DESIGN RESEARCH TO BUILD A SUSTAINABLE KNOWLEDGE BASE

Design research enables designers to become more effective stewards of
natural resources, both directly and indirectly. As a profession, design consumes
large amounts of both financial and natural resources. Designers have
a professional responsibility that extends beyond their clients and services to
consider the effect that design processes and products have on society and the environment. This professional responsibility requires that designers be prepared
for both the more subjective and more objective demands of sustainable
development.
Understanding the systemic issues and lifecycle effects of the built
environment is a fundamental responsibility of all designers. The evolving
nature of earth-sustaining information requires designers to fuel their design
thinking with the most current data. Although demanding, the challenge
provides an amazing opportunity for designers and design firms to build
internal research agendas to stimulate more informed and responsible design
responses.
The design process is inherently a laboratory for sustainable research. By
establishing a design research process to access, apply, document, and store
the environmental impact of design decisions, designers are able to effectively
apply this knowledge in new conditions. This information source becomes part
of a designer’s core knowledge and a competitive advantage.