SENSE OF PLACE

The concept known as bioregionalism is based on the idea that all life is established and maintained on a functional community basis and that all of these distinctive communities (bioregions) have mutually supporting life systems that are generally self-sustaining. Human civilization is an integral part of the natural world and is dependent on the preservation of nature for its own perpetuation. Over the ages the complex interaction of natural evolution and human adaptation has given every place on earth a unique set of qualities that sets it apart from all other places.

Preserving the special characteristics of a place requires in-depth understanding of the natural systems in place and immersion into the time-tested cultural responses to that environment's assets and liabilities. In meeting the needs of the human community, development must be designed and built with an awareness of the interrelationships between natural, cultural, social, and economic resources both locally and globally. Development must be limited to improving human life within the carrying capacity of resources and ecosystems. Development must not be an economic activity fueling the belief in endless growth. Thus the goal of sustainable development and sustainable building design is to create optimum relationships between people and their environments. More specifically, sustainable development should have the absolute minimal impact on the local, regional, and global environments. Planners, designers, developers, and operators have an opportunity and a responsibility to protect the sanctity of a place, its people and its spirit.

It is the uniqueness of certain environments that creates the curiosity for tourism and the desire to experience their special relaxative, recuperative, or recreative qualities. In providing facilities and activities for visitors, special care must be taken not to destroy the very resources or qualities they come to experience. This requires built environments that can sensitize and educate its users. Those responsible for park- and tourism-related developments must recognize that by providing knowledge of the environment, they create the knowledge that is necessary to protect it.

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Sustainable design balances human needs (rather than human wants) with the carrying capacity of the natural and cultural environments. It minimizes environmental impacts, it minimizes importation of goods and energy as well as the generation of waste. The ideal situation would be that if development was necessary, it would be constructed from natural sustainable materials collected onsite, generate its own energy from renewable sources such as solar or wind, and manage its own waste.

Sustainable design is an ecosystematic approach that demands an understanding of the consequences of our actions. As a tool to understanding this principle, a metaphoric example is drawn using an organism to symbolize functional appropriateness, habitat harmony, and survival based on adaptation and cultivation.

View the Organism Diagram.

The organism makes use of immediately and locally available materials to construct itself, and does so with economy and efficiency. The same strategies when used in development can minimize global and local impacts on resources.

The organism adapts to its environment through instinctive reaction and an evolutionary process of generations. Through the ability to rationalize and mechanize, humans have the ability to adapt psychologically and physically in a matter of hours, but with little instinct for harmony with the environment.

The organism maintains a harmonious relationship with its environment by establishing a balance between its needs and available resources. Similarly, the ecologically sensitive design adjusts demands, lifestyles, and technologies to evolve a compatible balance with the natural and cultural systems within its environment.

UNDERSTANDING RESOURCE-SENSITIVE DESIGN

One method of describing sustainable building design is to compare it to other forms of resource-based development. Metaphorical interpretation of traditional forms of tourist resorts provides insight into the relationship that their facilities and visitors have with the resources upon which they are based. Although obviously attempting to capitalize on available resources, few resort developments actually provide or can sustain a harmonious relationship with those resources.

Plantation

The plantation represents a significant piece of the history of many tropical, subtropical, and temperate areas. Characteristics of the traditional plantation include:

• a strong hierarchial organization of building forms (i.e., large main buildings for owners and visitors, small outbuildings for laborers, animals, agricultural processes, and storage)
  
• exploitation/importation of energy such as by slavery
  
• environmental degradation through the removal of native plant material and the introduction of cash crops with an emphasis on profit rather than the environment
  
• importation and exportation as primary operational mode, including exportation of capital
  
• to some extent, importation of building forms and technologies
  

For centuries, the plantation model carried many negative connotations as a result of these very characteristics. Although representational of a harsh disregard for local natural and cultural resources, the plantation model can be seen in design and operation of numerous tourist resorts around the world. All too often, tourist-related development is conceived as a resource in and of itself. The indigenous natural and cultural curiosities that lure visitors to the site are disrupted, depleted, or displaced by the contrived environment of the development. This type of plantation approach to tourism development satisfies its own needs through exploitation and importation, rather than through harmonic integration with its host environment.

