The Nature Of Design

247 Pages·1.146 MB·English

by  Oxford University Press

The Nature of Design

THE
NATURE
DESIGN
of
Ecology, Culture, and Human Intention
David W. Orr
1
2002
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Orr,David W.,1944–.
The nature of design :ecology,culture,and human intention / by David W.Orr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.).
ISBN 0-19-514855-X
1. Nature—Effect of human beings on.
2. Human ecology—Moral and ethical aspects.
3. Environmental responsibility.
4. Global environmental change.
I. Title.
GF75 .O77 2002
304.2'8—dc21 2001036413
We gratefully acknowledge permission from Blackwell Science,Ltd.,to reprint
inthis book,in somewhat altered form,material from the following articles by
DavidW.Orr that were originally published in Conservation Biology:“Technologi-
cal Fundamentalism”(8:2,June 1994);“Twine in the Baler”(8:4,December 1994);
“Conservatism and Conservation”(9:2,April 1995);“None So Blind”(9:5,October
1995);“Slow Knowledge”(10:3,June 1996);“Architecture as Pedagogy II”(11:3,
June 1997);“Speed”(12:1,February 1998);“The Limits of Nature and the Nature
of Limits”(12:4;August 1998);“The Architecture of Science”(13:2,April 1999);
“Verbicide”(13:4,August 1999);“Education,Careers,Callings”(13:6,December
1999);“2020:A Proposal”(14:2,April 2000);“Ideasclerosis I”(14:4,August 2000);
Ideasclerosis II”(14:6,December 2000).
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on recycled,acid-free paper
For Wil

Acknowledgments
For the past six years, ecological design has been more than an ab-
straction for me. The essays that follow originated in physical and
intellectual proximity to an ecological design project on the campus
of Oberlin College described in chapter 14. What began as a fairly
straightforward design and construction project became a crash
course in architecture,engineering,materials analysis,ecological engi-
neering,landscape ecology,energy analysis,philosophy,institutional
politics, and fund-raising. During that time it was my privilege to
work with some of the most remarkable designers of our time.To all
of the participants in that project I owe a large debt:Ray Anderson,
David Austin,Bill Browning,Kevin Burke,Leo Evans,Carol Franklin,
Chris Hays,Mark Hoberecht,Amory Lovins,John Lyle,Bill McDo-
nough,Dave Nelson,Ron Perkins,Russell Perry,Mark Rusitsky,Bob
Scheren, Michael Shaw, Stephen Strong, John Todd, Martin Trout-
man,and Adrian Tuluca.They persevered on a tough project.I owe a
large debt to friends and colleagues here and elsewhere particularly
David Benzing, Peter Buckley, Fritjof Capra, Tony Cortese, Nancy
Dye,Karen Florini,Dierdre Holmes,Jon Jensen,Adam Lewis,Peter
Lewis,Al MacKay,Brad Masi,Gene Matthews,Carl McDaniel,John
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Petersen, John Powers, Michael Stranahan, Paige Wiegman, and
Cheryl Wolfe.I thank David Ehrenfeld and Gary Meffe,both for their
editorial skill that improved many of these essays and for their en-
couragement.I am grateful to Island Press for permission to include
“The Ecology of Giving and Consuming”from Consuming Desires,ed.
Roger Rosenblatt (1999); to MITPress for permission to include
“Loving Children”from Children and Nature:Psychological,Sociocul-
tural, and Evolutionary Investigations, ed. Peter H. Kahn Jr. and
Stephen R. Kellert (2002); to Wild Earth for permission to include
“The Great Wilderness Debate,Again”;and to Blackwell Science for
permission to reprint material from Conservation Biology included
here in chapters 3–17.Finally,this book is dedicated to my brother
Wilson,with gratitude and love.
Contents
I. The Problem of Ecological Design
1. Introduction:The Design of Culture and the
Cultureof Design 3
2. Human Ecology as a Problem of Ecological Design 13
II. Pathologies and Barriers
3. Slow Knowledge 35
4. Speed 43
5. Verbicide 53
6. Technological Fundamentalism 61
7. Ideasclerosis 68
8. Ideasclerosis,Continued 75