Spring Break
Interior design program adapts to environment
Jayda Quincey
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: ARTS & LIFE
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The interior design program of the College of Visual Arts is incorporating sustainable themes and issues into classes in response to the shifting worldview.
"Not only is this a timely topic, it's also part of our directive as a program," Johnnie Stark of the interior design faculty said.
Sustainability in design and development pertains to meeting present human needs while preserving the environment so that future generations will be able to meet their needs.
The U.S. Green Building Council is another important proponent of sustainability. It came out with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system in the 1990s.
There have always been practices aimed at fostering sustainability, but the movement really affected the design industry in the 1990s.
Stark said the LEED program is "a voluntary agreement between planning professionals to meet a list of requirements" for a building.
While a building can be LEED-certified by earning enough points from a list of requirements, a person can become a LEED accredited professional, or LEED AP, after passing an exam.
"Before the LEED program, the topic was just overwhelming," Stark said of green design. "LEED is a good standard. It's good for organization."
More and more, LEED is becoming a standard for design projects.
"It's becoming a best practice in building design and construction," Stark said.
Ashlee Paar, a recent architecture graduate and member of the NT chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, said that individuals who have studied sustainability are incredible assets in the professional world.
"You would be surprised at how many individuals don't know anything about sustainability and hope that it goes away, so that they aren't asked why they haven't taken the LEED AP exam yet," Paar said.
She said the issue is not going to go away.
"Consumers are demanding it, and clients are requesting it on a daily basis in their projects," she said.
Paar, who graduated two years ago, took classes focused on sustainability during school.
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