Community

The community metaphor depicts resorts focused on activity more than the built environment. Characteristics of the activity-related resort include:

• dispersion of building units in a functional but nonhierarchial pattern, oftentimes the resorts are conceptualized as "villages"
  
• strong interaction of staff and visitors in a more democratic manner than the plantation model
  
• integration of maintenance and operational staff into the life of the resort as a necessary element to sustain its operation
  
• resource-based activities override concern for the local ecology or interest in interaction with native culture
  

While the community model recognizes a dependency on the resources for its activities, it makes marginal investment in sustaining the health of those resources and typically operates in isolation from the local community.

Aesculapia

A more appropriate metaphor for resource-related design may be Aesculapia, the Greek place of healing. In this model, nature is respected for its restorative qualities. The human experience is set in harmony with the environment. and an opportunity is created to allow a reconnection of human needs to the natural systems upon which all life is based. Applying these objectives to a park or tourism-related area, any visitor development would embrace the following characteristics:

• the primary senses - sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch - are incorporated into the visitor experience to enhance understanding of the environment's uniqueness
  
• to be healing, visitors must experience an obvious organic connection with the natural and cultural context of the surroundings so as to appreciate their worth and to seek ways to minimize biological disturbances
  

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

Today's increasing demand for ecologically oriented tourism provides a prime opportunity for applying the attributes of Aesculapia. As ecotourists seek close involvement with authentic natural and cultural experiences, Aesculapian-based building design could establish a "right of passage" to place human activities in harmony with local, regional, and global resources. The resulting sustainable development would serve as a "classroom" to demonstrate environmental conservation, understanding and respect for indigenous cultures and resources, and ways to live environmentally better in the 21st century.

Following are criteria or standards that a sustainable tourism development should strive to meet:

• Provide education for visitors on wildlife, native cultural resources, historic features, or natural features.
  
• Involve indigenous populations in operations and interpretation to foster local pride and visitor exposure to traditional values and techniques.
  
• Accomplish environmental restoration.
  
• Provide research and development for, and/or demonstration projects of, ways to minimize human impacts on the environment.
  
• Provide spiritual or emotional recuperation.
  
• Provide relaxation and recreation.
  
• Educate visitors that knowledge of our local and global environment is valuable and will empower their ability to make informed decisions.
  

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN OBJECTIVES

The long-term objective of sustainable design is to minimize resource degradation and consumption on a global scale. Thus the primary objective of sustainable building design is to "lead through example" to heighten environmental awareness. Sustainable building design must seek to

• use the building (or nonbuilding) as an educational tool to demonstrate the importance of the environment in sustaining human life
  
• reconnect humans with their environment for the spiritual, emotional, and therapeutic benefits that nature provides
  
• promote new human values and lifestyles to achieve a more harmonious relationship with local, regional, and global resources and environments
  
• increase public awareness about appropriate technologies and the cradle-to-grave energy and waste implications of various building and consumer materials
  
• nurture living cultures to perpetuate indigenous responsiveness to, and harmony with, local environmental factors
  
• relay cultural and historical understandings of the site with local, regional, and global relationships
  

CHECKLIST FOR SUSTAINABLE BUILDING DESIGN

General

The design must

• be subordinate to the ecosystem and cultural context
  
  • respect the natural and cultural resources of the site and absolutely minimize the impacts of any development
    
• reinforce/exemplify appropriate environmental responsiveness
  
  • educate visitors/users about the resource and appropriate built responses to that environment.
    
  • interpret how development works within natural systems to effect resource protection and human comfort and foster less consumptive lifestyles
    
  • use the resource as the primary experience of the site and as the primary design determinant
    
• enhance appreciation of natural environment and encourage/establish rules of conduct
  
• create a "rite of passage"
  
  • develop an entrance into special natural or cultural environment that emulates the respectful practice of removing shoes before entering Japanese home . . . leaving cars and consumptive values behind
    
• use the simplest technology appropriate to the functional need, and incorporate passive energy-conserving strategies responsive to the local climate
  
• use renewable indigenous building materials to the greatest extent possible
  
• avoid use of energy intensive, environmentally damaging, waste producing, and/or hazardous materials
  
  • use cradle-to-grave analysis in decision making for materials and construction techniques
    
• strive for "smaller is better" . . . optimizing use and flexibility of spaces so overall building size and the resources necessary for construction and operation are minimized
  
• consider "constructability" . . . striving for minimal environmental disruption, resource consumption, and material waste, and identifying opportunities for reuse/recycling of construction debris
  
