Design for One Earth

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.

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.