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ECOLOGICAL DESIGN
The unfolding problems of huaiaii ecology. in other sorti is, are iiot
solvable by repeating old niistakes in new and more sophisticated
and powerful wa!-s. E'k need a deeper change of the kind Albert
Einstein had in liliiid when he said that the saiile manner of thought
that created could not solve them. We need what archi-tect Sin1 van
der Ryn and mathematician. Steward Cowail define as an ecological
design revolution. Ecological design i11 their words is "ally forill of
design that minimize(s) enviro~ilnentallydestruc-tive iinpacts by
iiltegrating itself with living processes . . . the effective adaptation
to and integratioil with nature's processes" (van der R!-n and
Co~ran.1996. s. 18).For Landscape architect. Carol Franklin
ecological design is a "fundamental revisio~iof thinking and
operation" (Franklin. 264). Good design does iiot begin with \\-hat
we can do. but rather with questions about what we really vant to tlo
('&aim. 22). Ecological design. in other words. is the careful meshing
of human purposes nith the larger patterns and flows of the natural
world and the study of those patterns and flous to illforill human
actions (Om. 1994. 104).
The pioiieers in ecological design begin with the observation that nature
has been deleloping successful strategies for living 011 Earth for 3.S
billio~iyears and is. accordinglj. a lnodel for:
settings that i~icludetrees. flowers. flowing water. birds. and natural ~vorlclfull of irony and paradox, veiled in mystery. And for those
processes than in their absence. AG are sensuous creatures who purporting to reweave the human presence in the T\-orld in a manner
develop emotiolial attachment to particular landscapes. The ial- that is ecologicall!- sustainable and spiritually sus-taining. the
plication is that we need to create comnlullities and places that ancie~itidea that God (or the gods) lliocks human in-telligence should
resonate with our evolutionan- past and for which rve have deep never 11e far from our minds.
affection.
Can it be repaired or reused? Fifth. the standard for ecological design is neither efficient! 1101.
productivit!; but health begiiiniilg with that of the soil an d es - tending
U-hat is the full cost over its expected lifetime?
upward through plants. animals. and people. It is impos-sible to iiiipair
Is there a better waj- to do it? health at an!- level TI-ithoutaffecting that at other levels. The etymology
of th e word health reveals its connection to other words such a s healing.
The qualit!- of design. i n other words, is measured h!- the elegance ~rholeness,and holy. Ecological de-sign is a n art by ~ v h i c wel~ aim to
with which we join means an d worth?- ends. In '&endell Ben-!-'s restore and maintain the ~ r h o l e - ness of the entire fabric of life
felicitous phrase. good design "solves for patterii" thereb!- pre-serving increasingl!- fragmented b?- spe-cialization. scientific reductionism. an d
the larger patterns of place and culture and sometimes this lneails doing bureaucratic division. We now h a r e armies of specialists studying bits
notliiilg at all (Berr~; 1981. 134-145). In the ~ r o r d sof John Todd. and pieces of the whole as if these were, i n fact. separable. In reality it is
the aim is "elegant solutions predicated on the uniqueness of place." inipos-sible to disconnect the threads that bind us into larger ~ r h o l e su
%cological design. then, is not siinpl!-a Inore efficient \+-a!- to p to that one great communit~ -of the ecosphere. The environment
accommodate desires as it is the improve-nient of desire and all of those outside u s is also inside us. m e are connected to inore things in more
things that effect what we desire. ways than Ire ca n ever count or comprehend. The act of designing
ecologicall!- begins ~ v i t the awareness that we can never entire1)-
Third. ecological clesign is as much about politics and power as it about fathom those connections an d with tlie illtent to faithfully honor what we
ecolog!-. We h a r e good reason to question the large scale plans to callnot full!- comprehend and control. This means that ecological design
renlodel the planet that range fro111 genetic engineers to the must he done cautiousl!; huinbly. and rev-erently.