• provide equal access to the full spectrum of people with physical and sensory impairments while minimizing impacts on natural and cultural resources
  

Also, the design should

• consider phasing the development to allow for monitoring of resource impacts and adjustments in subsequent phases
  
• allow for future expansion and/or adaptive uses with a minimum of demolition and waste
  
  • materials and components should be chosen that can be easily reused or recycled
    
• make it easy for the occupants/operators to recycle waste
  

Natural Factors

By definition, sustainable design seeks harmony with its environment. To properly balance human needs with environmental opportunities and liabilities requires detailed analysis of the specific site. How facilities relate to their context should be obvious so as to provide environmental education for its users. Although the following information is very general, it does serve as a checklist of basic considerations to address once specific site data is obtained.

Climate

• apply natural conditioning techniques to effect appropriate comfort levels for human activities . . . do not isolate human needs from the environment
  
• avoid overdependence on mechanical systems to alter the climate (such dependency signifies inappropriate design, disassociation from the environment, and nonsustainable use of resources)
  
• Analyze whether the climate is comfortable, too cool, or too hot for the anticipated activities, and then which of the primary climatic components of temperature, sun, wind, and moisture make the comfort level better (asset) or worse (liability).
  

Temperature

• temperature is a liability in climates where it is consistently too hot or too cold
  
• areas that are very dry or at high elevation typically have the asset of large temperature swings from daytime heating to nighttime cooling, which can be flattened through heavy/massive construction to yield relatively constant indoor temperatures
  
• when climate is predominantly too hot for comfort:
  
  • minimize solid enclosure and thermal mass
    
  • maximize roof ventilation
    
  • use elongated or fractured floor plans to minimize internal heat gain and maximize exposure for ventilation
    
  • separate rooms and functions with covered breezeways to maximize wall shading and induce ventilation
    
  • isolate heat-generating functions such as kitchens and laundries from living areas
    
  • provide shaded outdoor living areas such as porches and decks
    
  • capitalize on cool nighttime temperatures, breezes, or ground temperatures
    
• when climate is predominantly too cool for comfort
  
  • consolidate functions into most compact configuration
    
  • insulate thoroughly to minimize heat loss
    
  • minimize air infiltration with barrier sheeting, weatherstripping, sealants, and airlock entries
    
  • minimize openings not oriented toward sun exposure
    

Sun

• sun can be a significant liability in hot climates, but is rarely a liability in cold climates
  
• sun can be an asset in cool and cold climates to provide passive heating
  
• design must reflect seasonal variations in solar intensity, incidence angle, cloud cover, and storm influences
  
• when solar gain causes conditions too hot for comfort
  
  • use overhangs to shade walls and openings
    
  • use site features and vegetation to provide shading to walls with eastern and western exposure
    
  • use shading devices such as louvers, covered porches, and trellises with natural vines to block sun without blocking out breezes and natural light
    
  • orient broad building surfaces away from the hot late-day western sun (only northern and southern exposures are easily shaded)
    
  • use lighter-colored wall and roofing material to reflect solar radiation (be sensitive to resulting glare and impact on natural/cultural setting)
    
  • in tropical climates, use shutters and screens, avoiding glass and exposures to direct solar gain
    
• when solar gain is too be used to offset conditions that are too cool for comfort
  
  
  • maximize building exposure and openings facing south (facing north in the southern hemisphere)
    
    • increase thermal mass and envelope insulation
      
    • use darker-colored building exteriors to absorb solar radiation and promote heat gain
      

  Wind
  

  • wind is a liability in cold climates because it strips heat away quicker than normal; wind can also be a liability to comfort in hot dry climates when it causes the human body to dehydrate and then overheat
    
  • wind can be an asset in hot, humid climates to provide natural ventilation
    • use natural ventilation wherever feasible; limit air-conditioning to areas requiring special humidity or temperature control such as artifact storage and computer rooms
      
    • maximize/minimize exposure to wind through plan orientation and configuration, number and position of wall and roof openings, and relationship to grade and vegetation
      
    • use wind scoops, thermal chimneys, or wind turbines to induce ventilation on sites with limited wind
      

  Moisture
  

  • moisture can be a liability if it comes in the form of humidity, causing such stickiness that one cannot evaporatively cool (cooling by perspiring) in summer
    
