_Writing a new storyline

...I propose that we should not think of sustainability as a concept as is done in common usage, or as a discourse ... or even as a narrative ... but as a storyline.  I prefer this term because it emphasises the plot or trajectory of action rather than the style of the narrative.

...my hypothesis is that successful storylines of sustainability - meaning those that lead to satisfying action - are constituted of political, environmental and technological talk that is home-grown from particular cultural and environmental conditions.

... when citizens of a particular place compare their situation to abstract models of sustainable development or lists of best practices what they encounter are local obstacles to be overcome by universal principles.  But when they begin with local patterns of public talk and historical storylines, what they encounter are opportunities.  It is this latter possibility that leads most directly to satisfying action.

Stephen A. Moore, Models, lists, and the evolution of sustainable architecture, in The Green Braid

_Studio Methodology

Never assume the need.

Keep asking: What is needed now?

Your solution to any problem will depend on what you perceive the problem to be.

...what is needed are tools that will open up new public conversations.
Stephen A. Moore, Models, lists, and the evolution of sustainable architecture, in The Green Braid

_Values

Just So Studio values:

Optimism.

Interdependency: No one profession or professional can change things effectively on their own.

Dialogue: Communication should be open, transparent and honest.

Trust: Without trust, nobody is free to be themselves and to produce powerful work.

_Architecture as Support Structure

As M. Scott Ball writes in Expanding the Role of the Architect, ‘the well-being of all communities is inherently valuable to the health of our profession.  How can we understand architecture as a support structure?  Can this approach help us to engage more fully with communities and create work which in turn engages with its surroundings over time?

The primary catalyst for my practice has been my willingness to be useful first, and then figure out how my usefulness is architectural.  I rely heavily on invitations and value the possibilities that they reveal for architecture to find relevant expression.

M. Scott Ball, Expanding the Role of the Architect, in Good Deeds, Good Design

_Pedagogy

The ultimate object of design is not artifacts, buildings, or landscapes, but human minds...

…The education of all design professions ought to begin in the recognition the architecture and landscapes are a kind a crystallised pedagogy that informs well or badly, but never fails to inform.  Design inevitably instructs us about our relationships to nature and people that makes us more or less mindful and more or less ecologically competent.

…If it is not to become simply a more efficient way to do the same old things, ecological design must become a kind of public pedagogy built into the structure of daily life. ... The goal of ecological design is to calibrate human behaviour with ecological realities while educating people about ecological possibilities and limits.

…When we design ecologically, we are instructed continually by the fabric of everyday life - pedagogy informs infrastructure which in turn informs us.

David Orr, Architecture, ecological design, and human ecology, in The Green Braid

The challenge of resource scarcity draws into sharper focus what we choose to construct, the manner in which we choose to construct it, and the social aim towards which it is directed.  How can we design buildings, systems, landscapes and products which increase our ecological literacy?  How can designers and architects employ permaculture principles to enable authorities, businesses and local residents to become more mindful and ecologically competent throughout each design project?

_Permaculture Design Process

A permaculture-based analysis can offer a frank and grounded way of approaching any design problem, revealing tangible ways of making transitions towards ecological and systems-based thinking from the very start of the project.  Rather than designing elements in isolation, this design approach encourages links to be formed between products, services and systems.

Close observation of existing conditions is prioritised over starting with a clean-slate:

1. Asset audit: What do we have already?

2. Establishing \ reinforcing relationships between existing elements

3. What needs to be added?

4. In what manner do we add?

5. To what ends?

_Permaculture

Initially developed by Bill Mollison and David Holgrem in Australia in 1978, from study of the naturally occurring forest ecosystem, permaculture design offers a creative way of seeing the environment in which we live and work.  It is a principle-based approach, advocating whole-system thinking, which offers numerous 'ways in', to start tackling large problems with small, realistic solutions.

The basis of permaculture design is to establish the separate elements of any system into mutually beneficial relationships, making use of all products of the system and naturally available energy.  This enables us to design systems and environments which maximise yield whilst minimising energy use.

Useful connections can only be made between things if they are put in the right place relative to each other.

Permaculture is a process of looking at the whole, seeing what the connections are between the different parts, and assessing how these connections can be changed so that the place can work more harmoniously.  This may include introducing some new elements or methods, especially on an undeveloped site.  But these changes are incidental to the process of looking at the landscape as a whole.

The essence of permaculture is to work with what is already there: firstly to preserve what is best, secondly to enhance existing systems, and lastly to introduce new elements.  This is a low-energy approach, making minimum changes for maximum effect...

Patrick Whitefield, Permaculture in a Nutshell, [Permanent Publications, 2008]

_I am not separate from my environment

How can I visualise the relationship between myself and my environment?  These two illustrations show two illustrations of the relationship between the individual and the environment.  What difference does it make to my daily decisions if I acknowledge the extent of the interplay between each of my small decisions and the health of the wider environment?

A \ Individual-centric view: I am in control of the sphere of influence of my actions.  I can employ the people and resources around me to satisfy my needs, ideas and desires without any negative impact.

B \ Environment-dependent view:  I cannot choose the sphere of influence of my actions.  Everything I do and experience is a direct result of [and cause of] the environment in which I live.  Everything I choose to do has a direct impact at all levels of humanity and the environment.  My health is entirely dependent on the health of my surroundings.

_Ecological Literacy

We are nature, learning.

Ethan Roland

I have had email conversations with people over the last few months about what the transition to a lower energy future actually means.  It seems that the transition which needs to happen relates to our understanding of the relationship between the individual and the earth.

One of the things that will have to transition is the notion that the so-called ‘environment’ is a so-called separate ‘issue’, as if everything else could carry on as normal whether this issue gets addressed or not.  That’s plainly impossible.  Designers, artists and scientists are going to have a big part to play in communicating this, because it’s toxic to politicians. … there is not much any government can do now that will make much difference in its short political lifetime (typically 10-15 years max in the UK) and they can’t face up to telling the voters what the energy companies are already saying: energy and all fossil-fuel derived or dependent products and activities are going to get more and more expensive in the future, starting now.  Do you know about Jody Boehnert’s projects - her sites are at www.eco-labs.co.uk and www.teach-in.co.uk?

[Extract from email correspondence]

_Human Framework

How does transition happen?  In what conditions do paradigm shifts occur?

How does transition happen at an individual level - how do people change?

To change our patterns of behaviour voluntarily, we must first be aware that we are able to change.  We must be motivated to change, think through how to make that change, and act upon our realisations.  For this to happen, there needs to be an acknowledgement of the connection between the 'awareness', the 'motivation', the ‘how’ and the 'action'.

A \ Elements of myself.

B \ Elements of myself, observed and connected.  I can be aware of what is happening; I am aware of my motivations and emotions; I am aware that my motivations affect my thoughts; I am aware that I act based on my thoughts.  I can see the connection between my underlying motivations and their manifestation in action.