Design for an Empathic World
Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self
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- ¥950
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- ¥950
発行者による作品情報
Despite an uncertain economy, the market for green building is exploding. The US green building market has expanded dramatically since 2008 and is projected to double in size by 2015 (from $42 billion in construction starts to $135 billion). But green-building pioneer Sim Van der Ryn says, “greening” our buildings is not enough. He advocates for “empathic design”, in which a designer not only works in concert with nature, but with an understanding of and empathy for the end user and for ones self. It is not just one of these connections, but all three that are necessary to design for a future that is more humane, equitable, and resilient.
Sim’s lifelong focus has been in shifting the paradigm in architecture and design. Instead of thinking about design primarily in relation to the infrastructure we live in and with—everything from buildings to wireless routing—he advocates for a focus on the people who use and are affected by this infrastructure. Basic design must include a real understanding of human ecology or end-user preferences. Understanding ones motivations and spirituality, Sim believes, is critical to designing with empathy for natural and human communities.
In Design for an Empathic World Van der Ryn shares his thoughts and experience about the design of our world today. With a focus on the strengths and weaknesses in our approach to the design of our communities, regions, and buildings he looks at promising trends and projects that demonstrate how we can help create a better world for others and ourselves. Architects, urban designers, and students of architecture will all enjoy this beautifully illustrated book drawing on a rich and revered career of a noted leader in their field. The journey described in Design for an Empathic World will help to inspire change and foster the collaboration and thoughtfulness necessary to achieve a more empathic future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Advocating a holistic approach to all aspects of living, "green architecture" pioneer Van der Ryn (Ecological Design) draws a sharp distinction between the veneer of "green" design and the actual art of designing ecologically. His wide-ranging approach, illustrated here with his own watercolors, unfortunately suffers from a meandering presentation. Van der Ryn calls for synthesizing the physical and psychological needs of the occupants with the natural features and limitations of the landscape a blend he calls "empathic design." At his most succinct, he offers detailed outlines of how designers should approach architectural sites, working with the landscape, and accommodating natural light and water availability for maximum energy efficiency. From the environmental impact of building materials to the disconnect between designers and dwellers, the author effectively, often poetically, conveys his message. Perhaps too poetically, because as the book veers from acronym-heavy examples of agencies and organizations working in ecological design to quotations from Deepak Chopra, its underlying principles become muddled and increasingly esoteric. Inspiring, and beautifully expressed as they are, the author's argument that humanity needs to connect spiritually with its environment in order to realize a deeper inner life seems too subjective to dovetail with architecture's demands for objective reality. Full-color illus.