    • strategies to reduce the discomfort of high humidity include maximizing ventilation, inducing air flow around facilities, and venting or moving moisture-producing functions such as kitchens and shower rooms to outside areas
      
  • nature can be an asset by evaporating in hot, dry climates to cool and humidify the air (a natural air-conditioning)
    
    • techniques for evaporative cooling include placing facilities where breezes will pass over water features before reaching the facility, and providing fountains, pools, and plants
      

  Other Climatic Considerations
  

  • rainfall can be a liability if any concentrated runoff from developed surfaces is not managed to avoid erosion
    
  • rainfall can be an asset if it is collected off roofs for use as drinking water
    
  • storms/hurricanes/monsoons/typhoons
    
    • provide or make arrangements for emergency storm shelters
      
    • avoid development in floodplain and storm surge areas
      
    • consider wind effects on walls and roofs
      
    • provide storm shutters for openings
      
    • use appropriate wind bracing and tie-downs
      
    • design facilities to be light enough and of readily available and renewable materials to be safely sacrificial to large storms, or of sufficient mass and detail to prevent loss of life and material
      

  Vegetation
  

  • locate and size facilities to avoid cutting mature vegetation and to minimize disruption to, or disassociation with, other natural features
    
  • use natural vegetation and adjustments in building plan to diminish the visual impact of facilities and to minimize imposition on environmental context
    
  • in warmer climates, strengthen interplay of facilities with their site environment through minimizing solid walls, creating outdoor activity spaces, etc.
    

  Topography
  

  • consider building/land interface to minimize disturbance to site character, skyline, vegetation, hydrology, and soils
    
  • consolidate functions or segment facilities to reduce footprint of individual structures to allow sensitive placement within existing landforms
    
  • use landforms and the sensitive arrangement of buildings to
    
    • help diminish the visual impact of facilities
      
    • enhance visual quality by creating a rhythm of open spaces and framed views
      
    • orient visitors to building entrances
      
    • accentuate key landmarks, vistas, and facilities
      

  Water Bodies
  

  • capture views and consider advantages/disadvantages of offwater breezes
    
  • safeguard water from pollutants from the development itself and its users
    
  • minimize visual impact of development on waterfront zones (also consider views from water back to shoreline)
    
    • use building setbacks/buffer zones
      
    • consider building orientation and materials
      
    • avoid light pollution
      

  Hydrology
  

  • locate and design facilities to minimize erosion and impacts on natural hydrological systems
    
  • safeguard hydrological system from contamination by development/activities
    
  • allow precipitation to naturally recharge groundwater, wherever possible
    

  Geology/Soils
  

  • minimize excavation and disturbance to groundcover
    
  • minimize erosion by avoiding large impervious surface areas and building footprints that collect rain and create concentrate runoff onto site
    

  Seismic
  

  • determine soil substrate and potential seismic risk
    
  • use shear walls and appropriate building anchorage and bracing details
    

  Pests
  

  • design facilities to minimize intrusion by noxious insects, reptiles, and rodents
    
  • ensure that facility operators use natural means for pest control
    

  Wildlife
  

  • respect importance of biodiversity and the humble role of humans in design
    
  • avoid disruption of wildlife travel or nesting patterns by sensitive siting of development and by limits set on construction activity and facility operation.
    
  • allow opportunities for users to be aware of indigenous wildlife (observe, but not disturb)
    

  Human Factors
  

  Cultural Resources
  

  Archeological resources
  

  • use preservation and interpretation of archeological features to provide insight to previous cultural responses to the environment, their successes as well as failures
    

  Vernacular architecture
  

  • analyze local historic building styles, systems, and materials usually for time-tested approaches in harmony with natural systems
    
  • use local building material, craftsmen, and techniques to the greatest extent practicable in the development of new facilities
    

  Historic resources
  

  • reuse historic buildings whenever possible to assist in their preservation, contribute to the special quality of the place, and extend the payback of their embodied energy and materials
    

  Anthropology/ethnic background/religion/sociology
  

  • understand the local culture and their needs to avoid introduction of socially unacceptable or morally offensive practices
    
  • consult with local indigenous population for design input as well as to foster their sense of ownership and acceptance
    
  • include local construction techniques, materials, and cultural considerations (that are environmentally sound) in the development of new facilities
    

