Our first reading is from Meg Calkin's:
Calkins, Meg. "Materials for Sustainable Sites Defined." Materials for Sustainable Sites: a Complete Guide to the Evaluation, Selection, and Use of Sustainable Construction Materials. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009. 1-12. Print.
Calkins, Meg. "Background: Inputs, Outputs, and Impacts of Construction Materials." Materials for Sustainable Sites: a Complete Guide to the Evaluation, Selection, and Use of Sustainable Construction Materials. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009. 13-52. Print.
Please post your thoughts and questions as comments to this post by Thursday at midnight.
Well, nothing new here, just another fine reminder of how wasteful and destructive the human race is.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, as a SEBS student, I feel like you cant get out of this school without taking a few ecology and environmental science classes, and most of them are determined to thoroughly discuss everything from fossil fuels to food miles.
One thing that I did wonder about in reading through the second chapter pertains to recycling and reusing materials. They say that the ideal material life cycle would be a closed loop where waste from one product is “food” for processing another. Is there a point where even this closed loop cycle becomes unsustainable? Where the material has been recycled and reused so many times that the cost of reprocessing it to a usable level again outweighs the benefits of recycling.
The “Creating Change” portion of the reading presented many new ideas that I have not heard about before. The eco-industrial park in Denmark seems like a great idea, almost like an industrial version of the “smart growth community” idea. I’m curious as to how successful it is and if there is a way to measure how much they are saving in resources and energy.
Other thoughts: the “design for the environment” section seems much like a precursor to the Sustainable Sites Initiatives. Also, I am skeptical as to how plausible all of the “make more product from less material” ideas are. They sound like great ideas in theory, but real life implication is a much more difficult task.
I commented first, does that mean I win a prize?
In reading these first two chapters, I can begin to comprehend how the industrial period has affected the human realm as well as the natural processes. It was pretty evident how the emissions from factories all over contribute to the pollution in the world today.
ReplyDeleteI can further see why it makes it more practical to utilize sustainable materials. There are not just many types of these kinds of materials, but also many types production and manufacturing. While there is a gradient from light green to dark green of how sustainable materials, it kind of seems like at some point the design is compromised because it is difficult to achieve an one hundred percent sustainable design. When does longevity, transportation, or pollution emission hold preference over other criteria?
It seems like the process of production is that of a mathematics equation. There is always an input and an output and a variability of reuse or recycling. What happens when the material is reused and recycled so many times, it loses its sustainability? Is this where a landscape architect is supposed to design for disassembly? Will this compromise the design? I’m not sure if that even matters in terms of choosing sustainability over the design.
Oh and I watched an episode of myth busters where they placed about 3 inch deep coating of clay around the car that significantly weighed the car down and yet the regular car and the clay car actually burned the same amount of gas. Does that kind of pertain to the weight of a material’s transportation or is just the quantity of material that is meant?
We all know the materials that we use when we are building a new structure or product have consequences to the environment, but what many of us don’t know are the hidden conditions that are present when the material is being produced and used. The way we view products for the most part is only in its final use, we tend to not worry about how the product is made, how it gets to where it is being used and what will happen to it when it is no longer needed. In this reading the author brings awareness to the different inputs, outputs and impacts that the materials that we specify for projects have on both the environment and on human well being. But what I found interesting were some of the ways she saw the change occurring in how products are manufactured. Some of these changes such as industrial symbiosis, dematerialization and increased producer responsibility, seem as though they would be the most useful if it were only for the manufacturers making small changes and investing money into the materials production. The bottom line why things have not changed much in the way products are made is because the manufacturer is always looking at there profit margin, it is not beneficial for them to change the way they are doing things so they do not see a reason to make the change. The author makes a point in the first chapter about there being different “shades of green”. Meaning that all products even though they say they are green and sustainable have some hidden impact on the environment. There is no perfect product so we must ask ourselves where do we draw the line? How do we choose which impact we want to sacrifice in order to get a desired effect of fix?
ReplyDeleteA piece from the reading that interested me was the notes on materials or products that minimize environmental impacts on the earth. After reading this and noticing the strong foot print that some materials have on the earth, the idea of how we, as stewards of the land, must be thinking about how the products we use are made and where they come from was reinforced. I feel that most designers don’t even think about the energy that is put into excavating or producing some materials that are used from a day to day basis. As landscape architects we need to be thinking about how we can use products that are minimally processed, produced with low energy, low pollution rates, and also utilizing local materials. After researching Masonite, I noticed how beneficial this material is because of its low impact on the environment and how it is a naturally made product with no chemical additives and uses little energy to produce.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting read explaining the “real” costs of material production and construction, many of which I’m sure most of us are familiar with, along with some new concepts. Of course with all the “shades of green” it begins to appear that our current system is caught in a catch 22 where the proposed use of one material over another has a negative impact elsewhere. The world of geopolitics and slack regulation doesn’t help solve the issue and further proves the fact that priority for such innovations is not priority, an example of course are the mining operations, which thanks to support from our previous administration remains mostly unregulated.
ReplyDeleteIt also seems that many of these closed loop systems, in which waste in one system is food for another and product reuse and recycling remain “idealistic.” There is the example of the Industrial Ecosystem at Kalundborg, Denmark, which requires intelligent planning and cooperation, between multiple private sectors. It would be interesting to read further about the development and current conditions of the Industrial Ecosystem.
The big take back messages from this reading revolve around intelligent design decisions that evaluate all site conditions as a design strategy rather than post construction evaluations. By the time construction comes around time is a limited factor and deadlines must be met. While reading I also wondered why as a Landscape Architecture student in my senior year I have never taken a serious construction class in which material selection was more closely analyzed. It seems that as a current trend it would be valuable to any firm to hire someone with this valuable knowledge. It could even become something a design student could minor in. If these issues are as relevant as the author has presented them, then perhaps it is time for a stronger legislation and more positive changes, not only in the professional field, but also the educational sector.
