"Nature is not a place to visit, it is home."
~ Gary Snyder
Environmental Design starts with the land and embraces the local community to sensitively accommodate our built environments. Land, people, buildings—that is the order. Its primary pursuit is to attain the sacred balance between the earth, its natural systems and people—to support and heal our planet and therein ourselves.
Successful environmental design is achieved when communities are actively involved in their own planning, design and construction processes. This includes self-building to maximize local resources, materials and labour and minimize waste.To preserve the delicate environmental carrying capacity of a particular place, sustainability means sometimes saying no to development.
Sustainable environmental design acknowledges our temporary stewardship of the planet, "Living in ECOilibrium" with the natural world within its limits. It denotes healthy habitats and vibrant communities, while recognizing the important inter-relationships that are essential to maintaining clean air, soil, water, and the environments that sustain life.
Sustainability puts the health of nature’s ecosystems before all else.
Rob Sieniuc, M.E. Des. (Architecture), BA, AIBC
Principal, Broadway Architects (Rob Sieniuc + Associates)
Architects & Environmental Designers Vancouver, BC, Canada
