An Honest Building

            I really enjoy this week's topic on sustainability architecture. I have become more aware of myself to not overuse the word “sustainability” because the word has been overly used in so many aspects of today’s market. Instead, I would like to replace it with “environmental responsiveness.”

            Beyond all the other typical aspects that we usually think of when we think about designing with the environment in mind, I really like Philippe Rahm’s discussion on rethinking the design approach toward architecture.

            “Slipping from the solid to the void, from the visible to the invisible, from metric composition to thermal composition, architecture as meteorology opens up additional, more sensual, more variable dimensions in which limits fade away and solids evaporate.”

            Opening the design to its surrounding, rather than sealing it tight to provide what we consider “comfortable.” With the comprehensive project for this semester, I have been very happy in executing the design with the surrounding environment by blurring the boundary between interior and exterior. The thought process from Rahm helped me see that there are other ways to rethink the design process.

            I want to challenge myself, and our classmates, to keep this in mind and execute it for every project from now on.

Comments

  1. "Opening the design to its surrounding, rather than sealing it tight to provide what we consider 'comfortable.'"
    I really like your opinion here, I think it's an aspect we need to consider more in school and in practice. Because really, how many spaces ACTUALLY need to be conditioned? An example, lobbies and/or atriums. It's a waiting space, why does it need to be conditioned? How long are you really there for? Design it to have cross ventilation and you should be okay for the 10 minutes max that you're there.

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  2. Tuyen, I also agree with the statement you made about opening the design to its surroundings. This can be interpreted in many ways from creating smoother transitional spaces from exterior to interior, to creating an operable facade that can be adjusted depending on the occupant’s preference, to integrating more environmental strategies into the building design. Either of those options will lead to a more well-rounded projects that responds to the environment in a positive manner.

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