Design Concepts

● Sustainable design positions that are

independent of architectural aesthetic.
 System design
● Open System

Input function/ output

action
 System design
● Closed System

function/
Input output
action
 System design
● Closed System
 System design
● Holistic design
– The search for the 'supermodel'

Everything you do has positive and negative impacts....

 Scale

● Design
is
'scaleless'
 Patterns
● Observation of/ from nature
 Patterns
● Observation of/ from nature
 Chaos/ Fractals
● Dynamic systems
– Weather patterns
– Natural Systems

http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/fractals/
 Permaculture
● Derivative term:
– Permanent Culture
– Permanent Agriculture
 Permaculture
Permaculture is about designing sustainable human settlements.
It is a philosophy & approach to land use which weaves together
•microclimate
•annual & perennial plants
• animals
•soils
•water management
•human needs...
into intricately connected productive communities.
- Bill Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture.
 Permaculture
● 'Value Adding'
● each component, its position, & relationship with adjacent
elements augments & adds value to the whole.
– Scale
– Pattern
– System
 Permaculture
• Think about the long term consequences of your actions. Plan for sustainability
• Wherever possible use species indigenous to your project site, or those naturalised
species known to be beneficial.
• Design for small scale, energy efficient intensive systems, rather than large scale
energy consuming extensive systems.
• Design diverse, polycultural systems.
• Use low energy environmental & biological systems to conserve & generate energy.
• Bring food-growing back into cities and towns where it has always been traditional
in sustainable societies.
• Assist people to become self reliant, and promote community responsibility.
• Restore fertility to the soil
• Use everything at its optimal level & recycle all wastes.
• See solutions not problems.
Bill Mollison, Introduction to Permaculture. pp.3