  Arts and crafts
  

• incorporate local expressions of art, handiwork, detailing, and, when appropriate, technology into new facility design and interior design
  
• provide opportunities and space for demonstration of local crafts and performing arts
  

Sensory Experience

Visual

• provide visitors with ready access to educational materials to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the local environment and threats to it
  
• incorporate views of natural and cultural resources into even routine activities to provide opportunities for contemplation, relaxation, and appreciation
  
• use design principles of scale, rhythm, proportion, balance, and composition to enhance the complementary integration of facilities into environmental context
  
• provide visual surprises within design of facilities to stimulate the educational experience
  
• limit height of development to below top of tree canopy to preserve visual quality of natural and cultural landscape
  
• use muted colors to blend facilities with natural context, unless contradictory to other environmental considerations (reflection/absorption) or cultural values (customs/taboos)
  

Sounds

• Locate service and maintenance functions away from public areas
  
• space lodging units and interpretive stops so that natural, not human, sounds dominate
  
• use vegetation to create sound baffle between public and private activities
  
• orient openings toward natural sounds such the lapping of waves, babbling of streams, and rustling of leaves by the wind
  
• restrict the use or audio level of unnatural sounds such as radios and televisions
  

Touch

• allow visitors to touch and be in touch with the natural and cultural resources of the site
  
• vary walking surfaces to identify or give different quality to different spaces
  
• use contrasting textures to direct attention to interpretive opportunities
  

Smell

• allow natural fragrances of vegetation to be enjoyed
  
• direct air exhausted from utility areas away from public areas
  

Taste

• provide opportunities to sample local produce and cuisine
  

ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE BUILDING MATERIALS

Cradle-to-Grave-Analysis

The complete life-cycle energy, environmental, and waste implications of each building material must be examined. This "cradle-to-grave" analysis is the tracing of a material or product, and its by-products, from its initial source availability and extraction, through refinement, fabrication, treatment and additives, transportation, use, and eventual reuse or disposal. This tracing includes the tabulation of energy consumed and the environmental impacts of each action and material.

Two of the best sources are the American Institute of Architect's Environmental Resource Guides and the National Park Service's Environmentally Responsible Building Product Guide. As a subjective means of recording, tabulating, and reporting positive and negative environmental actions, report cards should be kept for each material or product in a development. The selection of materials for a sustainable design is then a matter of weighing of report cards for the lowest total environmental loss.

Selection Priorities

When their source is sustainable:

• Natural materials are less energy-intensive and polluting to produce, and contribute less to indoor air pollution.
  
• Local materials have a reduced level of energy cost and air pollution associated with their transportation, and can help sustain the local economy.
  
• Durable materials can save on energy costs for maintenance as well as for the production and installation of replacement products.
  

In selecting building materials, it is helpful to prioritize them by origin, avoiding materials from nonrenewable sources.

Primary - materials found in nature such as stone, earth, flora (hemp, jute, reed, wool), cotton, and wood

• ensure new lumber is from certified sustainably managed forests or certified naturally felled trees
  
• use caution that any associated treatments, additives, or adhesives do not contain toxins or off-gas volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to indoor air/atmospheric pollution
  

Secondary Materials - materials made from recycled products such as wood, aluminum, cellulose, and plastics

• verify that production of material does not involve high levels of energy, pollution, of waste
  
• verify functional efficiency and environmental safeness of salvaged (recycled) materials and products from old buildings
  
• look closely at the composition of recycled products; toxins may still be present
  
• consider cellulose insulation; it is fireproof and provides a greater R-value per inch thickness than fiberglass
  
• specify aluminum from recycled material; it uses 80% less energy to produce over initial production
  
• evaluate products containing recycled hydrocarbon-based products; they may help keep used plastics out of landfills but may do little to reduce production and use of plastic from virgin resources
  
• keep alert for new developments; new environmentally sound materials from recycled goods are coming on the market every week
  

Tertiary - man-made materials (artificial, synthetic, nonrenewable) materials having varying degrees of environmental impact such as plywood, plastics, and aluminum

• avoid use of materials and products containing or produced with chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) that deteriorate the ozone layer
  
• avoid materials that off-gas volatile organic compounds, contributing to indoor air/atmospheric pollution
  
• minimize use of products made from new aluminum or other materials that are resource disruptive during extraction and a high energy consumer during refinement
  

View the Conservation and Building Materials Diagram.