Design for One Earth

Design for One Earth - The Book

To celebrate Earth Day RNL has launched an online version of our Design for One Earth book. The book represents a synthesis of research, ideas and approaches to sustainability that reveal the world around us. Its primary purpose is to help reframe the building industry’s definition of sustainability and to inspire action. It asks the deeper questions which are the source for new solutions and innovations for our built environment.

 

The book serves as a highly visual reference to RNL’s Design for One Earth framework which encompasses the balancing of environmental, economic and social priorities.  The context of the book is set up in the very beginning with a discussion on the importance of big picture thinking and a summary of the leading global issues facing humanity today.  The heart of the book is a deep exploration of the 12 Design for One Earth Values. These values are the core of the Design for One Earth framework which seeks a holistic and rigorous approach to sustainable design. At the end of the book we share the stories of three of our projects as case studies for the Design for One Earth framework to develop a tangible link to real life examples.

 

The original book was printed (digitally on 50% recycled paper with non-toxic toner) because we believe that having it in a concrete form is a more effective way to share and disseminate the valuable information.  This new iteration as an online book allows the message to spread to a wider audience with the hope of promoting a deeper dialog and sharing of ideas that can advance the sustainable design movement. This Earth Day we are asking you to think big – and take action!

 

Check out our Design for One Earth book online.   

 

The Big Picture in Sustainable Design

Sustainable design requires a big picture view. After all sustainable design is about seeking solutions to truly global problems. While it is critical to understand the local issues and context it is equally important to not limit your view to the local condition. The same can be said regarding American designer’s tendency to see all design problems through the eyes of a LEED checklist. The saying goes – if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Another great example of this is how the building industry in America has finally gotten the message that buildings account for roughly 40% of the US’s carbon emissions per year. What’s interesting is that while this is true, it’s only a part of the picture. Climate change is tied to global greenhouse gas emissions, not just US emissions. According to the World Resource Institute 2005 data commercial and residential buildings combined account for 16.5% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. While this is still significant and everyone in the building industry should be focused on reducing this contribution, the fact is there are many other significant sources that need as much attention as the building sector. Agriculture and land use changes combined account for 26% of the global emissions. This accounts for activities such as farming, livestock and deforestation.  When you look at the picture of carbon emissions you find that there is no singular source and no singular solution.  

A great way to get the big picture is to work in or learn about other areas of the world. We have so much to learn from each other and sustainability can only be approached with a global scale share of information and ideas. One great benefit of working in a foreign context is that it peaks your curiosity, sensitivity and empathy. It can also lead to new ways of understanding things that we have perhaps stopped questioning. At RNL we used to have “international” projects, which were distinct from our “domestic” projects. Now we have the mindset that all of our projects are global projects and we can apply this global experience to projects anywhere in the world including our own backyard. I have been known to present our sustainability work at conferences and begin with an image of earth and note – half in fun, but also half in thoughtful seriousness – that “this is the site of our next project.”  

A recent article by B.J. Novitski, It Isn’t Easy Grading Green - GreenSource Magazine offers a glimpse into green building rating systems around the world. It is encouraging that countries around the world are developing green building rating systems. It’s even more encouraging that the rating systems are learning from each other. Our experience with the Estidama Pearl Rating System in our work in Abu Dhabi has a similar affect at RNL. We appreciate Estidama’s focus on process and actual operations. You can also learn a great deal about sustainable design by practicing in such an extreme climate as the United Arab Emirates.  

I would like to see a more global standard for sustainability metrics; holistic frameworks that capture the full potential of design for environmental, economical and social benefits; and solutions that address the big picture issues as well as provide local innovation.  This is at the heart of the purpose for RNL’s Design for One Earth framework. Let’s keep an eye on the big picture.

Future-mapping

One of the classic definitions of sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In fact, this definition was coined in 1987 by the Brundtland Commission in considering our common future.

The very essence of sustainability is to create this common future – or create an enduring future of abundance. Sustainability becomes not only a way to do optimize the triple bottom line, but it also becomes a strategic tool to help invent our clients’ future and to build in resiliency for the unforeseeable. This is going beyond future-proofing a design to a process of future-enabling the built environment.  The Design for One Earth framework can be expanded to include a future-mapping process for our projects.

The basic process for future-mapping for the built environment involves four steps.

Step 1 – Framework: What is the context and scale? What are the key clarifying questions that define our problem?  There are three primary scales within the framework – Global, Market and Project. The market scale filters relevant global perspectives to a specific project application. For example, what do economic trends regarding employment, education and income mean for the future of higher education markets? Do demographic trends indicate a change in the make-up of the college student of the future and how will our higher education buildings enable a new type of college student in the future? Our Metro State client is grappling with and positioning for these kinds of trends. 

