Green no longer just a colour for Architects and Interior Designers
Green is no longer just a colour for Architects and Interior Designers. It is the new Design Philosophy. Green design is about saving money, protecting the environment and protecting people’s health. Green design incorporates sustainable materials and design ideas aimed at using sustainable materials, protecting the environment, and energy conservation.
The key areas that an interior designer and an architect has to focus while planning spaces is reduction of CO2 emissions, conservation of water, improving indoor air quality, saving energy and husbanding natural resources. The goal of the green designer is to address key areas and objectives rather than being completely at the mercy of the whims of fads and fashion.
Anirban, designer at iDream opines that “Green interior design is holistic. It tries to look at the big picture, to see how a space can be more efficient, save money, be healthier for the inhabitants and make as small a carbon footprint as possible”.
· The best way to reduce CO2 emissions is to reduce electricity use in a building. This can be achieved by considering insulation, installing a programmable thermostat, planting trees next to east facing windows and buying Energy Star rated appliances to name but a few strategies. Reducing cooling bills in the summer and heating bills in the winter has the added bonus of reducing carbon emissions.
· A lot of water is wasted in automated toilets and landscaped areas of large buildings. Green interior design seeks to stop this wastage through installing low-flow aerator faucets and shower heads with lower gallons per minute flow rates of water. Recycling water in landscaped areas and water harvesting are also good solutions to save water.
· To save on natural resources several alternative raw materials, such as bamboo, rattan, cork, are being used. The other way this is being achieved is by going in for retro fits and recycling and reusing as much materials as possible.
· To save on energy in any interior space it is important to relook at the energy source and optimizing the use of alternative energy sources. Solar panels can go a long way in saving energy. Also today a lot of manufacturers of lights, air conditioners and all other gadgets provide green alternatives for minimizing the consumption of electricity. Besides this, proper insulation of spaces is also very important as this goes a long way in saving energy.
Sustainability, recycling, renewable resources, energy efficiency – these are all key ideas that positively impact on the economy, on people’s health and on the health of the environment.
iDream is an Architectural & Interior Design Firm with a strong commitment to be part of sustainable projects. iDream is a global provider of design and project delivery services with primary offices in major Indian cities, with a focus on developing built environments which save recurring costs and lower carbon emmissions. Within India, iDream has been in the forefront of offering world-class services to clients who expect global standards.
For more information log on to:
http://www.idream.in and http://www.lightgreen.in
About Loknath Swain
Loknath Swain is a Mumbai based architect and writer. He is also webmaster of http://www.idream.in and http://www.lightgreen.in He writes on subjects related to green interior and designs.
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