I admit there were times when I would throw in the term "sustainable" when I wasn't completely sure of the exact meaning. I mean, it sounds good and everyone uses it; however, this reading explains how complex measuring sustainability really is. Reusing materials, using materials that produce less pollution & waste, and using durable materials that have a long lasting value are all obvious ways to more environmentally conscious, but what about the harvesting, manufacturing, and delivering? The "Before" has to be factored into the equation just like the "After". Yes, we should recycle materials when we are done, but why should it come from China!? The energy and fuel consumption is wasteful! How do we continue to push for local materials and drive the shift in trend even further? Can people really be convinced to do be environmentally sensitive when I might cost them more money? Also, why does it seem that the European Nations care more about the environment than we do? Wake up Americans
ReplyDeleteThis book probably would be good for any designer's personal library. Though some parts are lengthy, dragging on about global change, or smog, but then connecting it to construction materials is definitely interesting. As much as we all probably think we are stewards of the land or that we are environmentally friendly, do we really know for sure what we are doing is the best?
ReplyDeleteIf ever designer maticulously thought through every material and made sure everything was sustainable and regionally manufactured, and that the rest of his design was also environmentally friendly, would they ever have time to get to the next project? That's a rhetorical question, it's just a thought. I know that there are deadlines that need to be met to satisfy clients. I feel it is an artform. A lot of artists never fully feel like there work is done, but at a certain point they compromise. Just like I am going to compromise and end my blog post on that.
In reading the two chapters in Calkins Materials for Sustainable site you get a better understanding of what the “real” cost is of being sustainable. It is easy to throw around the trendy word of being sustainable, but having a true understanding of how each system work with each other will make us not only better designers but conscious consumers as well. I thought it was interesting how she described the earth as a “source” and a “sink” in the production of materials, and then continues further in the chapter to describe how we can use a closed loop system to relieve some of the negative impacts we instill on the environment.
ReplyDeleteIt is not only important to look at these issues on the local scale but the global scale as well. Countries such as China and the Middle East are building a much more rapid rate then us, and how can we use what we have learned in our industrialization to help aid them in there sustainability. The example of the industrial ecosystem is a good model, which uses smart planning, for other developing countries. It is important to address these issues as Calkin did, but implementing them is far more important. I think that is where we struggle as a whole. The ideas sound good on paper and when it comes down to it people are not willing to spend the extra money to take the “right way” out, rather they want the quick easy and dirty model.
Another important aspect in this reading is the education factor. I think as designer it is important to be educated in these matters, but just as important is to educate the public and developers. By doing so models such as sustainable site, may become more widely accepted and implemented
I really appreciated how in depth chapter one goes into the Sustainable Sites initiative. We've always been told use local materials use native plants and manage water on site; but this was the first time where I have seen these topics stated and thoroughly explained. I think I always took the guidelines for granted, not really thinking about all the possibilities in choosing sustainable materials. I think this is a great resource for us as students and eventually as professionals (hopefully) in creating thoughtful, practical designs.
ReplyDeleteOne issue I had trouble with was the use of reclaimed materials. I wondered how probable or how often this is carried out in the construction world. In talking with my roommate about the issue he mentioned how on a construction job, his uncle, who runs a general contracting firm, asked him to sift through piles of demolished brick and block for reusable material. He expressed how this took over a week to do and how painstaking the entire process was. I know this seems like a great thing for the environment but is it really practical for builders who are being paid lots of money and desire top quality material.
I thought Calkins's explanation of sustainability was comprehensive and well thought out. The sections on environmental effects that occur from manufacturing processes were pretty enlightening overall.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as Matt already pointed out, designers (as well as the other types of people this book is addressed to) fall on the consumer side of the spectrum, so perhaps those laundry lists of "do's and dont's" in those chapters should be brought to the manufacturers' attention.
Similar to Hany...I didn't really give a damn about material sustainability 'til it was brought to my attention (via construction class), so perhaps the more people these types of writings reach out to, the more we all get on a similar, if not same page.
The eco-industrial park idea is also intriguing...not only in terms of sustainability but also in terms of site selection as it sounds like an opportune site where both the designer and manufacturer can meet in the middle.
The dismal science of sustainability...
ReplyDeleteCalkins’s analysis of our current situation of inputs and outputs provided an explanation of the costs of human consumption as well as the disclosure of information necessary to move forward in industrial sustainability. I appreciated her frequent display of “shifts” that have occurred in our societal behavior. For example: the shift from localized use of materials to centralized large scale production; skilled craftsmanship to cheap labor; agricultural production to industrial production and so on. Calkins called for a shift from first cost emphasis to an emphasis on life cycle costs. This kind of shift would allow us to better understand the importance of “embodied energy” and put our actions into perspective. While I agree that there is a definite need for the awareness of the ramifications of our actions, I do not think that we can ever be truly sustainable. Calkins references the idea of biomimicry-following the patterns and behavior of a natural ecosystem-however, haven’t we built and maintained the anti-ecosystem? We don’t seem to be focusing on life cycle loops-replenishment and remediation, rather we continue to try and figure out new ways to consume (in a more diminutive manner). The consumptive society we have developed has handicapped our earth and made sustainability seem unachievable. However, on a positive note, there are ways to make advances towards a more efficient way of life. The weight of this task lies on the shoulders of the world’s designers. What Calkins is calling for is a continuous effort of working towards intelligent action through better strategizing our interactions with our inputs and outputs.
*side note
ReplyDeleteWhen I mentioned mining operations I was referencing methane mining, not coal.
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