DINZ Design Talk - Positive Development, Dr Janis Birkeland, Wellington

The Ministry for the Environment and the Designers Institute are hosting talks by Dr Janis Birkeland. Dr Janis Birkeland wrote the book 'Positive Developments - Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles' which has been highly praised by Dr Michael Braungart, co-author Cradle to Cradle, at the recent CEO Summit in Auckland.

Some of the issues that will be addressed by Janis:

• Why ‘positive development” – explanation of the principles of “ positive development with an emphasis on the outcomes sought and its value case
• Explanation of the different form of design required to implement the principles of “positive development” and achieve sustainable urban form
• Examples and case studies of design projects in an urban context that have implemented or embody principles of ‘positive development
• Details of the design process required to incorporate the principles of “positive development’ within urban development, and retrofitting of the urban form

We have already exceeded the earth’s carrying capacity. Therefore, genuine sustainability would require that urban development actually increase the bioregion’s ecology and carrying capacity, or life support system. This is only possible with a new approach to environmental management, planning and design.

'Carbon neutral' buildings and 'low-environmental impact' cities do nothing to combat the effects of climate change or redress environmental degradation, says QUT Professor of Architecture Janis Birkeland.

'Even the best practice 'green buildings' we have today only to reduce negative social and environmental impacts relative to standard buildings - they are seldom self-sufficient, and almost never have net positive social and environmental gains'.

The cities of the future, argues Professor Birkeland, will have to reverse the damage already done, as well as to reduce future negative impacts.

'Green buildings are conventional designs that are tweaked with energy efficient technologies. They still replace nature - the life support system - with industrial mechanisms. It is an unsustainable process', Professor Birkeland said.

She has coined the term 'Positive Development' to describe a new form of architecture that not only produces clean air, soil, water, and food " but has positive ecological impacts.

There is probably no living example of Positive Development yet. However, Birkeland's new book Positive Development: from Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles through Built Environment Design explains how we can have our cake and eat it too.

Professor Birkeland isn't proposing that we tear down our cities. 'That would take too much time, energy and irreplaceable resources', she says. 'They need to be ecologically retrofitted'. Her book explains how existing development could be converted into 'sustainability solutions' that increases nature's free goods and services.

'Every year, poor urban design was killing more people than terrorism because cities are several degrees hotter than surrounding natural areas', she says. There are many ways that urban design can combat this 'urban heat island' effect - which killed well over 26,000 people in Europe during the 2003 heatwave.

One way would be to wrap buildings in 'green scaffolding' that provide a range of climatic and ecosystem functions. We could retrofit buildings with elements like vertical landscapes that combine natural air and water purification, fish tanks for aquaponic food production, solar stacks and shower towers to support evaporative cooling, and so on.

There are rafts of self-funding ways of turning 'dead' buildings and urban spaces into living, breathing entities. By providing the infrastructure for nature in cities, we can generate profits, health and natural capital, while creating more public space for people.

Currently, Professor Birkeland is working with other staff and students at the Queensland University of Technology on a proposed national sustainability education centre in Canberra. It will not only enable visitors to explore sustainability practice, products and ideas, but demonstrate net Positive Development itself.

'Sustainability is a design problem', Professor Birkeland says, 'and saving the planet through design is as fun as it is challenging'.

Profile of Dr Janis Birkeland

Dr Janis Birkeland is Professor of Architecture at QUT, where she teaches green building, eco-retrofitting, greenhouse solutions and eco-innovation, as well as design studios. Before coming to Australia, she worked consecutively as an artist, advocacy planner, architect, urban designer, city planner and attorney in San Francisco. Her books include Design for Sustainability(2002) and Positive Development: from Vicious Circles to Virtuous Cycles (2008).

Positive Development - From VIcious Circles to Virtuous Cycles through Built Environment Design; Review Comments

“This is a wonderful book that should be on the desk of every architect and planner. It shows how our decisions about the built environment can be a positive contribution to shaping a sustainable future.” Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe, President, Australian Conservation Foundation

“A heralding work of how a positive and innovative design agenda for the built environment, underlined by an uncompromising valuation of ecology and nature’s services, can mobilize our efforts in becoming native to the planet.” Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, Professor of Material Flow Management at University Lüneburg (Germany) and co-author of Cradle to Cradle

“One of the best books on sustainability I’ve read in a long time . . . clear, compelling, and dead on..” David Orr, Oberlin College whose books include Nature of Design and Ecological Literacy

“… invaluable to not just designers but to all those whose work impinges on the environment.” Ken Yeang, Architect, Llewelyn Davies Yeang, UK

“Birkeland’s book takes the next step ... it argues that design for nature, or ‘design for eco-services’, is long overdue, and explains how we can do it.” Hunter Lovins, President and founder of the Natural Capitalism Solutions

“…..An unusual, and heartening, combination of the radical and the realistic.” Clive Hamilton, former Executive Director of The Australia Institute, author of Growth Fetish and co-author of Affluenza

“Birkeland is one of the world’s leading thinkers on sustainable built environments. In this book she distils her wealth of experience into a very accessible text on how we can achieve net positive development.” The Natural Edge Project, authors of The Natural Advantage of Nations

“Birkeland convincingly argues that we can ‘develop’ in a way that replenishes the planet’s life giving services. I urge that this book be read and championed by our infrastructure designers as well as all others.” David A Hood, Chairman, Australian Green Infrastructure Council

‘Zero carbon’ and ‘zero waste’, at best, leave things as they are - we need to go beyond zero to development that delivers positive impacts. Achieving ecologically positive gains calls for a new approach to the planning, design and management of our built environment.

Janis Birkeland presents the innovative new paradigm of ‘Positive Development’ in which the built environment provides greater life quality, health, amenity and safety for all without sacrificing resources or money. With a different form of design, development itself can become a ‘sustainability solution’. A cornerstone of this new paradigm is the eco-retrofitting of the vast urban fabric we already inhabit. The author presents a revolutionary new tool called SmartMode to achieve this end. This book challenges everyone working in or studying the areas of sustainable development, planning, architecture or the built environment to rethink their current ideas and practices.

Posted on: June 4, 2009