WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DESIGN?

Sustainable design is the art of designing physical objects to comply
with the principles of economic, social and ecological sustainability.
This can range from the small scale of designing objects for everyday
use through to the large scale designing of buildings, cities and the
earth's physical surface. Examples on small scale are: Detergents,
newspapers and other disposable items that can be designed to
self-destruct or simply rot in the presence of air water and common soil
organisms. Or on a larger scale, urban and rural planning can be
designed with the main criterion being sustainability when laying out
roads, streets, buildings and other components of the built environment.
By doing this common problem such as the stagnation of streams,
mudslides, massive soil erosion, flooding and pollution will be
minimized, keeping the natural environment intact. Vehicles and
appliances can be designed in such a way that it is easily repaired or
disassembled (making recycling easier) In construction the use of
recyclable materials such as steel, aluminium, glass and renewable
materials such as wood from natural feed stocks should be practiced.
Sustainability and sustainable design goes hand in hand and is one of
the most important things to look into if we are to preserve our
resources for future generations.

Ilse Kotzee
Student # 2456349
2456349@uwc.ac.za