This thesis considers the potential of engaging the development community as a primary means of solving the environmental crisis. Specifically, it addresses how the principles of sustainable design can be incorporated into communities and buildings while taking into account the economic realities implicit with every successful project. Using case study examples of recent projects where environmental stewardship was a primary consideration, the thesis examines the relationship between sustainable design strategies and their influence on both capital costs and the perceived value of the completed project. It is proposed that a comprehensive understanding of the economic impact of sustainable design is essential for architects to make informed decisions, given a client’s environmental and fiscal expectations. In addition, it is the responsibility of building design professionals to encourage a more sustainable society, and design buildings that will be of net positive impact to the environment.

This thesis considers the potential of engaging the development community as a primary means of solving the environmental crisis. Specifically, it addresses how the principles of sustainable design can be incorporated into communities and buildings while taking into account the economic realities implicit with every successful project. Using case study examples of recent projects where environmental stewardship was a primary consideration, the thesis examines the relationship between sustainable design strategies and their influence on both capital costs and the perceived value of the completed project. It is proposed that a comprehensive understanding of the economic impact of sustainable design is essential for architects to make informed decisions, given a client’s environmental and fiscal expectations. In addition, it is the responsibility of building design professionals to encourage a more sustainable society, and design buildings that will be of net positive impact to the environment.

Thesis (M.S. in civil engineering)--Washington State University, December 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jan. 11, 2010). "Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering." Includes bibliographical references.

Within the bodies of living organisms are multitudes of sustainable design solutions that engineers have yet to master. Through the use of tailored sustainable bioinspired design (BID) tools and methodologies, engineers could access and apply this body of biological knowledge to reduce the environmental impact of engineering designs. However, the underlying theory of BID must be more thoroughly fleshed out – and a clearer understanding of the types of sustainability solutions present in biology must be achieved – before such tools and methodologies can be developed. The goal of this thesis is to tackle both issues and, consequently, lay the foundation for environmentally sustainable BID. The first section of this work critically examines thirteen of the most frequently-cited benefits of BID, using academic literature from both biology and engineering design. This analysis presents a nuanced explanation of the ways BID could improve designs and the conditions in which these improvements are expected. Hence, it provides the theoretical foundation necessary to develop tools and methodologies that capitalize on the design opportunities found in biological organisms. The second section focuses on identifying sustainability-related trends in a pool of existing, sustainable BIDs. The type of environmental impact reduction conferred by the bioinspired feature is delineated using a set of 65 green design guidelines (GDGs) to compare the impact of the BID and a functionally-equivalent comparison product. Additionally, the general design features that impart an environmental impact reduction to the sustainable BIDs are identified, analyzed, and discussed. These results provide insight into the types of sustainability solutions that can be found using biological analogies. / text

The Sustainable Consumption Research and Action initiative, or SCORAI, is an international online dialogue between scholars and practitioners through discussion of current events and theories concerning sustainable consumption. In this research, I use SCORAI as a case study to identify current topics important in the field of sustainable consumption and then synthesize these topics with discourses and actors in sustainable architecture and design. The methods used to achieve this synthesis include analysis of existing foundational SCORAI literature to "ground" the research, data coding of primary SCORAI scholarly conversation, and participatory research and feedback with both SCORAI contributors and designers. First, a theoretical grounding in sustainable consumption literature provided a foundation to interpret data both as an "insider" expert and as well as an analytic observer. Next, building on the foundational insider, or "in-vivo," knowledge, a contemporary segment of the SCORAI mailing list was coded in order to articulate patterns and observations of relevant SCORAI themes. Lastly, SCORAI researchers and architectural practitioners participated in the research in the development and implementation of a focus group in order to identify what SCORAI concepts might mean to design students and practitioners. As a result of this process and focus group, I present two concluding lists: seven research observations, and another eight resulting propositions to inform future research and practice. These observations and propositions are presented in an effort to further understanding on how future sustainable consumption ideas might synthesize with design to address systemic sustainability problems. / text

No description available.

Architectural sustainability is ambiguous. The contemporary understanding of sustainability is often debated on the basis of environmental and humanitarian focus. This focus often brings ambiguity when the concept of sustainability is promoted as an end product and not as a perpetual process. For ecologically harmonious and sustainable human survival, sustainable methods and processes are believed to encourage reworking the course of human development.The Component-based design approach is a promising and appropriate method for achieving sustainability. The method involves systems thinking and illustrates characteristics like flexibility, resilience, adaptability and generative system. The focus of design should be in making relationships among these various components and processes, rather than emphasis on end product. This creative project illustrates these conceptual processes using computational logic to create a project for graphics and multimedia presentation. / Department of Architecture

Design is one of the most important stages in product development. Product design has experienced significant changes from concentrating on cost and performance to combining economic, environmental and societal considerations in design process. Sustainability is a new concept to balance economic, social and environmental aspects in product design. This research focuses on sustainable product design. The main challenging problem in the sustainable design is how the sustainable criteria can be used as quantitative metrics to evaluate products. This research integrates Axiomatic Design and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) concepts with Eco-design tools, such as Life cycle Assessment (LCA), to establish the quantitative metrics for sustainable product design. A novel wheelchair is designed as a case study in this research. Modularity is conducted to improve the wheelchair for the end of life cycle management

Thesis (MArch(Prof)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-68).