multinational timber companies. Should a few b e permitted to redesign
the fabric of life on the earth? Should others be pemiit-ted to design
machines smarter than we are that might sonledaj-find us to be a n
anno\-ance and discard us? Who should decide h o ~ muchr of nature Sixth. ecological design is not reducible to a set of technical skills. It is
should be remodeled. for ~ r h o s convenience. and by what standards? ailcliored in the faith that the world is not random hut pur-poseful and
In a n age ~ v h e never!-thing seeins pos-sible. where are the citizens or stitched together from top to bottolll by a common set of mles. It is
other members of biotic commu-nit?- who will be effected b!- the grounded i n the belief that we are part of the larger order of things and
implementation of grandiose plans? The anslrer is that they are n o ~ that we have a n ailcient obligation to act har-moniously within those
rescluded. At the heart of the issue of design. then, are procedural larger patterns. It grows from the aware-]less that we do not live by
questions that have to d o ~ ~ i tpoliticsi. representation. and fairness. bread alone and that the effort to build a sustainable world must begin
b!- designing one that first nour-ishes the hunran spirit. Design. at its
best. is a sacred art reflect-ing the faith that, in the end , if we live
Fourth, it follo~\ sthat ecological design is not so much an indi-vidual faithfull>- and well. the world \\-ill not break our hearts.
art practiced by iildividual .'designers" a s it is a n ongoing
Fillall!. the goal of ecological design is not a journey to solile utopian If it is not to become simpl\ a more efficient Tray to do the same
..
destiny. but is rather inore like a homecoming. Pliiloso-pher, Suzanne old things, ecological desigii must become a kind of public peda-gogy
Langer. once described the problem in these ~rords: built into the structure of daily life. There is little sense in only selling
greener products to a consumer whose miiid is still pre-ecological.
Most people have no honie that is a ,s~.i~iholof their Sooner or later that person will find enr-ironmen-talism inconvenient.
chilcll~ood. not er-eil a clefil~iteizleinor?-o f one place to or incoinprehensil~le.or too costly aiid will opt out. The goal of
serr-e that purpose. ~llaii!no. longer knon- the lailguage that ecological design is to calibrate huinaii he-havior vith ecological
n-as once their illother-toague. All olcl s~ - inl~olsare gone . . realities while educating people about eco-logical possil~ilitiesand
. the field o f our uncon-scious s!-inbolic orici~tation s s limits. E k must begin to see our houses. buildings. fanns. busitlesses.
uddeill!- plon-ed up 1 1 the~ trr-alendous changes ill the energ!- technologies, transportation. landscapes. anti coaimuiiities in
esterilal n-orlcl and ill the social orcler. (Lager . 292) much tlie saine way tliat we re-gard classrooms. In fact. they iilstiuct
in inore fundamental ~va!-s hecause they structure 71-hat Ire see. 1107\-
111other 11-ortls.we are lost and must now find our xi!- home again. we inove. what v e eat. our sense of time ant1 space. ho11- we relate
For all of tlie technological accomplishments. tlie t~\ - entietl~cell- to each other. our
tun- was the most hiutal ancl destructive era in our short histoil-. In sense of security. and how experience the particular places in
the centur>-ahead Ire must chart a different course tliat leads to x~liicliwe live. More important. h!- their scale and power they struc-
restoration. healing, and ~vlioleiiess.Ecological desigii is a kind of ture h o ~TI-ethink. often limiting our abilitj to imagine better
iiavigatioii aid to help us find our bearings again. And getting home alternatives.
means remaking the huniaii presence in the world in a waj-that honors
ecolog!; evolution. human dignit!-. spirit. aiid tlie hu-nian need for
roots ancl connection. Khen we tlesign ecologically Ire are instructed continually by the
fabric of ever!-da!- life-pedagog>- inforins infrastructure which in
turn inforins us. The gro~t-ingof food on local farins and gardens. for
example. becomes a source of nourishment for tlie body aiid
instruction in soils. plants. aniinals, and cycles of grox~thand de-cay
CONCLUSION
(Doiiahue. 1999). Renewable energ!- technologies hecoine a source of
Ecological design. then. invol\es far inore than the application of energ!- as ~ r e l las insight about tlie flo~rsof energ!- in ecos>-
instrumental reasoil aiid advanced teclinolog~applied to the proh- stems.Ecologicall>-designed coininuiiities 1)econie a way to teach
leins of shoehorning billions inore of us into an earth alread! hulg-ing about land use. landscapes. and human coniiectioiis. Resto-ration of
at the seams with people. Humankind. as Ahrahain Hescliel once wildlife corridors and habitats instructs us in tlie ways of animals. 111
wrote. "~c-illnot perish for want of infonnatioii: hut onlr for ~ i a a other I\-ords ecological desigii becomes a wa!- to ex-pand our
oft appreciation . . . nhat xve lack is iiot a uill to believe but a will to alvareness of nature and our ecological competence.
