Design for One Earth

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.