Ecological design can be defined as any form of design that minimizes destructive environmental impacts by integrating living processes. The strategies of conservation, regeneration, and stewardship can be applied at all levels of scale to produce revolutionary forms of residences, public buildings, landscapes, communities, cities and applied technologies.
A hundred years ago, Louis Sullivan proclaimed that "form follows function". Based on a deeper understanding of how our forms shaped by ecologically interconnected flows of energy, information, materials, and resources, a better dictum for today might be "form follows flow".
Solutions Grow From Place
Ecological design begins with an intimate knowledge of place. It is small scale and direct, responsive to local conditions and people. If we are sensitive to the nuances of place, we can inhabit without destroying.
Above: Place as form-giver.
A Los Altos Hills, California residence arcs around the Sun's path.
Make Nature Visible
Making natural cycles and processes visible brings the designed environment to life. Effective design helps inform us of our place within nature.
Above: Light as form-giver.
At Real Goods Solar Living Center, curved roof forms and clerestories distribute natural light throughout the building.
Design With Nature
By working with living processes, ecological design respects the needs of all species. Engaging processes that regenerate rather than deplete, we become more alive. Making Natural cycles and processes visible brings the designed environment back to life.
Above: Material as form-giver.
Material such as straw comes from the waste stream and generates new opportunities to save costs while saving the environment.
Ecological Accounting Informs Design
Trace the environmental impacts of design and use this information to determine the ecologically sound design possibilities.
Above: Ecological Accounting as form-giver.
Use of onsite and local materials, recycled and reclaimed materials, and turning waste into resource can create beautiful, cost effective, and sustainable designs.
Everyone Is A Designer
Listen to every voice in the design process. As people work together to heal their places, they also heal themselves.
Above: Process as form-giver.
No one is participant only or designer only. Everyone is a participant-designer. Honor the special knowledge that each person brings.
There are many possibilities and different ways that environmentally friendly strategies can be incorporated into the design of any home.
Energy
There are two approaches to energy within the scope of ecological design. First is to decrease the demand for energy. Some strategies toward this end include:
- Daylighting
- Use of light shelves and clerestories
- Light colored interior finishes
- Energy efficient appliances
- Low-e glazed operable windows
- Compact floursescent lighting
- Task lighting
- Orientation of the building
- Overhangs, trellises and landscaping for shading to reduce heating and cooling loads
Another approach is to use renewable energy sources to supply energy. The United States currently relies heavily upon coal, oil, and natural gas for its energy. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, that is, they draw on finite resources that will eventually dwindle, becoming too expensive or too environmentally damaging to retrieve. In contrast, renewable energy resources - such as wind, solar and geothermal energy are constantly replenished and will not run out.
 
Clean, renewable energy:
- Photovoltaic panels to generate solar electricity: Photovoltaic solar cells, which directly convert sunlight into electricity, are made of semi-conducting materials. The simplest cells power watches and calculators, while more complex systems can light houses and provide power to the electric grid.
- Wind power: Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the Earth. Wind turbines can capture the solar energy stored in wind and convert it into electricity or use the mechanical power directly. A widely used application of wind turbines is for producing electric power on-site at homes, farms, and businesses which are already served by a utility grid.
- Geothermal: A geothermal heating and cooling system uses the consistent temperature of the Earth to provide heating, cooling, and hot water for both residential and commercial buildings. Water is circulated through polyethylene pipes called loops that are installed at a minimum of five feet below the Earth's surface. These loops can be buried vertically or horizontally in the ground, or submersed in a pond. The loops are connected to an extended-range water source heat pump installed in your home or commercial property.
- Solar hot water: Solar hot water heaters use the Sun to heat either water or a heat-transfer fluid in collectors. A typical system will reduce the need for conventional water heating by about two-thirds. High-temperature solar water heaters can provide energy-efficient hot water and hot water heat. Solar hot water heaters are very efficient because they use direct heat from the Sun to heat the water (no conversion to electricity). Approximate cost for a family of four would be $5000.00 for unit and installation. Of course, it depends on the amount of hot water used by the household and the average temperature of the climate in which it is being installed.
