Permanence as Security

As Stuttio Workshop began developing ideas for our entry in The Chain of Eco-Homes Competition, the idea of permanence became one of the earliest topics of discussion for several reasons.  Most specifically to Greensburg, a town that was completely destroyed by a tornado in 2007, permanence, as defined by the feeling of security and safety, would need to become a defining feature of the home.  All of us at Stuttio Workshop agreed that it wouldn’t matter how energy efficient our home would be if it could be easily destroyed in a storm.  With this in mind, our research involved looking at current storm shelter design specifications, earth-sheltered architecture, and wall systems that would prove durable during high wind conditions.

Typically, a storm shelter consists of a solid (often concrete) box buried completely underground.  Stuttio Workshop decided to explore the possibilities of using aspects of storm shelter design as defining features of our home, but then reinterpreting this typology to provide for a more pleasant living environment that combined the feeling of security with desirable natural lighting and ventilation.  Additionally, we asked ourselves, “If every house in Greensburg has a basement or a storm shelter, what happens with the soil that is excavated during the construction of these buildings?”  We decided that hauling the spoils from excavation away from our site would be wasting not only the fuel required for the hauling trucks, but would be wasting a tremendous design opportunity as well.  Ultimately, the decision was to use the excavation material to create earth berms that would insulate the house in both summer and winter, offer additional security during storms, and also create an opportunity for a more dynamic building section and landscaping strategy on an otherwise completely flat site.

Security From the Storm

Permanence as Antidote to Planned Obsolescence

Beginning during the Great Depression and reaching full maturity during the explosive growth of suburban culture following WWII, the idea of “planned obsolescence” emerged as General Motors overtook Ford as the largest automobile make in the world.  Planned Obsolescence is the practice of intentionally making a product obsolete after a relatively short period of time so that the consumer is obliged to buy yet another product at the end of the original product’s lifespan.  By introducing a new style of car every year or two (unprecedented at the time), GM established a new relationship with the public that was based primarily in the realm of image, fashion, and style.  It was no longer enough to just own a car. Now the question was what kind of car do you own.  The fascination with the automobile had matured from a technological one (in the early days of Ford) to a highly stylized symbol of cultural status (GM).  Ever since this transformation, the notion of planned obsolescence would prove to permeate almost every aspect of American life, from our cell phones to the houses we live in.  As a society, we have become accustomed to this disposable lifestyle with little thought about where all of this stuff goes after we buy a new replacement.  William McDonough’s book, Cradle To Cradle, written with his colleague, the German chemist Michael Braungart, offers an excellent alternative to the traditional cradle-to-grave process that has defined our manufacturing strategies since the Industrial Revolution.

But for all of the countless strategies associated with sustainable design, many of which are difficult to fully grasp for the average person, one strategy could not be any simpler: create for permanence rather than disposability.  Surely, one of the most overlooked aspects of sustainability is lifespan.  In a world defined by an economic recession and the instant gratification afforded by electronic media, we often fail to look beyond initial costs and results.  Simply put, if our things (ubiquitous products and buildings alike) lasted longer, we would consume far less energy and resources.

What is Sustainability?

Without question, the concept of “sustainability” has increasingly become a part of the mainstream conscience of society. More than ever before, we see and hear of claims of being “green”, from the friend who just bought that shiny new hybrid car to the energy giants still invested primarily in the petroleum industry.  There are positives and negatives to such widespread interest in sustainability.  The simple fact alone that more people are at least talking about the interrelated relationship between basic human needs and their impact on the natural environment is encouraging. Beyond just a general awareness, however, the average person is without the resources and capabilities to fully understand how to have a positive impact, or at least a lesser impact, on the environment. Can you blame them? Unfortunately, this growing public familiarity of words like “sustainability”, “green”, and “eco-friendly” has allowed anyone looking to make a profit to exploit these terms through advertising tactics that can only be described as “green washing.” The sheer volume of theories and claims of sustainability made available to us, both good and bad, has made it difficult for the global community to decipher what is truly valuable and reliable information. For these reasons, among many others, a succinct and clear answer to the question, “What is sustainability?” still eludes most everyone, from the average citizen to the scientists, engineers, architects, public officials dedicating their professional lives to the subject.

At Stuttio Workshop, the question of sustainability is one taken very seriously, but also one that is approached uniquely through each design project. Through process of design, the constraints of each individual project (program, site, materials, budget, etc.) typically reveal opportunities that inspire the creation of a product that is meaningful, innovative, and appropriate. Rather than suggesting a universal approach to sustainable design, we seek to uncover the distinctive qualities of each project and from that emerges a strategy for sustainability that is truly optimized for the particular project.