~vonder." (Heschel. 37) The ultimate object of ecological design is
Most importantly. nhen n e design ecologicall~we break the ad-dictive
iiot the things we niake but rather the hulnaii mind ancl specificall! its
quality that permeates nioderii life. "me have." in the words of
capacity for vonder aiid appreciation.
Philosopher Bruce Ellshire.
The capacit~of the miiid for ~Qoiiderhonever.. has been all but
- .
"ellcase(d)ourselr-es ia coiltrolled enr-iroilinents called
obliterated by the v e n means by which .ire are passivel!. provi-
huild-ing and cities. Strapped into machines. rve speed froin
sioned with food, energ!; materials. shelter. health-care. enter-
place to
tainment, aiid by those that remove our voluminous ~vastesfroin sight place n-f~el~erclesired-er. t!pically knon-ing anJ-particular place
aiid mind. There is hardly anything in these industrial s!-s-teins that
and its r e ~ n e r a t i r -rhythnlse and prospects
fosters mindfulness or ecological con~petencelet alone a sense of oi11~slightly-."
wonder. To the contran these s!-stems are designed to generate cash
which has itself become an ol~jectof wonder and reverence. It is E F hale alienated ourielxes froin "nature that formed our needs
widely supposed that fornlal education serves as some kind of 01 er millions of !ears [~rhich]ineans aliellatioil within ourselves." (E-
antidote to this uniquel!- modern form of barbarisin. But ilsliire. 18) Gixen our inabilit! to satisf! "our primal needs a s
conveiitior~aleducation. at its best, merel!- dilutes the tidal wave of organisms" we suffer what he calls a deprivation of ecstasy that
false and distracting infomiation embedded in the infra-structure and stemmed from the 99% of our life as a species spent fully engaged
processes of technopol!-. However well intentioned. it cannot with nature. Having cut ourselves off fro111 the c>-cles of nature, we
coinpete with the larger educational effects of high~va!-s. sliopping find ourselves strangers i11 an alien world of our o~viimaking. Our
malls, supermarkets. urhan sprawl. factory farms. agribusiness. huge response has been to create distractions and addictive beha1 - iors as
utilities. multiiiatioiial corporations, and non-stop advertising that junk food substitutes for the totalitj of bod>-spirit-mind nourishment
teaches doiiiinaiice, power. speed, accumu-lation. and self-indulgent ~re've lost and then to vigorously deny what we've done. Ecstasy
individualism. 'Ke ma!- talk about how everything is ecologicall!- deprivation. in other ~sords .results in surrogate behaviors.
connected. but the terrible simplifiers are working overtime to take it mechanicall!- repeated over and over again, othenvise kiio~vnas
all apart. addiction. This is a plausible. even brilliant. argunlent with the ring of
truth to it.'
Ecological desigii, finall!; is the art that reconnects us as sensu-ous
creatures evolved over millions of years to a sensuous. living.
an d beautiful world. That world does not need to be remade hut rather Harvken. P.. 1977. "Natural Capitalism." llot/ie~ . Jonr(April).~. pp. 40-53.
revealed. To do that we d o not need research a s liiuch a s the H a d e n , P.. Lovinb. H.. Lox ins. -1.1999. Natural Ca12italism. Boston: Littlr B r o r \ ~ ~ .
rediscovery of old and forgottell things. T e do not need more HescI1~1.-1.J.. 1990 (1951) .hlaii is Not .\lone: 4 Philosooh\- of Religion. Nerj-
Iork: Farrar. Straus. and Gimur.
ecoilol~licgrowth as much a s we need to re-learn the ancient les-
Hunter. J. Robert. 1997. Sirirple Tlii~lesrron't Sale tlie Eaiih. u s t i n : U n i
son of generosit!; ~vhichis to sa!- that the gifts we have must mol-e. ~ersit! of Tesa, Pres<.
that we ca n possess nothing. RP are on]!- trustees stantling for
Jackson. K.. 1985. Nev Roots ior .1uricultxC. Lincoln: Unirersit! of Kel~raska Press.
o11l!- a mometlt between those rho precetled us and those 1\-11oT\-ill
follo~r.Our greatest ileecls have l l o t h i ~ ~tog do with possessioll of k a h n H. and Brorrn. &~m.. 1976. The Next T ~ r oHu~ldredIears . hew lork: K m .
thiiigs hut rather with heart. ~visdom.thankfulness. ant1 geiieros-it? of 1\1orro11.
spirit. . la d these things a r e part of larger ecologies that Kellert. 5.. and Kilson. E. O., 1993. The Bionliilia H~rmtliesisUaihington:. ID-land
P~rss.
emhrace spirit. hod>-.and mintl-the beginning of design.
