Sustainability in Interior Design

Happy Wednesday!

So we had a project due today about Sustainability in Interior Design. I will upload the project down below for you all to read it. It is very interesting. I have learned a lot of good tips that I hope will help me one day when I am out in the field. Thank you for reading my blog. 

Introduction

This project is about sustainability in interior design. In the last couple of years, it has become crucial for interior designers to use materials that have a low environmental impact as well as reducing energy consumption, pollution and waste. The main goal is for the design to be sustainable and fit in the Circular Economy. Benefits of the Circular Economy include reducing pressure on the environment, boosting economic growth, creating jobs and improving the security of the supply of the raw materials. By using recycled or reused materials it reduces the pressure on natural resources and it also reduces the negative human impact on the environment.  This project aims to show an understanding of why sustainability is so important to us and the earth. The main reason it is important is to reduce the levels of harm to the environment.

Background

The word "sustainability" first appeared in 1987 in the Brundtland report made by several countries in the UN.  Doctor Gro Harlem used the term sustainable development 30 years ago for the first time. It was a study about the activity the human impact has done on the environment. 

In 1969 the term "sustainable development" appeared in the document signed by thirty-three African countries under the auspices of the IUCN (Union for Conservation of Nature)

Unfortunately, very little people paid attention to the importance of sustainability.  Only in the last few years, people realized the crucial damage we humans have done to the planet earth and now we all need to try and help to reduce the negative impact on the environment.

The following is a list of the climate changes in the last couple of decades that has been occurring due to the climate changing.

Rising temperature

Since the late 19th century the earth's average surface temperature has gone up to 1.63 degrees this is caused by human-made emission and in the last couple of decades increased carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The last five warmest years happened in the last thirty-five years causing a record of the warmest year in 2016 which of the eight months was recorded as the warmest from January until September.

Both of these images were accessed from Google images on the 25th of October 2019. Just a quick comparison of the two images of the temperature change first shows the planet in the late 19th century and second 21st century. Earth's surface temperature has risen 2.0 degrees since 1880.

Oceans getting warmer

Since 1969 there has been an increased in the temperature of 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit with the top of 700 meters of heat.

Melting Ice

Since 1993 and 2016 Greenland lost an average of 286 billion tons of ice and Antarctica lost about 127 billion during the same period this was collected by the data from Nasa's records from climate experiments and gravity recovery.  Antarctic and Greenland ice blogs are decreasing massively every day. The amount of ice that Antarctica has lost has tripled in the last decade. Ice loss in Antarctica causes sea levels to rise faster than in the last twenty-five years.

The image was assessed from Google images on the 22nd of October 2010.

The image shows the changes in the Antarctic ice impact on global sea level from 1992 to 2017.

Snow cover decreasing

In the last decade's the amount of snow fallen has decreased as well as that the snow melts quicker this leads to the surface with very little or no snow cover, the ground absorbs about six times more of the sun's energy. In recent decades the temperature has risen while precipitation levels have stayed the same, the satellite has shown that snow cover has decreased a lot more in the spring and summer. The places where the snow cover melts earlier in the spring a large amount of energy would be melted the snow can warm the soil directly. The exceedance of the seasonal snow cover is the largest component of the cryosphere that has an extent of forty-seven million kilometers that is located in Northern Hemisphere.

Sustainable Interior Design

The purpose of sustainable interior design is for materials and the system designed to minimize the negative impact on the environment and maximize impacts on the life cycle. Interior materials, global sustainable interior design, and indoor environmental quality are the key features that an interior designer should consider first. In sustainable interior design, indoor environmental quality is considered the most important implication. To improve the interior lighting and thermal comfort by reducing indoor pollutants, by reducing indoor pollutants this leads to better indoor quality.

One of the key elements in sustainable interior design is materials. It is very important to select materials that can be recycled and eco-friendly. Every material has a different amount of embodied energy, natural materials such as timber and stone would have less embodied energy compared to plastic and steel that would have a very high amount of embodied energy. In today's world, it is crucial to recycle potential materials. By separating the waste and remanufacturing the waste products.

Recycled waste can be turned not only into the materials but also furniture, which is the main aspect of interior design work. Sustainable furniture materials used in production would have a long life. Old furniture made from wood that is recycled or restored can be also used instead of manufacturing a new one. Most of the furniture made from wood has easy maintenance, it is easy to be recycled and it can last for a very long time. A lot of companies nowadays have started producing furniture from waste. 

Lighting in interior design is mostly concentrated on the reduction of using electric energy. Light consumes a large amount of energy. In interior environment energy used in the building captures approximately 40% - 50% of the building's total energy. Designers should be able to maximize as much natural light as they can in the interior buildings. Indoor environmental quality is also affected by environmental lighting. An interior designer needs to use daylight as it is the main source of natural light. One can say that "the practice of bringing light into a building interior and distributing it in a way that provides more desirable and better-quality illumination than artificial light sources". This means that the building should be located where it gains the maximum amount of light as possible. Daylight should also reach every room in the building depending on the dept of the room.

