This thesis proposes a reinterpretation of assumptions towards material value. It is a positive argument in favour of adaptive re-use, not only as a means to divert waste but also as encouragement to reconsider our current habits of consumption. This paper promotes a discussion of our current environmental predicament rather then a one-sided statement and acts as a guide to re-evaluate our sense of value. This dissertation puts forward design solutions and alternatives to certain materials that are part of our everyday lives. The design projects herein adapt existing objects into ordinary household items, as an intended gesture of nostalgia toward the object’s previous form, while at the same time, taking on a raw elegance of aesthetic quality: the projects are raw in their material origins and elegant in their form and function. This work is intended to evolve into an ongoing discussion of salvaged material as a response to problems of consumption and waste, as well as to highlight an ongoing process of design.

As demand for energy is skyrocketing around the globe, environmental challenges are becoming more severe than ever before. Carbon dioxide, methane gas and other greenhouse gases are rapidly contributing to global warming and ozone depletion phenomenon. Buildings are among major contributors of greenhouse gases. They are consuming more than 40% of total energy and three quarter of the total electricity in the United States. It is to some distance the responsibility of building design professionals to address the impacts of their practice on the environment by reducing the energy consumption and carbon emission of their projects. This thesis aims to create a practical design guideline to help architects design energy-neutral homes in North America. The study's primary emphasis is on reducing building energy demand by implementing core principles of building physics into the design process throughout a case study project. What makes this process unique compared to other existing green design programs is its focus on architect's knowledge to implement core energy saving design strategies into design and evaluate their performance with a normative simulation tool. Selection and analysis of building systems, financial evaluation of cost effective systems and materials, uncertainty analysis of building systems, construction cost estimating and marketing analysis of the case study project, demonstrate simple strategies for designers to use in projects with higher sensitivity. In conclusion, the idea behind this methodology is building marketable energy-neutral homes in the current market with existing materials and none-complex technologies. The success of this design method is depends on the knowledge and skills of architects in building science, architectural design, and building construction. Despite barriers and many uncertainties embedded in this process, moving toward energy-neutral homes will have positive impacts on environment even if it could not reach the Net-Zero balance.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2009. / A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, College of Health and Science, School of Engineering, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Includes bibliographies.

This project explores the combination of a woven structure consisting of different fibers with dyeing to create a multidimensional woven textile capable of altering in expression. This project aims to show how a designer can work with fibre-specific dyeing and multiple fibers in a woven textile and the many possibilities this lends in a design process. With a sustainable approach to the matter used in the project, creating more with less, a suggestion is made of an alternative method of creating multidimensional fabrics. The chemical reaction between pigment and fiber is explored to show a greater appreciation for the textile material and to create fabrics capable of multiple expressions. One woven fabric, in individual pieces, is dyed in reactive-, acid- and disperse-dye. The cellulose-, wool- and synthetic yarns in the fabric absorb their intended pigment but also show how they react to another category of dye. A series of dyed samples, all originating from the same woven material with an abstract pattern, show the varied expression the treatment can achieve. The fabric and method presented in the project show an example of how one can compose a series of textiles with less matter but with more expression.

This report is a documentation of an investigative design process that looks at how small shifts in established systems can be reconfigured to make big changes. It is an attempt at establishing a framework for designing sustainable solutions with the environment and social good in mind. In addressing the problems resulting from our indiscriminate use of plastic disposable dinnerware and offering a viable and earth-friendly system solution to the same, I am interested in reminding fellow designers that accountability towards the environment is the new design reality. The report advocates methods that synthesize design for people, profit, and most importantly, the planet. By using plates made from fallen leaves, the user fulfills his specific need for disposable dinnerware while simultaneously participating in an environmental task of closing the loop through responsible disposal and composting. / text

