If you’ve been to a seminar on sustainable practices lately, you may have heard the popular concept that tunneling through cost barriers might provide better spaces for people. To my knowledge, the concept was popularized by Paul Hawkins, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins in their book, Natural Capitalism, more than 10 years ago.

Graph from 'Natural Capitalism' by Paul Hawkins, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins

So what does it mean? The simplest example that is often given is that of a residential house: you can buy better windows, more efficient insulation, and even take advantage of passive solar heating. With all of these improvements, you will eventually reach the point of diminishing returns when you are spending extra money to save energy on heating your home. The detour that now seems possible is that you can reach a point where you’ve so radically reduced the heating load that you can eliminate the furnace and its associated ductwork altogether.

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Tags: Change, Renovation
Posted in Architecture, LEED, Science, Sustainability, Technology, Technology/Innovation

One could say the design of higher education environments is important, after all, they will be around for 50+ years. We’re currently master-planning the renovations for several academic libraries originally constructed in the 1960’s. Most haven’t been renovated since. New buildings on campuses will, for all intents and purposes, forever transform the experience of those that attend and support the academic institution.   The opportunity is one that should be carefully studied and developed. It is one we take very seriously. 

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Tags: Renovation, students
Posted in Design, Higher Education, Libraries