Green Habitat : Contribution to Sustainability by Interior Designer INSITE - Official publication of Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID), Publishers: Akar InfoMedia Private Limited (AIM). http://www.insiteindia.in
Date of Publishing 26th February 2013
Sana Salman ( S ust ai nab i l i t y C onsul t ant , A E C O M, India Pvt. Ltd)
D r.P re m C. J a in Managi ng Di rect or A E C O M, Indi a P v t . Lt d C hai rman- IG BC
S a k hs i J a in ( S ust ai nab i l i t y C onsul t ant , A E C O M, India Pvt. Ltd)
26th February 2013
Green Habitat- Contribution to Sustainability by Interior Designer
There is this romantic idea one with the environment (Joe Collins)
INTRODUCTION The more we reach to information age the more people are getting aware of the consequences of our actions in recent years. There is much greater awareness today of issues like slavery, child abuse, biological warfare and the most important, awareness of our hostility towards our environment. Buildings today not only serve the basic functions and needs, but also connect past with the future. They not only provide shelter but also life support systems, transportation terminals, education, justice, entertainment, security and all other daily needs.. With the increased functionality of the buildings, it has become complex and expensive to build and maintain them. These complex buildings are majorly responsible for green house emissions and excessive energy consumption. They are not only responsible for environmental degradation damage but also for diseases like asthma, lung diseases and other allergies due to poor indoor environment quality (IEQ). Governments are taking initiatives to create a safer and greener construction industry. Many legislation bodies like BEE, BIS, IGBC and other have been formed. Various standards and guidelines like ECBC, NBC, and IGBC Green Ratings have been prepared. But most of these are still recommendatory, not mandatory. Awareness needs to be created to encourage their adoption so that these issues get addressed and we move towards solution. Interior Designers are beginning to address environment since it is the field that uses extensive resources. The industry has been able to acknowledge that interior designing is not just about fancy homes but also the importance of sustainable interior design. Interior design is an important industry that corks the full bottle giving the beautiful shape to the hard-work of all members of different disciplines involved in making a home, office, school or any other habitat. BARRIERS TO SUSTAINABILITY Before we embark upon sustainable interior design we have to overcome two important barriers, one is the Motivation and second is Goal. These barriers can be best overcome by the designers through in-depth knowledge of abundant local availability of green materials that are aesthetically pleasing and their cost implication. It doesn’t stop here since the whole construction industry is equally client driven; therefore, the interior designer has to INSITE - Official publication of Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID),
Green Habitat- Contribution to Sustainability by Interior Designer
26th February 2013
educate the client of its advantage in terms of Indoor Quality and the associated health benefit and productivity advantageous for occupants especially when the cost implementing green might increase slightly. MOTIVATION It is essential that the Interior Designer takes the extra step to convenience the client that additional expense in making a sustainable interior is fully worthwhile in terms of the value it brings to occupants and provides for a sustainable future for our growth. Designers have to understand what motivates and influences the new approach from conventional to sustainable design. It is always said “change is beautiful but to change is difficult, transition to sustainability has been a long journey, but we see many milestones already crossed throughout the country. The only question that we need to ask ourselves is: are we passionate enough to become responsible designers whose approach is to provide creative solutions that are sustainable as well as aesthetically pleasing? GOALS OF THE DESIGNER Interior designer, before starting a sustainable design, most set goals that need to be addressed during the whole process. These goals are no different than those for the conventional interior design, but with the twist of sustainable approach, such as, Interior Environment Quality, material Selection, Human Comfort, Input Reeducation, Output Management and Life cycle of the completed work. TRANSITION TO SUSTAINABILITY Integrated Design Approach For sustainable design the Architect, the Interior Designer, Consulting Engineers (structural, civil, mechanical), landscape architect, construction professionals, consultants from many specialized fields, and the client, work in a highly collaborative relationship, throughout the life cycle of the project. Interior designer holds its own important place in the whole building design process as mentioned earlier, and contribute significantly in completing the whole construction process. Role of the interior designer The role of an interior designer was restrained to designing interior spaces and choosing materials as per the design and the client demands. Times have changed; hence the roles and responsibilities of Interior Designer have gone through significant changes. The responsibility of the designer and its relation to sustainability can be best understood by enlarging their main responsibility into shared responsibility.
