Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Nature of Design: Ecology, Culture, and Human Intention

The Nature of Design: Ecology, Culture, and Human Intention

Orr, David W.

Paperback

Environmental StudiesGeneral ArchitectureGeneral Education

ISBN10: 0195173686
ISBN13: 9780195173680
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: Oct 14 2004
Pages: 237
Weight: 0.68
Height: 0.57 Width: 5.48 Depth: 8.28
Language: English
The environmental movement has often been accused of being overly negative--trying to stop progress. The Nature of Design, on the other hand, is about starting things, specifically an ecological design revolution that changes how we provide food, shelter, energy, materials, and livelihood, and how we deal with waste.

Ecological design is an emerging field that aims to recalibrate what humans do in the world according to how the world works as a biophysical system. Design in this sense is a large concept having to do as much with politics and ethics as with buildings and technology.

The book begins by describing the scope of design, comparing it to the Enlightenment of the 18th century. Subsequent chapters describe barriers to a design revolution inherent in our misuse of language, the clockspeed of technological society, and shortsighted politics. Orr goes on to describe the critical role educational institutions might play in fostering design intelligence and what he calls a higher order of heroism.

Appropriately, the book ends on themes of charity, wilderness, and the rights of children. Astute yet broadly appealing, The Nature of Design combines theory, practicality, and a call to action.

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