"Green" Materials
Building and construction activities worldwide consume three billion tons of raw materials each year, or 40% of total global use. Using green building materials and products promotes conservation of dwindling non-renewable resources internationally. In addition, integrating green building materials into building projects can help reduce the environmental impacts associated with the extraction, transport, processing, fabrication, installation, reuse, recycling, and disposal of these building materials.
There is a green alternative for virtually every category of building material.
Resource Efficiency can be accomplished by utilizing materials that meet the following criteria:
- Recycled Content: Products with identifiable recycled content, including post-industrial content with a preference for post-consumer content. Post industrial content refers to waste material from the manufacturing process, whereas post-consumer content refers to the recycling of a product after it has been used by consumers (such as glass, plastic, paper, aluminum, etc). It is not always simple to determine a product's recycled content. Check product labels or data sheets. Ask questions of manufacturer, product representative, contractor obtaining the materials or an architect's specification for a percentage of recycled content.
- Natural, plentiful or renewable: Materials harvested from sustainable managed sources, preferably with an independent certification (e.g., certified wood) by an independent third party.
- Resource efficient manufacturing process: Products manufactured with resource-efficient processes including reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste (recycled, recyclable, and or source reduced product packaging), and reducing greenhouse gases.
- Locally available: Building materials, components, and systems found locally or regionally saving energy and resources in transportation to the project site.
- Salvaged, refurbished, or remanufactured: Includes saving a material from disposal and renovating, repairing, restoring, or generally improving the appearance, performacnce, quality, functionality, or value of a product.
- Reusable or recyclable: Select materials that can be easily dismantled and reused or recycled at the end of their useful life.
- Recycled or recyclable product packaging: Products enclosed in recycled content or recyclable packaging.
- Durable: Materials that are longer lasting or are comparable to conventional products with long life expectancies.
Examples of Rapidly Renewable Materials:
- Bamboo flooring and wall covering
- Wheat straw cabinetry
- Strawbale walls
- Sunflower seed board
- OSB and plywood from Poplar or Monterey Pine
- Wool carpet
- Linoleum flooring
- Cotton batt insulation
- Natural grass rugs and wall coverings
- Cork flooring and wall covering
Examples of Available Recycled Content Materials:
- Insulation
- Wall, partition and ceiling materials
- Cement and concrete with fly ash
- Aluminum
- Structural steel and framing steel
- Reinforcing metals
- Tiles and countertops
- Floor coverings
- Toilet partitions
- Plastic lumber
- Fabrics and paint
- Plumbling pipes
Green Materials Selection Criteria:
- Recycled content
- Minimal packaging
- Transportation efficiency (at all stages)
- Low to no toxic emissions
- Sustainably acquired/harvested
- From abundant and renewable resources
- Efficiency of resource use
- Reusable, salvageable, recyclable
- Energy, water, and material efficiency during manufacture
- Low emission during manufacturing
- Corporate environmental policy
- Durable and easy to maintain
- Lifecycle (performance and cost)
Using Certified Sustainably Harvested Wood:
- Promote environmentally responsible forestry
- Limit amount of wood coming from endangered forests
- Protect forest dependent communities and species
- Promote growing and harvesting of long-term, stable supply of high quality wood and wood products
- Use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood only
- FSC is the only independent, non-profit certification system
- FSC is the only system that the Certified Forest Products Council endorses
- To recognize certified wood, look for this symbol:
Water Recovery And Reuse
Rainwater Catchment
The most common example of rainwater harvesting is capturing runoff from a roof and using it for indoor water needs. It is a shame to let runoff go to waste when it can be used indoors and/or for irrigation. The benefits of rainwater harvesting include:
- Relief of strain on other water supplies
- Ability to build or farm in areas with no other water supply
- Cleaner water
- Increased independence and water security
- Lower water supply cost
- Reduced flood flows
- Reduced topsoil loss
- Improved plant growth
- Greater sensitivity to and connection with natural cycles
Greywater Reuse
What is greywater?
Any water that has been used in the home, except water from toilets is called 'greywater'. Dish, shower, sink and laundry water comprise 59-80% of residential wastewater. This may be reused for other purposes, especially landscape irrigation.
