Ecological design, also known as sustainable design or green architecture, is a design approach that integrates environmental promotion into building infrastructure. Common elements of ecological design include alternative energy sources, energy conservation, and material reuse. Some concepts refer directly to architecture. The use of a sustainable design philosophy encourages decision-making at every stage of the design process that will reduce negative impacts on the environment and the health of occupants, without compromising final results.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) provides classification systems for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of green buildings. Any building designed in accordance with ecological principles is necessarily sustainable and environmentally friendly. HK Interiors can help you discover new ways to improve your home or office using environmentally friendly or sustainable products. Regional project execution teams report on compliance with the Guiding Principles, among other sustainability details, through the GSA GBuild system (lifecycle database of information on green building upgrades).
In construction, a house designed following “ecological” principles can incorporate a number of features that reduce the building's carbon footprint. This may include thicker walls with greater insulation, optimal solar orientation, windscreens for shade, geothermal batteries, which use a high content of recycled materials that do not have a high content of incorporated energy, require minimal maintenance and have a long life cycle; the ability to be easily recycled at the end of their useful life is also important in ecological design. Sustainable design can make a building more attractive inside and out, improving the comfort and quality of the indoor environment, improving community and global citizenship and increasing the health of occupants. Ecological design is a term reserved for those aspects of design that consciously strive to make the final product as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible.
Sustainable, the main difference is that sustainability design is a broad ideology that takes into account social, environmental, performance and financial implications. Culture, environment, climate, economy and resources are some of the problems that can affect green architecture. Although many organic products are environmentally friendly, analyzing them from the point of view of sustainability involves going deeper. Green design is possible in many areas, such as the design of cars and airplanes to achieve better aerodynamics and save fuel.
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment and the health and comfort of building occupants, thus improving building performance. Green construction provides health and safety benefits for occupants, the community and the environment. GSA carefully incorporates the principles of sustainable design and energy efficiency into its 26% construction modernization projects.