INSITE - Official publication of Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID),
Green Habitat- Contribution to Sustainability by Interior Designer
26th February 2013
Main responsibilities of interior designer include space planning and space usage, material finishes, interior elements and human comfort; these have always been the forte of the interior designer. In sustainable design, the designer has to work in collaboration with the team from the beginning of the project in sharing responsibility throughout the process. Integrated design process start with location and orientation of building, and further continuing with the right location of the interior spaces along with designing the right orientation and size of windows, proper shaping devices including blends and drops;
proper selection of room finishes and furnishings helps achieve results that are not only
aesthetically pleasing but are sustainable in nature. Decisions that are made at early stage regarding building orientation and rational layout of the spaces can have a significant impact on space utilization that allows majority of the room and their openings face the right direction. Careful consideration of design plan given to the internal space within a building: determines how well the space inside can be used, and how can it be most efficient and healthiest for occupants, which is the core principles of sustainability Space planning and efficient usage are important bases of indoor environment quality; these strategies can not only save us energy but also a serve to preserve the environment. Incorporation of traditional local architecture with modern day efficient technologies can create a healthy space and keep us rooted with our traditions Materials and Indoor Environment Quality Interior designers are always associated with beautiful spaces, warm lights, colored walls, designed furniture and beautifully woven rugs and carpets. Interiors require a large number of materials; therefore, careful selection of the materials has to be the designers and manufacturers responsibility. Materials can have a huge impact on indoor air quality and the environment. The designer has to have an eye for selecting right materials. Before selecting the materials designers should ask themselves - is the building material renewable? Does it have high recycled content? Is it manufactured locally? Does it support health and well being of the occupants? Does it support / enhance environment quality? Focusing on similar key points that will help designer choose material wisely. The designer should prefer material that has an identifiable recycled content both post industrial and post consumer. Preference should be given to materials that are harvested from sustainable managed farms like rapid renewable cultivation, materials with forest stewardship council (FSC) certificate. Preference should also be for reuse of materials from old construction, sites, for remanufactured or salvaged goods; thereby lessening the burden on landfill sites. These small choices can have a great impact on the environment. Materials for interior finishes like paints, adhesive and sealants also have a huge impact on the indoor air quality. INSITE - Official publication of Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID),
Green Habitat- Contribution to Sustainability by Interior Designer
26th February 2013
All the paints sealants and adhesive used inside the building should have low volatile organic component (VOC) with moisture resistant properties to prevent any sort of fungal or bacterial growth. Designers should refrain from using any Toxic material like asbestos which is carcinogenic in nature and have serious health implications. These small measures will provide a beautiful and healthy interior space. Benefits of Sustainable approach The Sustainable practice follows integrated design approach that makes it distinctive from the traditional practice. It enhances concurrency of design and construction phase involvement of the project team over the full life cycle of the buildings. For any designer the occupant comfort is the top most priority while as sustainable designer results in proficient layout, and efficient system zoning, which creates possibility of tremendous energy saving compared to the building that has been preconceived individually. Designers along with consultants have to consider quality of air, thermal comfort, Lighting comfort and acoustical comforts. These factors contribute to indoor environment quality along with providing energy efficient solutions. CONCLUSION The construction industry needs a positive approach to a sustainable environment inside and outside the building. Members of the industry have taken the responsibility and are moving ahead with great success. All the designers and consultants are starting to move from their comfort zone and have accepted methods and approaches to whole new process. With the help and collaboration of different members of the construction industry and support from the system , will not only create a sustainable environment but also helps create awareness amongst the people associated with the industry directly or indirectly. The members have an added responsibility to identify and bring additional members with their expertise and create awareness through their wok and relation with the clients.
These approaches help to clarify all the doubts and the myths about the sustainable
construction. Interior designing is the best creative solution that helps leverage natural resources and contributes to the efficiency of the building and by careful selection of locally available materials.
INSITE - Official publication of Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID),