From energy efficient appliances to recycled materials to self-contained power generation, there are many elements to sustainable design and each of them have very specific meanings, as well as ramifications for the way we think about, design and build structures for home and work.
Once there is general understanding of what ‘sustainable’ actually means, the degrees of separation between what we’ve been doing design-wise and what is sustainable into the future will become apparent. This is itself among the first steps toward sustainability.
Tom Lawrence is an engineering professor at the University of Georgia. In addition to instructing students and leading campus initiatives for greater energy efficiency in buildings new and old around campus, in 2007 Lawrence was selected by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) as a Distinguished Lecturer to lead workshops on LEED ratings and sustainable design practices. He travels far and wide to give talks on this very subject. In the primer below, he describes the spectrum of design standards that can be seen in practice today.