• Principles of Sustainability

  • Principles / Books

The Principles

Agility
Change must happen fast—but raw speed alone is not enough. The rapid growth of industrialism got us into this mess; quick, precise and nimble actions now will get us out of it.
Constraint
This is the realm of restrictions, stipulations and specifications. Defined at the outset, limitations can guide a solution. Not to be confused with sacrifice (which is reactive and loss-based), constraint results from analyzing available options.
Durability
A cathedral was built to withstand the rigors of the temporal; a water bottle is not—it should be designed to disappear. Each design decision in material and use should make the choice between “durable or ephemeral.”
Flexibility
There will be no perfect approach—the future will unfold in unpredictable ways. We must allow adaptive reuse and a willingness to change direction or tactics to fit circumstances.
Meaning
All great works that elicit responses have one thing in common: they mean something. We must focus on intent, purpose, and substance—the context—along with form and function.
Quality
Better, happier, more fulfilling: this is what quality shall mean in sustainable design. The aim is to provide quality to everyone in elegant, elemental ways. Our goal is a higher standard. Flimsy, inferior goods and services have no place in our sustainable future.
Services
We want the functions objects provide, not the objects themselves. To do this, our appliances and tools must be approached in terms of “services, not stuff” and “use, not own.” The idea of services is against intentional obsolescence and for reusability and repairability.
Systems
Our current systems, such as mass consumption yielding mass waste, are out of date and faulty. It is pointless to waste energy attempting to resolve designs within these systems. The creation and exploitation of new, better systems will be the main directive for sustainable design.
Time
Allowing time to pass opens the door to adaptability and evolution. We must adopt the gradual change of nature into our design processes. Time in design allows for keeping and improving the good, while discarding the bad. Objects will be allowed to sustain their inherent value and thus receive prolonged use.

    The Books

  • Eternally Yours: Time in Design Edited / Coauthored by Ed Van Hinte

  • Shaping Things Bruce Sterling

  • Walden Thoreau

  • Life and Death of Great American Cities Jane Jacobs

  • Small is Beautiful E.F. Schumacher

  • Cradle to Cradle McDonough and Braungart

  • Deep Economy Bill Mckibben

  • Silent Spring Rachel Carson

  • The Design of Everyday Things Donald A. Norman

  • Design for the Real World Victor Papanek

  • Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth Buckminster Fuller

  • Green Graphic Design Brian Dougherty and Celery Design Collaborative

  • Principles of Sustainability Simon Dresner

  • Design for Society Nigel Whiteley

  • The Green Imperative Victor Papanek

  • In The Bubble John Thackara

  • Designing Design Kenya Hara

  • Massive Change Bruce Mau and the Institute Without Borders

  • SustainAble: Aaris Sherrin

  • Packaging Sustainability Wendy Jedlicka

  • The Designer's Atlas of Sustainability Ann Thorpe

  • Form Follows Fiasco Peter Blake

  • How Buildings Learn Stewart Brand

  • WorldChanging Alex Steffen

  • (find out more at Better Living Through Sustainability)