SUSTAINABILITY IN THE WORK PLACE IS A CHALLENGING GOAL! Interior Designer Fi Thomas discusses steps for businesses towards an eco-friendly practice “‘Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. (United Nations, 1987)” Can sustainability be achieved in work spaces with base building regulations and processes, office fit outs to match work requirements, tight budgets and staff who may or may not care about sustainability? The topic is huge with multiple accredited green organisations involved each with their own set of codes. Therefore this article will provide a brief overview only and showcase activities we can participate in to help a business work towards a better and ecofriendly practice. The Built Environment Many architects and designers are encouraged to create sustainable buildings for the future. They seek to obtain a higher Green Star rating. “Green Star is a comprehensive, national, voluntary environmental rating system that evaluates the environmental design and construction of buildings and communities.” REFERENCE :: FROM GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL AUSTRALIA WEBSITE
BACKGROUND IMAGE :: INSTYLE ACOUSTIC PANELLING
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Work Place Practice Interior Designers when creating new fit outs already adopt a sustainable approach when they utilise activity based and hot deskwork practises. In the past all staff whether part time or full time might be allocated a desk, now there might be 250 staff but 220 desks. Another common work style is to rent a chair or space within a shared office. This sustainable approach to space, systems, processes and resources means that overall less energy and paper are used.
Interior Design Sustainability in the work place is definitely something that we all have a responsibility to work towards. A designer can encourage clients along a particular direction.Floor plans and spatial layouts can be orientated to increase the amount of natural light and ventilation, reducing energy expenditure. I can also specify low VOC workstations, furniture, carpets and paints can also be specified. A vertical green wall not only looks striking it serves a purpose of filtering the air quality. Wall panelling can be a noise absorber, assist in climate control as well as a decoration element of a fit out. This sustainable culture has been demonstrated in fit outs such as Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Centre and Google.