 

Step 2 – Scan: What are the driving forces for the future on the project? For instance will operations require high energy or water use? What are the climate factors now and potentially in the future? How will changes in demographics affect the workforce and the workplace? While scanning driving forces don’t forget to consider internal information, as well as external research. Some of the best research can come from our own projects and clients. It is also beneficial to seek diversity of perspectives by inviting outsiders with different, but valuable view points in on the discussion.

Some driving forces to consider are: Energy, Carbon /Climate, Water, Materials, Land use, Economy, Technology, Transportation, Health, Demographics, Politics and Society/Culture,

 

Step 3 – Synthesize: What might these identified trends mean for the future of the project and its market? Synthesize a handful of potential future scenarios or future-maps and use these scenarios as strategic design tools. Three to four scenarios should provide enough diversity to understand the potential range of future possibilities. The simplest scenario to create is the no surprise scenario where the future unfolds based on present trends. It is useful to create at least two other scenarios. First, the worst-case scenario and second the best-case scenario. Are there elements in these scenarios that have a direct impact on the project’s design? Can design strategically buffer against the elements of the worst-case scenario while enabling the elements in the best-case?

Step 4 – Plan: A well developed future-map provides a strategic approach so projects remain resilient and prosperous. It should influence a project’s program objectives, resulting in a solution that is future-proofed and future-enabled.  

Future-enabling strategies built into a project should be project specific. Here are some ideas on how to make buildings more resilient for the future.

+       Utilize green features to attract the next generation of the workforce providing a long-term talent recruitment advantage.

+       Pre-plan a project’s future adaptive reuse, making it easy to convert a building’s use. This is particularly relevant for projects with relatively short term purposes, such as sales centers.

+       Build in as many passive and renewable systems as possible such as daylighting, natural ventilation, thermal mass, solar control/passive solar, photovoltaics, geoexchange systems, water-reuse systems, etc. This will not only save on energy and water it will make a building more resilient to power outages, energy price surges, peak demand charges and droughts and water shortages.

+       Make every project photovoltaic-ready. Renewable energy from photovoltaic systems will reach grid parity with grid electricity in the near future of the buildings we are designing today. Why not make a low cost, no carbon future available for our clients by orienting and massing their buildings correctly for solar access and maintaining a ready roof space for incorporation of a photovoltaic system?

The future of sustainable design is the future itself. How can this technique drive innovation and bring more value to your current or next project?

The Future is Bright Green

One of my favorite books is Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21^st Century. The book is edited by Alex Steffen, designed by Sagmeister Inc. and with an introduction by Bruce Sterling. With a cast like this you can’t go wrong. (Yes, you should Google these people.) One of the underlying themes from Worldchanging is the idea of the bright green future. The premise is that society’s current focus on sustainability and solving our mounting environmental, economic and social issues will lead to a new era of prosperity - hence we will change the world.

It’s not too difficult to connect the dots and understand that the role of the built environment is central to this bright green future. On one hand the built environment is a significant sustainable design challenge and opportunity because of the many impacts the built environment have on the environment, the economy and on our health and well-being. On the other hand the buildings we are designing right now will live in this future. What can they contribute in the long run and how do they help us invent a bright green future?

 

Sustainable design is not just smart design that reduces environmental impacts while enhancing social and economic benefits. Although this is important, sustainable design is also about creating a sustainable future. With the built environment the long term view is as important as a design’s energy consumption model and metrics. The question now goes beyond just how much energy or water might be saved to questions about how the building will stay relevant and valuable in a rapidly changing future.

Stewart Brand began to tackle this issue with his book, How Buildings Learn. Perhaps the most compelling chapter is Chapter 11: The Scenario-buffered Building, where he begins to outline how architects and planners can use scenario planning to strategically consider the future in the planning and designing of the built environment and create “scenario-buffered buildings”. Steward Brand is now moved to consulting for organizations about the future as part of the Global Business Network.

Scenario planning – or future-mapping, as RNL is coining it- is a powerful tool and when taken in the context of sustainable design for the built environment it adds an important element that is missing in much of the industry’s dialogue on sustainable design. After all, sustainability is about creating an abundant future within the limits of one earth. Our designs should be creating that bright green future.

Look for more on future-mapping and its strategic application within the Design for One Earth framework in the coming weeks.

Beauty- cannot be discounted

Beauty, as one the twelve values for Design For One Earth is defined as “an intrinsic part of nature and humanity. It is a basic human need and not a luxury or elitist concept. Promote beauty in the built environment and provide for a connection to nature and natural beauty.”

There is no arguing that the focus world over has made a significant shift towards Sustainability in the built environment. At this point it becomes all the more imperative that softer values such as Beauty be intrinsic to the dialogue of Sustainability.

Our Design for One Earth Roundtable during RNL’s 2009 Green Week focused on Beauty. The goal of the roundtable was to explore the meaning and purpose of beauty; its manifestation in the built environment; why and how is it an important part of sustainability. Each of the participants was asked to pick from six famous quotes on Beauty and bring an object or an image that best represents beauty within the framework of the quote.  While we kept going back to the idea that “Beauty is subjective” and  essentially lies in the eyes of the beholder, a few key observations were made:

-         It doesn’t matter how one interprets it – beauty is still core to each individual’s goals. If this premise were to be applied to a project it would be as simple as stating: Every stakeholder in a building project may have a different interpretation of what beauty means to them – but each wants the building to be beautiful.

-         Beauty transcends beyond the visual – and is often expressed as a feeling,  an emotion that is spurred – again translating this to the built environment it could be interpreted as a dramatic space that generates a strong emotion or a daylight built space that connects one seamlessly to the outdoors, generating a feeling of beauty.

It is imperative that as we are rapidly progressing into the systems thinking approach to design that we bring along with us all the values associated with aesthetics and beauty as strongly as of energy and resources. A few days ago, prior to the launch of Design for One Earth,  I was asked the question, “Beauty and sustainability – how are they related?” To me, the question really is, “how can they be separated?”

Sustainability and Beauty are both an integral part of design and problem solving. We may look to nature to create a beautiful sustainable solution or strive to create a solution that brings us closer to nature!

A Happy Planet

How does happiness play a role in design? Of the twelve values in RNL’s Design for One Earth framework – happiness tends to get a lot attention. People value happiness. Yet, happiness is hard to measure, hard to define and hard to predict. None the less, happiness is an important pursuit in design and we should work to advance our understanding and application of it. 

Design for One Earth asks us to consider things from both a local and global perspective. Globally there has been considerable research on happiness including the World Database on Happiness, which claims to be a “continuous register of scientific research on subjective appreciation of life”, and the Happy Planet Index, which is “an index of human well-being and environmental impact.”

NPR foreign correspondent, Eric Weiner, recently wrote a book on his travels to a wide variety of places in search of happiness. He starts with the World Database on Happiness and discovers a world where happiness is connected to place. His book, “The Geography of Bliss” is a recommended read on this topic.

I like the idea behind the Happy Planet Index which ranks nations based on a simple formula (Life Satisfaction (0-10) TIMES Life Expectancy (in years) DIVIDED BY Ecological footprint per capita (in global hectares)). This index actually bundles happiness and health and then adjusts for environmental impact. So you can’t be too happy if you are consuming resources as if we have five earths. Based on the Happy Planet Report, the world is not a very happy place.

The Happy Planet Index lets you take the system to an individual scale by completing a personal online assessment.  I couldn’t help but give it a try. It would help if I lived in the UK, because the survey assumes this. So after I get my income converted to Euros and my weight to Kilograms I get the results of my report. I score a 74.8. The good news is that I am higher than the world average of 46 and certainly much higher than the average American at 22.8. The bad news is that the survey says I should aspire to be at least an 83 “which represents a good life that doesn’t cost the earth”. The survey appears to make some pretty broad assumptions and strives to be user-friendly even if the results are less accurate. Yet the survey does hit home how personal lifestyle choices impacts sustainability, health and happiness – and that there is always room for improvement. I would encourage everyone to try the survey yourself.

So from a lifestyle perspective, sustainability is about happiness – and captured in the Design for One Earth question, “Can we live abundantly within the limits of One Earth?” Sustainable design for the built environment makes an impact - enabling lifestyles that promote health, well-being and happiness, while lowering our footprint.

How will Energy Drive Building in the Future?

We have seen the future of buildings in an energy driven world. Perhaps more accurately we have seen pieces of potential futures. One possible future is DOE/NREL’s new Research Support Facilities (RSF) project for the NREL campus. This project by the design-build of Haselden and RNL’s is designed to be a prototype for the future of zero energy buildings. Everyone involved on the NREL RSF has learned a great deal from this project and we have been asked by the Department of Energy to share these lessons. One of the Department of Energy’s goals is to make zero energy commercial buildings market viable by 2025.