The paradigm of design is changing. Designers now need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to participate in the global move towards a sustainable future. The tenets of Sustainable Development and Design: economy and environment are being dealt with extensively in both practice and theory. The social elements, unfortunately, have proven more difficult to define and implement. The challenges arise as social sustainability deals with softer and more complex issues as diverse and unquantifiable as ethics, values, cultural diversity, holistic perspectives, collective and personal responsibility. The competencies needed to address these wicked problems are based in the realm of Social Sustainability and require a shift in how designers are taught as students and will subsequently practice as professionals. This thesis proposes that by introducing various models of collaboration into design education the capacity for responsible design practice can be developed. Arguably, by capitalising on the process of collaboration a culture of individual and collective sharing can be encouraged leading to new knowledge and openness to multi-disciplinarity, holistic perspectives and diverse cultural backgrounds. Across a Delphi Study and four consecutive phases of Action Research, the competencies for social sustainability in design are identified and their emergence evaluated through practical collaborative projects in an educational setting. From the panel of twenty-one design experts the Delphi Study developed a construct for social sustainability in design, as well as an initial Framework of the key competencies. These two tools were then used to underpin the planning, implementation and subsequent analysis of the four Action Research phases. The pragmatic nature of Action Research allowed for continuous iteration and development, where data gathered through each phase informed the proceeding phase so as to fix on an approach that is both realisable and realistic. This thesis does not offer a panacea solution but rather a pathway towards achieving the necessary changes in design practice. The findings clearly show that building capacity for responsible design practice is not a simple or one size fits all approach, as each individual experience is different. The construct, framework of competencies (and their interconnections) along with the guidelines for effective collaboration, provide a starting point that can be built upon, evolve and progress as the debate around sustainability becomes more clearly defined. Over time these generic design skills can be honed and refined to meet previously unmet societal challenges.

Currently very few retired venues are reused and most are torn down to make room for new development. Of the venues that are reused, they are either converted into housing projects or mixed use commercial buildings. My goal of reusing Rexall Place, in Edmonton, Canada, is to help prove that the reuse of this building type is a viable option, one that can save many retired venues from demolition. The adaptive reuse of Rexall Place proposes the conversion of the large scale, sole purpose venue of the Edmonton Oilers hockey club into a multi-use facility that will continue to maintain the spirit of the building, while regenerating the urban fabric of the Northlands area. This project looks to give life back to Rexall Place, and spark urban regeneration in the communities surrounding Rexall Place by creating an accessible central hub for these communities through the inclusion of quality housing, shopping and recreational facilities.

Contemporary education does not leave students with all of the necessary skills to navigate the increased complexity of the shrinking globe. The loss of practical skills for sensitive engagement with the built and natural environment is a root cause of sustainability issues. Sustainable environmental systems education informed by the principles of forest kindergarten and Katie Davis’ Six Strategies for Environmental Learning are focused on embodied experience, teaching intellectual as well as ethical and emotional lessons leaving learners with the practical skills that they need to engage with holistic environmental systems. Natural systems sustain themselves in the way that designed systems also should. "The natural consumption cycle is a closed loop system where the waste of one is consumable of another." (9 Orr, 2004) Interior space fights the inevitable decay that is part of a natural life cycle, overlooking long-term life cycle implications. The sustainable systems and process of the built environment can be informed by the closed loop system of natural consumption. Design can remind humans of their role in the ecosystem. This closed loop system can also inform the evaluation of materials and furniture and the reuse of materials that might otherwise have been overlooked, resulting in the use, and production, of less new materials. This project explores the typology of Forest Kindergarten within the interior environment using a framework informed by concepts of nature inspired design, systems inspired design and material inspired design in order to challenge expectations of contemporary education and the built environment in order to leave users with new expectations of their role in the natural ecosystem.

Contemporary education does not leave students with all of the necessary skills to navigate the increased complexity of the shrinking globe. The loss of practical skills for sensitive engagement with the built and natural environment is a root cause of sustainability issues. Sustainable environmental systems education informed by the principles of forest kindergarten and Katie Davis’ Six Strategies for Environmental Learning are focused on embodied experience, teaching intellectual as well as ethical and emotional lessons leaving learners with the practical skills that they need to engage with holistic environmental systems. Natural systems sustain themselves in the way that designed systems also should. "The natural consumption cycle is a closed loop system where the waste of one is consumable of another." (9 Orr, 2004) Interior space fights the inevitable decay that is part of a natural life cycle, overlooking long-term life cycle implications. The sustainable systems and process of the built environment can be informed by the closed loop system of natural consumption. Design can remind humans of their role in the ecosystem. This closed loop system can also inform the evaluation of materials and furniture and the reuse of materials that might otherwise have been overlooked, resulting in the use, and production, of less new materials. This project explores the typology of Forest Kindergarten within the interior environment using a framework informed by concepts of nature inspired design, systems inspired design and material inspired design in order to challenge expectations of contemporary education and the built environment in order to leave users with new expectations of their role in the natural ecosystem.

Herein lies the journey of change, from being a frustrated and isolated designer, to finding a connected practice expressing my personal values. Much was learnt on the journey regarding the nature of my practice and how it changed, about sustainability and what it means for my practice, tactics, framing and the recognition of a greater potential of my communication design practice beyond material considerations to becoming a device for connection leading to a more sustaining practice. This research is of value to communication design practitioners wishing to move towards a more sustainable practice. It provides insight into the deeper issues of sustainability applied to communication design practice, a guide to important literature of the field, and some possibilities for an expanded form of communication design practice.