Sunday, April 22, 2007

Contemporary Desing Part III


As we have talked about in class we are the contemporary era we are living it. Ideas and design are changing in forming into something of the future or something of now. Ideas of the past reflect design of today but with technology and new materials they can recreate old or even restore old building with new architecture. Today materials are easy to recreate to appear old. Buildings are created with new materials once again designing it and using old styles with flashy new materials.

Designers and architects have been researching green design and how by using certain products and materials they can change and the use of energy by the amount that is used and the amount created. Another name for this is green design. Green design has just become popular or even thought about being used in the last 10 -15 years. Green design may not be considered a style but it’s a direction that we are going. If we want to enjoy the earth later in our life or make it a nice place for the future generation we must start to consider green design. This has become its own style it’s unique and interesting. There are so many ways to use green design. Many different materials can be used glass, metal, recycled just to name a few. When these materials are constructed just the right way or in the right form they are extremely effective. Energy is not wasted and some is even stored for later use. A good example of both old and new architecture and green design as well is a building built in New York. The Hearst Magazine Building it was an original finished in 1928 but in 2006 an additional tower was erected. The tower was built and designed as green design. The Hearst building was the first and only building in New York City that is a green design.


This is just the beginning of hopefully many more green designs. From what we have learned green design may even be considered a style because of the use of materials and as contemporary style / design we may have found our new style.
This is a question I have for designs students. Will green design become more of a style or a technique for the future?

12 comments:

Mdrees said...

I hope that green design becames a standard inwhich we design. I love that we are in a time where lots of differnet styles and ideas are being explored. I hope that we can take our ideas and apply the concepts of green design to any space. We would succsed as a generation or time period if we implimented ideas that future generations could use in thier exploration of design.

Jon Fox said...

Although green design is more of a technique now, I would guess that it will eventually become known as a style. As we find out which materials and building techniques work best for green design, we will start seeing these used in many new buildings and will start to become more noticable. Just as the use of new materials became hallmarks of past styles, this too will happen with the use of materials in green design. Unlike styles of the past, green design is becoming a part of the social conscious. Green design is not conatined in just architecture. Automobiles, product design and even clothing are adopting green design. This means that it will be much more than an architectural style, it will become a cultural era.

spees said...

Green design is a direction that architecture is definitely heading towards in a big way. Not only the Hearst building is showcasing its efficiency though, it's also gaining popularity among the common man. Just two days ago I saw an entire special on individual's homes which are completely green design, these individuals aren't being pushed to green design by some outside force or act of legislation, they just want to create a space which is nice for them and friendly to the environment at the same time. So with both the architectural community and the common man behind this movement I definitely think it will become an important technique of the future.
I do also feel it could become a style but it will most likely be a style like Beau-Arts which not many people can identify by sight except by the period it was created in. There are so many materials which are of green design and I feel there will be many more, so it will be hard to pin green down to a specific style or form because of the many possibilities and combinations of materials.

G.Fickle said...

I think this can go both ways. Using green products will not be an option in the near future. With that said, as long as there is a wide range of materials available and we are able to bring our creation to life, then I believe that green design will become a technique. If our designs are limited to what green materials are available at the time, then I believe that it could be considered more of a style. I would like it to be considered a style so that future generations can look back and acknowlede our accomplishments in securing their existance.

lilmoomoo said...

I believe that green design is a wonderful way in which the design community can be involved in helping secure the future. Right now I feel as though green design is more of a technique, as it seems to be just somewhat recently that people have become more involved in the preservation of our environment. Because of this I feel that there have been many leaps and bounds in green design materials and ideas, but maybe not as much that is needed to make this into a style. I do believe however that eventually there will be such progression in green design that it will become a style, and a style that becomes very popular and hopefully carries on in some way in the future styles to come.

Mallory said...

I'm not sure that green design will ever become a "style." Unfortunately, there are not enough environmentally conscious people, and even fewer environmentally conscious people with lots of money to burn! Green design (at least initially) could prove to be expensive, and that alone may prove enough to halt this "style" from ever fully developing. I do believe that there will be designers who throughout their careers make it a goal to use green design elements, and they could eventually be seen as "green designers..." but I (sadly) think that's about as far as green design will go. Hopefully, I will be proven wrong, and someone will regulate design and make everything green design... but until that point, I remain doubtful!

kelsdietz said...

At first green design will become a style or movement of it's own, because it will a new way to design. But eventually I think green design will just become a standard like ADA in design and it will be used in others way in other styles in the future.

Caitlin said...

In response to green design being a style in the future, I believe that it will become a component to design. The way I see it is that a style can be used to create a building, but in the future, having the design be green will be one of the requirements of the project. I think that designers and architects will design buildings in the style that they want, but before construction, the materials will be sustainable and enery-efficient. I honestly believe that green design will definitely prevail in the future as a huge requirement to any design because it is known through the media that using environmentally-friendly material will save the environment that we live in. Sustainability and green design is too much of a movement and has made too much of an awareness in our society for it to disappear in the future. I believe it will only get stronger.

emily said...

I believe the style we are in right now is green design due to the fact that green friendly design influences design so much. From the structure to the position it faces, down to the materials to produce it, there is a more conscious effort to produce objects that will last and/or help the environment.
In addition, I believe that the direction we are headed in is more complex designs due to the gradual acceptance of technology. To a degree, design has been limited because of the time it takes to make complex designs. However, do to increase technological programs such as sketchup, I believe that faster programs will make it easier to make complex designs thus leaving more time to consider green design.

Joyce T said...

Perhaps when green design really picks up in the beginning it will be a style because it is a semi-new trend. So designers will want to make it obvious that the design is green. However, I feel that in the future green design will become so common that it will be more of a technique than a style. Spaces will be assumed to be green, so making it known through the design will not be as important. At least I personally hope that green design becomes that common.

edperr2 said...

Green Dsign is neither, it is a way of life. Green can't just be in the spaces we inhabit but its gotta be in the thigs that are in the spaces we are in. Green has got to be able to tak eover every realm of life and push ew techology to work wth the environment instead if depend on it.

Brad said...

I believe that green design to us is what ADA design was a decade ago. Eventhough ADA design is no longer at the forefront of the design world it is not a style in itself anyway. Green design is a standard not a whole design. The importance of green design is ever evolving and ever important. As we find out more of the harmful effects of the products that we use in spaces more environmentally friendly products will be developed.

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