There are a lot of studies carried out on how the daylight benefits life quality in interior spaces. It is also believed that daylight affects productivity in office spaces. it has a really big role in developing sustainable interior design.

The Impact of Sustainability

In interior design, sustainable design is involved with factors that are influential by effective use of space, selecting materials that are eco-friendly or has a very little environmental impact, low waste and energy consumption as well as lowering pollution. The main focus for interior designers is sustainable and environmentally friendly building materials. The importance of sustainability in interior design is sustainable design sparks global interest. To protect and preserve the environment the whole world comes in together as the main interest of it. When interior designers use sustainable building materials for their design it promotes their business as sustainable companies that care and want to help the world. More funds are being added for sustainable interior design projects, the government is also now recommending and supporting environmentally safe practices in designs and building construction in all different kinds of industries.

For interior designers' sustainable materials are gaining a major place of importance and impact in design interpretation. Sustainable materials bring healthy life spam to interior space. Architects, interior designers, and builders all over the world are working together to support sustainability and for people to understand why it is so important to help the earth and do as little harm as we can. Everyone works carefully to evaluate the effect and a long-term impact of the materials that have been used in interior design projects. By using sustainable materials, it will lower the environmental impact that is caused by substances and other more harmful materials. Interior designers now more than ever are embracing a long-life cycle when selecting materials when renovating spaces or designing new ones. The use of the materials, as well as the removal and disposal of materials and suppliers, are considered throughout all phases of the process. This means that the materials can be recycled or reclaimed and that the design is easy to take apart when needed. 

How does sustainability affect interior design?

The main goal for sustainable design is to reduce negative impacts on the environment and to improve the building performance. It also seeks to reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources, to minimize waste and to create a healthy environment for everyone. Some of the sustainable design principles are to conserve and protect water, use environmentally friendly products, to make the indoor air quality better. As it is mentioned above interior designers need to use sustainable materials and help the environment as much as possible.

The main idea behind sustainability is the design would last for a long time.  The building materials should last a long time which means that there will be less cost in maintenance which means that durability is just as important. By using sustainable building materials, the building is conversing energy. The buildings that are made from sustainable building materials are also much more comfortable and healthier to be in. 

Nearly Zero Energy Buildings

 

'Nearly Zero Energy Buildings' means that the building has a very high energy performance. This means that there is almost no energy required in the building instead the energy is gained from renewable sources. As is from 31st of December 2020 the Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) standard will apply to all the new buildings. This standard will apply to Public sector bodies owned and occupied by the 31st of December 2018. Part of "L" of the building regulations specify the requirements in the legislation.

The definition for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in the EPBD 2010/30/EU is as follows: 'Nearly zero-energy building means a building that has a very high energy performance. The nearly zero or very low amount of energy required should be covered to a very significant the extent by energy from renewable sources, including energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby.

Requirements for Non-Domestic Buildings

For new buildings:

Building Regulations require that for all the new buildings an equivalent to 60% improvement in energy performance. This means that the requirement of the renewable source is now mandatory. It is also improving energy performance for lighting specifications, services, and fabric. 20% of the primary energy use must be provided from renewable sources.

Requirements for Domestic Buildings

For new buildings:

Nearly Zero Energy Buildings should be equivalent to a 25% improvement in energy performance in Building Regulations in 2011. Part L for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings compliance includes a Maximum Energy Performance Coefficient of 0.3, a maximum Carbon Performance of 0.35 a renewable Energy Ratio of 20%.

For existing buildings where work affects greater than 25% surface area, it recommended a renovation of the existing dwelling: new extension, floor, roof, window renovations, external.

Biophilic Design

Studies have shown that biophilic design improves human health. Biophilia means that the human tendency is to interact with the life of nature. Biophilic design has gotten very popular among offices and homes. As humans where are drawn towards nature, there have been studies carried out that shows how beneficial nature is to us. The feel of nature indoors helps our brain as well as makes humans more productive.

Sustainability and health

The key statement that can be taken from the theory of Biophilia is that humans and nature go hand in hand. be improving our environment humans will feel better and as such thrive in the natural world. Reducing environmental harm and improving the world will help humans to thrive. 

The main focus is between the innovation of houses and the healthy construction of houses. We learn that incorporated design informed by biophilia and healthy performance design can lead to sustainability for inexpensive housing design projects. Interior design should center on how to help to improve resident health and well-being, the main focus should be on sustainability and how to help the environment by picking the right materials, taking advantage of the daylight, and using the less energy is possible.

Conclusion

The interior environment is where it meets human needs. Everyone should live in sustainable environments with the help of interior designers. It is the interior designers' job to lead sustainable environments and make sustainability more consciousness. The main aspect is to use natural resources in the whole process of manufacturing, use, reuse, recycle, installation, fabrication, and disposal. The interior design key element is to create long term used in sustainable environments. The following report has shown an in-depth analysis of how and why sustainable design is so important.