Design and the Environment

Design and the Environment

I chose to do my Media Review on Design and the Environment because the last lesson that we learned in class really stood out to me on this subject. I wanted to look more into this because we are destroying our world and not even know how much we are damaging it. I feel alot of this needs to be brought to attention and there is something everyone can do to help better our environment.

This video shared why we need ecodesign. It showed pictures proving to how wasteful we our to the environment and some statistics of the problems we created. It describes how ecodesign can put the pieces back together to help sustain a substantial future.

http://www.npd-solutions.com/dfe.html
This website gives guidelines and considerations for designing products and their manufacturing processes for minimum impact on the environment. It has a list of the three major elements of design for the environment which are design for environmental manufacturing, design for environmental packaging, and design for disposal and recycle-ability. Below each it shares considerations that we could do.

http://www.hermanmiller.com/About-Us/Environmental-Advocacy/Design-for-the-Environment

This website's article is titled Design for the Environment. The companies long-term emphasis is on product durability, innovation, and quality demonstrates that the company has effectively designed for the environment. This article explains their focus on maintaining high standards while incorporating increasingly more environmentally sustainable materials, features, and manufacturing processes into new product designs.

http://www.newhouseofart.com/modern-house-design-the-shelter-of-wood-for-better-environment/

This explains a modern house design that stems from the economic and social situation of our city. It explains the model and shows some ways how it can be respectful for the environment. Here are a list of few ways it can help:

• Being has a greenhouse during the winter the ambient temperature rises during the summer and cooled front.
• The dining room has a double facade that allows winter sunlight in summer and keeps the cool facade.
• All bedrooms contain a Trombe wall, composed of reused plastic bottles full of water that accumulate heat during the day and throw it into the environment during the night.
• The umbrellas provide an efficient mobile shade in summer and allow sunlight to pass the winter.

 http://dianhasan.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/philips-designs-a-better-stove-that-saves-both-lives-and-the-environment/

This site shows how Philips designs a stove that saves both lives and the environment. The Chulha Stove is a low smoke biomass stove that traps smoke and heat inside a locally cast housing in such a way as to heat two pot-holes with a high rate of efficiency to require less fuel. It directs the smoke through a chimney chamber that includes a stack of slotted clay tablets that capture particulates as the smoke moves through, cleaning the exhaust before it ever leaves the assembly. The Chulha’s chimney also provides for indoor access for cleaning, eliminating the need to climb on the roof for chimney cleaning which leads to accidents such as toxicity of the smoke.Philips offers the design for free so that the stove can be made locally in clay casting.