Langen 5.. 1976 (1942) .Philo;;onh~in a Nrxi kex: Camhritlge: Hal-lard Unix el.-
sit! Prrss.
Design in its largest sense joins a variety of disciplines arouiid the issue
Lawing. 5.. 1991. Priests ant1 Programmers. Princeton: Princeton Unil-rrsit! Press.
of h o T\~-epro~-isiollsix (so011 to h e 8-10 l~illionpeople) 1,-it11 food.
energy. water. shelter. I~ealt hcare. and nlaterials aiid do so sustainahl! Lewis. C.S., 1970 (1947) .The .\l>olition of hlan. Nelr YorL: Rlachlillan.
and fairl!. on a planet ~ r i t ha biosphere. Design is not just ahout h o ~ Lertis.. Rl. 1992. Green Delusions. Durham: Duke Universit! Presh.
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long-term collversatioil het~ree necologists and designers of the built (Ma! 1. pp. 55-78,
environnleilt and technosphere the es-sence of which is I$-hether design
Meadolrs. 11.. 1998. "The Global Citizen." lille! .Yerrs (July 4 ) .
hecomes yet one more clever Ira!- to make end-runs around natural
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irr~iJanual7\-). NOTES
'Our ecological troubles haye been variously attributed to Judeo-Cllristian reli-gion
Franklin. C. 1Y17. "Fostering LIT-ingLandscapes," in Iliompson, 6.. and Steiner, (L\nn Khitei . our inabilit! to manage common property resources s u c l ~ a s
F., (eds)Ecolonical D e s i p and Planning. Neu Iork: JolunKile! 8- Sons. oreaii fislreries (Garrett Hartlini. lack of character ('Gndell Bern i. gender
Hardin. G., 1968. "The Traged! of the Common>." Sciriice (Deceml~er13). pp. imbalance ICarolyn hlerchant). technolog) run arnurk (Le~j - ishlumfortl). dis-
8-13. encliantment i h f o r ~ i Be1111ar1)s. the loss of sensual connection to nature
Harrken. P.. 1993. The E c o l o ~ ofr Commerce. Kev Iork: HarperCollins. (David -1hrarn1.exponential grortth (Donella hl~atlor\s).and f l a x in the
econoiuic system (Herman Dal! ).
T h e roots of ecological design can l ~ traced l ~ a c kto the ~vorkof Scottish biolo-gist. 'The phrase is John Todtl's. s r e John ant1 Nanc! Todd, Fro111Eco-Cities to Living
D'hrcy Thompso~iand his ~i~agisterial 011 GI.OIY~/Ia11r1For117 first pub-lishecl ill Illachines: Prinrinleq of Ecological Design (Berkeley Nortlr .\tlantic Books.
1917. I11 contrast to D a i ~ \ i i ies \ ~ o l u t i o n ahiolog~Tho~iipson.traced the 1994).
evolution of life fonris back to the problems elementan- plr!-sical forces such a s 'George Stult. once clescribetl this process in his native land as -'The age-long
gralit? pose for inclividual species. His Iegac? is an rvol\ ing science of forms evident effort of Englishmen to fit thembelx-es close and e \ e r closer into England . . .
i n evolutionar! biolog?. biomechanics. and architecture. Ecological design is evident '.(Stnrt. p. 66).
In the u o r l of Bill Fro~rning.Hrr~rranDal!. Paul H a ~ r k e n .Ues Jackson. .\ldo 'Sre also Dalid .\bra~n's remarkable hook The Sue11 of thr S e ~ i s u o i ~News. lorL:
Leopold. . Imo~?and Hunter Lo!-ins. John L!le. Pantheon.
Bill h l ~ D 0 1 1 o ~ ~Dollellah. hleadol~s.Eugene Odum. Sim van tler RJ-n,
and Dal i (1 L a n n .