for my daily dose of water, I changed my light bulbs, I stopped using plastic bags for groceries, now that I moved to San Francisco I don’t need a car so I asked my parents to sell it. But most important, I always try to convince people to get involved in the matter and more concerned for the environment.

Here is an example of what green buildings look nowadays, this picture was taken at the roof of the Academy of Science Building designed by Renzo Piano, one of my favorites here in San Fran.