- Living close to my workplace (Unitec at the moment) so I can live without a car.
- Not owning a television and refusing Junk Mail at home to avoid some of the most pernicious advertising.
- Buying green certified products for around the home.
- Avoiding products with excessive packaging, including bottled water.
- Refusing to purchase caged chicken meat or eggs.
- Refusing to purchase Tuna.
- Using demolition timber and materials on my home renovations.
- Buying locally made products where possible.
- Growing my own vegetables and composting all organic waste.
As I learn more about sustainability issues in design I am trying to develop a set of principles to guide me in my practice. I have been working on setting up recycling of waste paper products at the company I am doing work experience and have advocated for the same in our studio at Unitec. I have followed the advice given during our sustainability lecture and been investigating 'green' suppliers locally and have recommended their products and services on the jobs I have been involved with during my work experience.
Most importantly I have worked hard to educate myself outside of the classroom on Sustainability issues in New Zealand by attending lecture series like 'Future Impact' at Auckland University and those put on by the Designers Institute.
2. I agree with Papanek that environmental considerations are a contemporary necessity for designers. I agree because the production of human design is what eventually becomes our waste. Papanek's 'Six Sided Function Matrix' (p.36, Papanek, 1993) is an excellent starting point for designers to consider how each stage of a products life from conception to disposal should be designed to mitigate its wider ecological impact.
Most importantly I have worked hard to educate myself outside of the classroom on Sustainability issues in New Zealand by attending lecture series like 'Future Impact' at Auckland University and those put on by the Designers Institute.
2. I agree with Papanek that environmental considerations are a contemporary necessity for designers. I agree because the production of human design is what eventually becomes our waste. Papanek's 'Six Sided Function Matrix' (p.36, Papanek, 1993) is an excellent starting point for designers to consider how each stage of a products life from conception to disposal should be designed to mitigate its wider ecological impact.
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| © Tamara Croft, 2011 |
3. Ironbank on Karangahape Road in Auckland City is the first building in New Zealand to receive a 5 Green-Star Office Built Rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council. Malcolm Walker at Urbis magazine described Ironbank as, "...this building is green. The building has a low embodied energy, rusting weathering steel replaces paint, and there are environmental strategies in place that no doubt are a good thing, but what I like is that they are not overt. Too often green equals ugly, but not here. Solar panels roughing up the roof line are the most obvious while natural cross ventilation (very Edwardian) is the nicest." (Walker, Urbis, 2010)
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| © Tamara Croft, 2011 |
But are the Building Council and Urbis as thorough as Papanek?
i. Choice of Materials
Ironbank is primarily built in glass, concrete, structural steel and kordite (metal facade intended to weather and rust). All of these take large amounts of energy to extract and produce. However, the choice in materials was made for their postive impact in the built environment - providing natural insulation and cooling, no need for exterior painting, and solar heating.
ii. The Manufacturing Process
Ironbank is primarily built in glass, concrete, structural steel and kordite (metal facade intended to weather and rust). All of these take large amounts of energy to extract and produce. However, the choice in materials was made for their postive impact in the built environment - providing natural insulation and cooling, no need for exterior painting, and solar heating.
ii. The Manufacturing Process
94.5% construction waste by weight was recycled (p.2, NZGBC Report, 2010) and being built in Auckland clean energy was used throughout the construction process. It is unclear if the construction waste included the demolition waste from the previous building that was removed from the site.
iii. Packaging the Product
iii. Packaging the Product
All composite wood products are low emission formaldehyde, no carpet installed and low VOC paint used (p.2, NZGBC Report, 2010). However, as we learned in the sustainability lecture composite materials are difficult if not impossible to recycle at the end of their life and so pure materials would have been a better choice.
iv. The Finished Product
Ironbank is definately not another version of the same old Auckland office building. It is a unique design that in the words of Malcolm Walker, "... is brave and different but above all it is sound. Stripped of its frills the planning is clear and considered and it is exhilarating to be in. We cannot expect all new commercial buildings to be as daring or as extravagant as this but if they get even half the care and design attention that Ironbank has been given, Auckland will be a better place." (Walker, Urbis, 2010).
v. Transportation
Transportation of materials to the site would have used significant amounts of energy but the building itself is built to encourage low impact transportation options, it is on major public transport and cycleway routes, it has cycle storage and the carparking stacker system uses less energy than a traditional carpark space while taking up less area. (p.2, NZGBC Report, 2010).
vi. Waste
Ironbank is careful to minimise waste and emphasise recycling within the building including having a dedicated recycling centre, using rainflow run-off to flush low-flow toilets and irrigate landscaping, using natural ventilation to avoid the CFC's of refrigeration units and solar panels for heating. However, as stated above the end of life for composite materials has not been considered.
iv. The Finished Product
Ironbank is definately not another version of the same old Auckland office building. It is a unique design that in the words of Malcolm Walker, "... is brave and different but above all it is sound. Stripped of its frills the planning is clear and considered and it is exhilarating to be in. We cannot expect all new commercial buildings to be as daring or as extravagant as this but if they get even half the care and design attention that Ironbank has been given, Auckland will be a better place." (Walker, Urbis, 2010).
v. Transportation
Transportation of materials to the site would have used significant amounts of energy but the building itself is built to encourage low impact transportation options, it is on major public transport and cycleway routes, it has cycle storage and the carparking stacker system uses less energy than a traditional carpark space while taking up less area. (p.2, NZGBC Report, 2010).
vi. Waste
Ironbank is careful to minimise waste and emphasise recycling within the building including having a dedicated recycling centre, using rainflow run-off to flush low-flow toilets and irrigate landscaping, using natural ventilation to avoid the CFC's of refrigeration units and solar panels for heating. However, as stated above the end of life for composite materials has not been considered.
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| © Tamara Croft, 2011 |
Despite Urbis' glowing review and the case study from the Green Building Council I do not think Ironbank fits entirely within Papanek's 6 categories.
This is mostly because Papanek's categories are focused on product design and a building is composed of many, many products from necessity some of which will not always fit every category of sustainability and environmental soundness, especially in the extraction and transport of building materials. However, this building has been carefully designed and constructed to minimise its impact on the environment and provide a stimulating and healthy workplace for its occupants and I think if Papanek had a 6 category system for buildings then this would be an exemplar of it.
This is mostly because Papanek's categories are focused on product design and a building is composed of many, many products from necessity some of which will not always fit every category of sustainability and environmental soundness, especially in the extraction and transport of building materials. However, this building has been carefully designed and constructed to minimise its impact on the environment and provide a stimulating and healthy workplace for its occupants and I think if Papanek had a 6 category system for buildings then this would be an exemplar of it.
References
Papanek, Victor. “The Green Imperative: Ecology and Ethics in Design and Architecture.” London: Thames and Hudson, 1995.
http://www.ironbank.co.nz/index.cfm
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