ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers - (Page 53)

thinking green ical toxicity, among other areas, going green still often means going hunting: for information. Stephany Taddeo, Allied Member ASID, LEED AP, a hospitality designer in Portland, Ore., remembers thinking that she could apply her bachelor’s in environmental studies to interior design, but in researching interior design courses discovered that “there was not much talk about green deeper and really have a searching mind. I hope that I can make real and lasting contributions with my life’s work.” Though today’s students are being taught about sustainability, past generations awakened to planet-centered planning largely on their own. In the 1980s, when Childs was starting her research and practice of sustainable design, “We A current member of the ASID Sustainable Design Council, Underwood has simpliﬁed ﬂooring ﬁnishes to put more energy-efﬁcient design practices in action. When research showed her, for instance, that concrete stains are “typically very nasty processes,” she started looking for concrete colorants. Her commitment led her to a local company that recovers iron oxide pigment from aban- Though today’s students are being taught about sustainability, past generations awakened to planet-centered planning largely on their own. —Kirsten Childs, ASID, LEED AP and sustainable design.” So she focused her ﬁnal project on it to earn her design degree from Colorado’s Arapahoe Community College in 2003. She—and green women of all generations—say designers should be prepared to do a lot of digging and ask a lot of questions. For one thing, says Schomer, you need a good understanding of building ventilation and indoor air to incorporate efﬁcient energy systems. And, materials and products in all facets of interior design change all the time as innovations in the ﬁeld ﬂourish. “Learn the science,” Schomer says. “You need to know it. For instance, what are the hazardous chemicals so you can avoid them?” Design instructors like Lisa Tucker, ASID, AIA, at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, strive to give students what she calls “a solid foundation in sustainable design.” For her, sustainability ﬁrst means “reusing what we already have.” To prepare students to practice sustainable design, Tucker takes “a holistic approach,” teaching that designers work within a much larger system that requires sensitivity toward people, materials and the world. (Among her students’ required reading are Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn; Cradle to Cradle, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, and Biomimicry, by Janine M. Benyus.) “I ﬁnd that many students are simply unaware of the damage we are doing to the planet and want to make a difference when they do ﬁnd out,” Tucker says. “People want to do the right thing.” Janene Entz, Student Member ASID, who studied under Tucker agrees: “A graduate from a design program can go either way, remaining on the surface that can be somewhat superﬁcial or going were looking at the quality of life in ofﬁces.” What she found: no daylight; enormous, inefﬁcient spaces; and bad air quality. Even designers like Penny Bonda, FASID, LEED AP—a “foremother” of green design and current eco-editor for Interior Design magazine’s online “Green Zone”—were not always so aware of the environmental consequences of their chosen profession. In an oft-told story, Bonda shares how she “personally created some of the most awful environments—ofﬁce that stiﬂe, suppress, choke and at the very least, bore their occupants.” But that all changed 14 years ago when, as ASID president-elect, Bonda attended one of the ﬁrst meetings of the U.S. Green Building Council and left “knowing that I could no longer practice interior design without regard for the environmental and human impacts of my designs.” The “a-ha!” moment for Sharlyn Underwood, ASID, LEED AP, came when she saw a slide of all the manmade chemicals found in mother’s milk— including formladehyde. She was later selling some ofﬁce furniture that contained that very chemical, and “was honestly feeling quite guilty about it.” When she researched a presentation to a business networking group about what drives her as a designer, she says, “I spent literally hours preparing for it because I got so engrossed in reading [green] reference materials. I realized that I had to change my approach to furniture sales and go to 100 percent green design and thinking. I’ve never gone back.” Today, Underwood is a young professional with her own sustainable consulting ﬁrm in Roanoke, Va. doned coal mine drainage, which it then uses as the basis of an environmental line of concrete colorant. “Bingo!” she says. “I had found a reclaimed, local product that promotes environmental stewardship!” Excitement cuts across the generations. “Understand, there was a genuine lack of choice when we started,” says Childs. “Recycled used to mean second best, hand me down. The industry has tried to turn this around. [For older designers,] the fear is that choices will be limited and there won’t be a good selection of materials—and that’s just not true any more.” Schomer points out that no design component has been left un-greened. From countertops to ﬂooring and lighting, from recycled content fabrics, to low VOC paint, they are there for the choosing, she says. And, she adds, “They are beautiful.” As far as sustainability has come in recent years, there will certainly be more advances on the horizon. “Keep learning,” advocates Bonda to her fellow designers, of all ages and experiences. “The design profession is never stagnant. People who do remarkable things rarely plan to do so. Most often they seize an opportunity that others may have let go unnoticed … and they accomplish amazing things.” ] Pam Janis is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer. See the Resource Guide on page 101 for additional resources and information about “Thinking Green.” ASID ICON | NOV/DEC 2007 53

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers

ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers Contents President’s Message Good to Know Innovations Breathing Life into a Building Designs for Senior Living On the Move Thinking Green Aging in Style Industry Inside ASID Grassroots ASID National Industry Partner Focus Showroom Advertisers Resource Guide Annual Articles Index

ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers

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