The shape of green: aesthetics, ecology, and design

214 Pages·2012·4.405 MB·English

by  Hosey, Lance

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Architecture | DeSiGN
O
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Beauty could save the planet.
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Does going green change the face of design or only its content? in the Shape of Green, the first book to Y
outline a clear set of principles for the aesthetics of sustainable design, Lance hosey argues that beauty
is inherent to sustainability, for how things look and feel is as important as how they’re made. Form and
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image can enhance conservation, comfort, and community at every scale of design, from products to
buildings to cities. Aesthetic attraction isn’t a superficial concern—it’s an environmental imperative.
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Advance praise for The Shape of Green e

“Design has the power to create a world that can be economically, equitably, ecologically, and
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elegantly enjoyed. in the Shape of Green, Lance hosey explores the critically important but too rarely
discussed dimensions of this goal—elegance, joy, and beauty.” h
—William mcDOnOugH, coauthor of cradle to cradle: remaking the Way We Make things
a
“it’s tomorrow’s great design challenge: how to make sustainability not just likeable but loveable;
and not just efficient but beautiful, sensual, sexy. Lance hosey is an inspirational guide to a future we p aEStHEticS, EcOlOgY, anD DESign
can’t wait to embrace.”
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— JOHn ElkingtOn, cofounder of SustainAbility and author of the Zeronauts: Breaking the
Sustainability Barrier
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“it’s time someone revealed that the opposition of sustainability vs. style, ethics vs. aesthetics, is a
false start. in this book, Lance hosey helps retire that opposition and shows us what makes beauty f
and sustainability one and the same.”

—SuSan S. SzEnaSY, editor in chief, Metropolis
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lancE HOSEY, a nationally recognized architect, designer, and writer, is President & ceO of
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GreenBlue, a nonprofit that works to make products more sustainable. he is a former Director with
William McDonough + Partners and coauthor of Women in Green: Voices of Sustainable Design.
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l a n c E H O S E Y
cover design by Milan Bozic e
cover image by Lance hosey, after a pattern by richard taylor.
For more information on the fractal pattern, see pages 87–93.
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Washington | covelo | London

www.islandpress.org
All island Press books are printed on recycled, acid-free paper.

The Shape of Green

The Shape of Green
Aesthetics,
Ecology,
and Design
L A n C E H o s E y
Washington | Covelo | London
© 2012 Lance Hosey
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means
without permission in writing from the publisher:
Island Press
Suite 300, 1718 Connecticut Ave., NW,
Washington, DC 20009
ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of the Center for Resource Economics.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hosey, Lance.
The shape of green : aesthetics, ecology, and design / Lance Hosey.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-61091-031-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-61091-031-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
— ISBN 978-1-61091-032-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 1-61091-032-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Sustainable design. 2. Sustainable architecture. 3. Green technology. 4. Aesthetics. 5.
Sustainability. 6. Environmentalism. I. Title.
NK1520 .H672012
745.2—dc23 2011049246
Printed using Minion
Text design by Maureen Gately
Typesetting by Sztrecska Publishing
Printed on recycled, acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Keywords: architectural design, biomimicry, biophilia, corporate style, circumstantial
style, e-waste, ecological design, energy-efficient design, environmental design, epochal
style, fractal, green architecture, happy product index, history-based form, industrial
design, market-based form, nature, place-based form, populist style, regional style,
self-sustaining form, sustainability, thermal comfort, urban design, urban ecology
Note: The background image on page 34 shows a Shinkansen 500 Bullet Train.
The background image on page 125 shows a serpentine garden wall at the
University of Virginia that was designed by Thomas Jefferson.
For my brothers,
who were there
when I woke up

It is only shallow people
who do not judge by appearances.
The true mystery of the world is the visible,
not the invisible.
—Oscar Wilde