 

The NREL RSF project shows a zero energy building future where buildings are optimized for multiple climate responsive passive strategies, and then complemented by very efficient mechanical and electrical systems – extending even into the design of the data center and the IT system for the building. This low energy building approach lends itself well to on-site renewable energy applications, which can then be sized as small as possible to offset the energy needs of the building. This approach can yield projects with significantly better energy and carbon reduction results than typical ENERGY STAR, LEED or 2030 Challenge benchmarks. In fact, this approach may even get us to the end game of the 2030 Challenge today.

The NREL RSF project has a very simple and direct form that is driven by energy. It is not very different from common building forms pre-dating air conditioning. The NREL RSF is a letter shaped building – in this case an “H”. This gives the building two long thin wings or “fingers” with the proper solar orientation and a connecting spine. The building was designed in section first to ensure proper daylighting, natural ventilation, thermal mass, transpired solar collection, and photovoltaic energy generation.

In addition to architecture, RNL has a strong urban design and master planning practice. We deal with the same energy and form issues at this scale. A unique emerging benefit of this is the ability to test new architectural and urban design ideas within a master plan. While our master planning approach addresses important sustainability issues such as land use, orientation, solar access, energy and water infrastructure, transportation, microclimates, pedestrian comfort and wind patterns – it doesn’t always have the scope to design the actual architecture. However, populating the urban plan with architecture helps it come to life. The architecture in these test beds is speculation – not unlike the speculative architecture and urban designs of sci-fi film sets. This provides an opportunity to speculate on new forms of energy driven architecture which leads to continued innovation. The speculative architecture on one of RNL’s recent sustainable city master plans in the UAE takes this idea of the “letter” or “finger” building into a more three dimensional, sculptural approach. The building becomes a vessel or body with more surfaces interacting passively with the environment.

 

There are many emerging design tools that will allow us to design more fluidly around energy. As BIM models become more energy model friendly we have quicker feedback on design decisions early in the process. New design tools are allowing us to automate the manipulation of form in direct response to energy. Tim Meador of RNL has been experimenting with this idea using Rhino 3-D modeling software with a Grasshopper algorithm plug-in using data from an Ecotect model. Surfaces can be scripted to respond to environmental data such as solar radiance which then can automate the free form depth of louver blades for shading or adjust the size of apertures for solar control.

The design of energy systems inside and outside our buildings will also be significantly different in the very near future. Starting on the inside, the occupants of a building have a significant impact on energy use. RNL is finding that in low energy buildings the plug and server loads account for more than half of all the energy use. This is a tremendous opportunity for improvements in occupant behavior, occupant energy feedback and green information technologies. If you have ridden in a Prius you understand the power of feedback on behavior. As you see your instantaneous MPG on the dashboard display you instinctively (or sometimes very purposively) make changes to your driving to move that MPG number up. The same technology is available in buildings.

Outside lies the electrical grid. We have all heard that it is antiquated and needs to be rebuilt, but apparently the grid is also dumb. Enter the smart grid. The idea is to run a communication signal on top of the electrical current on the same power line. With a smart grid the energy producer will have direct two-way communication with the energy consumers. This strategy reduces peak demands by managing energy use at the consumer level (demand side reduction). This opens up a world of possibilities including smart appliances, building energy interfaces, automation controls, better management of distributed renewable energy sources, better energy management for consumers, and better grid and equipment management for the utility. Xcel Energy is leading the way on smart grid technology and Boulder, Colorado is living the smart grid future now as one of the nation’s first smart grid cities.

How will all of these and other energy trends evolve to drive buildings in the future? One of my favorite truisms comes from a computer scientist named Alan Kay who said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”. We have the power to invent a clean low-energy sustainable future.

 

To see the visual slide show on this topic go to: http://www.slideshare.net/tomhootman/how-will-energy-drive-building-in-the-future

Design is an act of optimism

Design for One Earth is not a singular solution. It’s a journey toward a sustainable future through the design of the built environment.  The stakes are high and the need for design innovation is pressing. Innovation requires thinking big, setting significant sustainability goals and following a holistic systems thinking approach. Designing a bright green future requires a strong sense of optimism and the results can be extraordinary. As the saying goes – “the best way to predict the future is to invent it”.

 

Design for One Earth has four basic steps.

1. Awareness - Understand the scope and scale of the problems at deeper levels– both locally and globally.
2. Measure - Measure the global and local implications of the problem and set quantifiable goals.
3. Implement - Design, plan and implement solutions to meet one earth sustainability goals.
4. Improve - Celebrate implemented solutions that generate improvements to our built environment. Learn from successes and failures to improve future solutions.

