EFS Profiles
Institute for Sustainable Design
University of Virginia - School of Architecture
Charlottesville, Virginia
Purpose: Sustainability Research, Community Involvement
Please note that the copyright for this profile is retained by the institution.
William McDonough, former Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture, describes the mission of the school as "calling for a way of imagining design which goes beyond status quo formal, cultural and technological concerns and embodies, in its core, the search for humanity's rightful place in kinship with nature. As designers signaling our intentions in a world perceived to be reaching its critical limits we are asking not how few songbirds we will leave in the world for our children to enjoy, but how many." To this end, the Institute for Sustainable Design was created at the University of Virginia "to 'render visible' viable alternatives to conventional design and practice in human production based on principles that recognize the interdependence of ecology, economy, and equity. By facilitating creative interdisciplinary collaborations among the finest minds at the University of Virginia and in the world, the Institute will foster the development of new creative 'tools' for sustainable design while advocating innovative design approaches and restorative action. [The Institute's] goal is to educate designers, policy makers, and corporate and community leaders with the vision and processes needed to achieve a sustainable future, while seeking to define humanity's meaningful, rightful and responsible place in the natural world." These visionary goals have given shape to three programs at the Institute for Sustainable Design:
- Interdisciplinary Research
- Leadership Forum
- Regional Initiatives
Interdisciplinary Research
The Institute for Sustainable Design will spearhead interdisciplinary research efforts that employ innovative design solutions to the newly perceived problems that are causing terminal stress in humanity and nature:
- short-term, linearly conceived, one-way designs;
- designs that now precipitate general concerns for human and ecosystem health, wasteful and inefficient capital flows; and
- the requirement for complex regulation of even simple human industry.
The Institute actively solicits research ideas from all nine schools of the University, as well as outside companies and agencies. When an idea is proposed, the Institute serves as a coordinator:
- first working with the lead school to refine the idea and identify relevant expertise and partners from other schools;
- next, working with the research team to develop a funding proposal;
- then, identifying potential funders and submitting the proposal; and
- finally, managing the implementation of the research.
1. Design Protocol for a Sustainable Hospital
This project focuses on a pressing problem health care providers face on a daily basis: managing the disposal of product packaging and hazardous waste in an ecologically and economically intelligent way, while at the same time maintaining their commitment to saving lives and providing top-quality health care. The goal of this project is to develop new sustainable products and processes for the health care industry, using the Kidney Center at the University of Virginia as a starting point and Mr. McDonough's "cradle to cradle" philosophy of waste management. The new systems and technologies will address the economic needs of producers and consumers, the environmental health concerns of the patients, the impacts on the natural and human environments, and at the same time enhance the level of service health care providers can offer their patients. The School of Nursing is taking the lead in this effort, with the School of Engineering, Department of Environmental Sciences, and McIntire School of Commerce serving as key partners.
2. Sustainable Finance for Sustainable Communities
The Institute for Sustainable Design proposes to work with Fannie Mae to explore how Fannie Mae can participate in the design and redesign of sustainable communities, with the goal of stimulating higher home ownership rates. Phase I of the project will involve the conceptual development of a computer model that will be used to understand:
- the interrelationships among significant housing and community development components (e.g., housing stock, income dispersion, employment, transportation, and resource consumption); and
- how Fannie Mae could work with others, such as local governments, developers, lenders, builders, nonprofits and citizen groups, to improve the planning and preservation of strong, sustainable communities across the US
The School of Architecture, with representatives from all four departments -- Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Architectural History, and Urban and Environmental Planning -- is the lead school for this project. It is expected that the McIntire School of Commerce, the Darden School of Business, and the School of Engineering will serve as partners.
Leadership Forum
The objectives of this program area are to:
- provide an international leadership forum for showcasing and celebrating achievements in sustainable design and civic leadership; and
- inspire designers and business, civic and community leaders world-wide to implement initiatives that will lead to sustainability in their communities.
On-going Projects:
1. Symposium for Sustainable Design and Civic Leadership
The Institute will also convene, at least one time per year, a Symposium for Sustainable Design and Civic Leadership. The purpose of the Symposium is to bring together designers and business, civic, and community leaders from a specific city to dialogue with internationally recognized leaders about lessons learned and the vision required to create sustainable cities and regions. The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation sponsored the first Symposium, held in April 1997. It brought together thirty business and civic leaders from Newark, New Jersey, as well as the Charlottesville-Albemarle County region to meet with Jaime Lerner and learn about Curitiba's experience in implementing innovative social, economic and environmental programs. The 1998 Symposium targeted Pittsburgh and/or other Pennsylvania cities.
