In all aspects of design there is an increasing need to consider the environmental impact of the design. As with most other design consultancies we are more and more using products and solutions that deliver environmental benefit to our clients.
However, what is often underestimated is the ergonomic benefit that some of these interventions can provide to the people who use or work in a building or space.
For example, we are often designing control facilities which may be underground or in a window-less environment. The use of light pipes to transmit natural daylight into these environments gives an eco-benefit to the client in terms of reduced electricity usage...but critically it delivers a real psychological value to the staff working in the room but getting natural light to the working environment.
We are also finding more uses of natural, living roofing materials. These provide a clear environmental benefit both in terms of insulation to the building but also the plant-life on the roof. However they also provide a real psychological benefit to people working in the building through a sense of connection to the natural world and a more attractive working environment.
Eco-design can help us to save the planet but also to deliver day-to-day benefits to the people using our designs.
Labels: design, environment