What is ESD?


Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) is simply the philosophy of designing objects, structures, buildings and services which comply with the principles of ecological sustainability.

Designing sustainably is important as it helps reduce and eliminate some of the negative effects of our lifestyles to the environment that we all share. Sustainable design involves the use of renewable resources. In involves minimising the damages that are being done to the environment, as well as improving our connection to the natural environment.

Sustainability in building design and architecture seeks to reduce the undesirable impacts of the design and construction process, as well as the duration of the building’s lifecycle, to the environment. Factors such as the energy efficiency and on-site waste management can affect the sustainability of our buildings.

When we design, we should always consider the impacts of our end-product no matter how big or small it is. In relation to building design, some of the things we can always consider are:
  • Alternate energy sources – can we have solar panels or wind turbines to generate electricity?
  • Building siting – where can we best locate the building in our land so that we can avoid changing the landscape too much?
  • Building materials – are we able to use recyclable or recycled materials to minimise waste?
  • Waste management – how can we reduce the waste that we produce?


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