In April of 1997, the University awarded Jaime Lerner, governor of the state of Parana, Brazil, and former mayor of the city of Curitiba, the 32nd annual Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Medal in Architecture. Lerner exemplifies the dedication, creativity and foresight that leaders and all citizens must bring to making our cities more livable places. He has shown that it is possible even in the face of many obstacles to find eloquent and integrated solutions to serious social, economic and environmental concerns and to inspire our hope for a sustainable world.
2. Annual Sustainability Conference
For one week in mid-April 1998, coinciding with the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, the Institute for Sustainable Design hosted Jaime Lerner and other international leaders in promoting sustainability, making the University of Virginia the international intellectual capital of sustainability. The Institute will host seminars, lectures and roundtable discussions all week to allow business, civic and community leaders to interact with Lerner and other international figures and create an on-going dialogue about sustainability. In addition, during this week, each school of the university will give awards recognizing significant achievements in sustainability and interdisciplinary collaboration in their respective disciplines.
Regional Initiatives
The objective of the Regional Initiatives program area is two-fold:
- first, to lead by example, that is, to focus research and implementation efforts on the Piedmont Region of Virginia, including the Washington Metropolitan Area; and
- second, to create model frameworks for urban and regional sustainability for application in other regions based on the Piedmont experience.
On-going Projects:
1. Curitiba Exchange
In March 1997, under the auspices of the Institute for Sustainable Design, twelve University of Virginia faculty and staff representing the Curry School of Education, the School of Engineering, the School of Architecture, and the Darden School of Business traveled to Curitiba, Brazil to bring back lessons learned and model planning and design processes to apply to the Piedmont Region of Virginia. The Institute for Sustainable Design believes Curitiba, Brazil to be one of the best examples in the world of an urban system that is sustainable, and thus considers it a "reference point" for sustainability elsewhere in the world. Curitiba, a city of two million, is world-renowned for its well-organized and highly-advanced transportation, education, health care and parks systems. A second trip is planned for May to include faculty from the School of Nursing and the Institute for Environmental Negotiation.
2. Sustainable Piedmont Research
The Institute for Sustainable Design, through funding from the Sacharuna Foundation, is sponsoring the development of five School of Architecture projects that have specific applications of sustainable design to the Piedmont. The following project ideas have received small "seed capital" grants:
a. "Intersectionville": Sustainable Suburban Community Design for the Piedmont
Through analysis of an emerging post-suburban landscape comprising an airport, a research park, highways, and residential subdivisions in a rural area north of Charlottesville, School of Architecture faculty and students are developing sustainable alternatives to contemporary American development.
b. Transition Zone Design: Core City Neighborhood Sustainability
Developer and neighborhood interests are often in conflict, particularly in inner-city neighborhoods where residents are constrained by insufficient fiscal, educational, and political decision-making influence. This research project will investigate the alternatives available to residents of Charlottesville neighborhoods that will enable them to continue on a course of civic improvement and sustainability, while permitting property owners to take advantage of development opportunities in the area.
c. "Hydrocivitas": Sustainable Stormwater Design for the Piedmont
This project will explore the possibilities for Hydrocivitas, an ecological stormwater management plan that is an expression of the civic realm of Charlottesville. The project aspires to meet both biophysical and cultural goals. First, it seeks to provide a more ecologically-derived strategy than the current practice; and second, it seeks to offer the community civic artifacts that will include parks, woodlands, and plazas.
d. Sustainability Framework for the Piedmont
The Piedmont of Virginia is our home, yet we have few indicators that tell us how well we keep house. Efforts through this project will develop a series of model research projects that would map sustainability indices for the Virginia Piedmont.
e. Sustainable Transportation Design: Real Accessibility Index for the Piedmont
This project aims to design an alternative -- the Real Accessibility Index -- to current measures used by highway engineers in Virginia. The state's present framework for measuring and responding to changes in roadway capacity has contributed to the current pattern of suburban sprawl and environmental degradation evident throughout the Piedmont. By making the land use-transportation connection, the new model will help guide planners in the design of communities that are more sustainable.
For additional information:
University of Virginia - School
of Architecture
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