Why use greywater?
It is a waste to irrigate with great quantities of drinking water when plants thrive on used water containing small bits of compost. Unlike a lot of ecological stopgap measuers, greywater use is a part of the fundamental solution to many ecological problems and will probably remain essentially unchanged in the distant future. The benefits of greywater recycling include:
- Lower fresh water use
- Less strain on septic tank or treatment plant
- Highly effective purification
- Ability to build in areas unsuitable for conventional treatment
- Less energy and chemical use
- Groundwater recharge
- Plant growth
- Reclamation of otherwise wasted nutrients
Composting Toilets
Composting toilet systems and other ecological wastewater management methods are emerging as viable and cost-saving alternatives to wastewater disposal systems worldwide. Refer to "The Composting Toilet System Book" (A Practical Guide to Choosing, Planning and Maintaining Composting Toilet Systems, an Alternative to Sewer and Septic Systems) by David Del Porto and Carol Steinfeld, 1999.
Construction Waste Recycling
Construction and demolition debris accounts for nearly 30% of the waste going into landfills. Typical commercial construction generates 2 to 2.5 lbs. of solid waste per sq. ft. of area. Over 85% of this waste can be recycled. Turning waste into resource reduces the need to extract virgin natural materials. There is a growing industry and market for recycled content and salvaged materials. Ask your architect or contractor about ensuring over 75% construction waste management.
Indoor Air Quality
Optional Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) performance in buildings results in improved occupant health. Key components for maintaining high IAQ include using good quality outdoor air, providing adequate ventilation and using low-emitting materials.
Some strategies to increase indoor air quality:
- Install less carpet or use non-toxic, natural carpets such as wool
- Use paints and stains with no VOC's (volitile organic compounds)
- Have many operable windows for natural ventilation
- Use blown-in cellulose, airkrete or cotton batt insulation
- Ask manufacturers for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for home materials
- Don't smoke indoors
Landscaping
What we do in our own backyards has impacts often never imagined. What we plant in our yards and the way we maintain them can cause significant pollution and/or other environmental problems. Vast, highly manicured lawns and formal gardens are among the most problematic because of their reliance on power landscape equipment, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and other life-support measures to keep them healthy. Air, noise, and water pollution; consumption of natural resources; increased flooding; and loss of biodiversity are some of the environmental impacts that often result from our seemingly harmless pursuit of gardening or merely maintaining our existing landscape.
The principles of beneficial landscaping include: using a greater variety of plants that are primarily native (to your local area) and appropriate for your site conditions; reducing the size of high maintenance plantings such as lawns and formal gardens; adopting informal design based more on nature; relying on integrated pest management (IPM); changing maintenance practices to conserve water and other natural resources (fossil fuels, peat moss, etc.); planting to provide wildlife habitat; increasing plant diversity; on-site composting; and avoiding/removing exotic plants known to be invasive. Additionally, beneficial landscaping calls for using plants to shade and shelter your home from summer sun and winter winds to reduce heating and cooling needs.
Does ecological design cost more?
Not necessarily.
- First cost increases are lower with an experienced team and when the program establishes green goals from the beginning.
- The greatest potential cost savings are in the initial phases of the design process.
- Harnessing systems' efficiencies greatly reduces first costs.
- Energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) measures can cost more in first costs, though not always, but yield high returns on a lifecycle basis.
- Green features can increase annual income and the building future value upon sale.
- Soft costs can increase in green design, but provide a high return on investment.
Are the technologies risky?
No.
- Energy efficient design and technologies used today are not experimental and many are off the shelf.
- Green materials are readily available and offered by major manufacturers. This trend is rapidly increasing.
- Ecological design can reduce risk of sick building syndrome, and improve indoor environmental quality issues.
- In the future, by not going green, the risk will actually be increased.
Does ecological design take longer?
No.
- There may be more time spent in planning and design due to the integrated team approach, though experienced teams don't usually take longer.
- Construction progresses more quickly because more decisions have been made in the planning phases.
- Result is that "greening" a project, if started early, does not add time, and can even accelerate the schedule.
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