 

The Design for One Earth framework encourages you to ask a different series of questions about design objectives for sustainability. In the current model we set performance goals for design as a percent reduction than our current baseline consumption (i.e. 40% water use reduction or 30% energy use reduction). Although this approach has value because it can set very tangible goals it doesn’t ask the bigger question which is how do you set a performance goal for a design based on the carrying capacity of the earth considering both global and local resources. The Design for One Earth approach also asks you to balance social and economic concerns with important environmental measures. One Earth is the Ultimate Design Metric.

 

The Design for One Earth framework encourages holistic design through systems thinking. System thinking provides better solutions by looking at whole systems and their interconnections rather than addressing individual design components separately. There are many design systems that flow through the built environment such as energy, water, air, materials, waste, transportation, land and food. Consider the flow of all systems through a built environment and work to close system loops and optimize and integrate all systems. Think of the built environment as an ecosystem.

 

The built environment must also be a great place for people. Design of the built environment can provide tremendous value. It can generate savings through reductions in energy and other resource use, but it can also positively impact health, well-being and happiness. Design can create places where people want to live, work and play – places that are beautiful, enduring and cherished over time. Design for One Earth can create the infrastructure for a new improved lifestyle with tremendous quality of live and low resource use. Can we live abundantly within the limits of one earth?

Design for One Earth

Can we live abundantly within the limits of one earth?

Can we offer future generations an opportunity for an even better life than ours?

Humanity as a whole is using the planet’s resources as if we had 1.3 earths. If we all lived like Americans do we would be using the resources of five earths. RNL believes the design of the built environment not only has the capacity, but also the responsibility to build a new world with a bright green future. Creating sustainable built environments requires optimizing the triple bottom line of environmental, economic and social priorities.

Design for One Earth is a design framework that expands of the triple bottom line by identifying twelve values and measures that define sustainable lifestyles and built environments at all scales. The goal is to use the Design for One Earth values as a guide for a design that expresses our clients’ values and desires resulting in environments that enhance their long term prosperity and respects the limited resources of one earth.

The Design for One Earth Values:

1. Zero Energy – Balance energy use and renewable energy supply so that the built environment consumes net zero fossil fuel energy. Implement energy efficiency, demand side reduction, on-site renewable energy and distributed and grid-wide renewable energy.
2. Carbon Neutral – Eliminate GHG emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel related to all human activities.
3. Water Balance - Balance water use so that so that needs can be satisfied without depleting the renewable freshwater resources available. Implement water use reduction in buildings and landscaping, rainwater catchment, and water reuse.
4. Materials Balance – Balance material use so that needs can be satisfied without depleting renewable natural resources. Incorporate durability, longevity, adaptability so that materials can serve a long life. Incorporate design for disassembly so that materials can be captured and diverted at the end of their service life. Incorporate reused, repurposed and recycled materials. Optimize local and global resources in material choices.
5. Zero Waste – Eliminate waste. Waste is an indicator of inefficiency and a sign of a design failure. Close the loop on material cycles so that all “waste” is diverted for re-use, new use, recycling or composting rather than disposal. Eliminate pollutants and toxicants in all forms.
6. Land Balance – Balance land use decisions to preserve ecosystems, promote ecosystem services, and develop new habitat and landscaped open space. Consider land use and landscaping at all scales including large open space habitats, roof top gardens and interior plants. Globally, agriculture has a significant impact on greenhouse emissions, water use, health and the economy. Consider food production within the built environment.
7. Prosperity – Prosperity is an inclusive economic measure that considers personal wealth, natural capital and long term value. Create sustainable places that provide opportunities and allow everyone to prosper.
8. Resilience – Resilience is part stability and part adaptability. It is a quality that promotes long term viability and the ability to weather adversity. Create built environments that hold long term value, are adaptable and enduring.
9. Visionary – Visionary is the use of innovation to create new value. Visionary is the use of foresight to invest for the future but also to invent the future.
10. Health – Health is the foundation of life. Health is measured at both the public and personal level and can be greatly influenced by decisions and systems at many scales. Promote health in the built environment through design for active living and through access to quality air, daylight and thermal comfort. Eliminate toxicants and chemicals that impede health.
11. Beauty – Beauty is an intrinsic part of nature and humanity. It is a basic human need and not a luxury or elitist concept. Promote beauty in the built environment and provide for a connection to nature and natural beauty.
12. Happiness – Happiness is the sum of many things, but an important measure of quality of life. Happiness is tied to many things including the built environment. Create environments that promote happiness, well-being, productivity and delight.