Europe’s Largest Green Wall “Will Absorb Eight Tons of Pollution Annually” in London
Lizzie Crook – reporter at Dezeen, graduated from University of Sheffield in 2016 with a degree in architecture before joining the magazine as a social media and editorial intern. She went on to work for former creative network YCN as a content editor and wrote for its members’ magazine and student-focused website; returning to Dezeen in 2018 as an editorial assistant. Studying a postgraduate diploma in interior design.
Designed by local studio Sheppard Roboson, the mixed-use Citicape House in London will have the “largest living wall in Europe” to help improve local air quality. The building will be wrapped by a facade of 400,000 plants that are hoped to “capture over eight tons of carbon [dioxide] and produce six tons of oxygen annually.” The vertical garden will be located on the UK capital’s Culture Mile, a heavy traffic area in the city of London, and will be replacing an existing office building to demonstrate one potential method of how the built or man-made environment can address issues such as pollution and climate change. Partners of the firm argued that an immersive and integrated approach would have the biggest impact on the local environmental conditions, creating a better and more livable city, as well as making a clear architectural statement. The Citicape House is planned to contain a five-star hotel alongside office spaces, event spaces, and various other social establishments. The construction is influenced by a pre-war building that had previously occupied the corner, however unlike the original building the ground floor will be receded from the street edge to allow a connection to a small plaza. The plants on the exterior will align with the trusses and structural support of the building to avoid “greenwashing the building” as described by members of Sheppard Roboson.
Crook, Lizzie. “Europe’s Largest Green Wall ‘Will Absorb Eight Tonnes of Pollution Annually’ in London.” Dezeen, 15 Nov. 2019, www.dezeen.com/2019/11/11/citicape-house-green-wall-architecture-sheppard-robson/.
Where Experiential Design Meets Sustainability by: Stephanie L’Estrange
Stephanie L’Estrange – Senior associate and director of design at TAYLOR design — strategy based design firm specializing in healthcare, education, science & technology, and assisted living. The firm has received several awards for sustainable design and committed to AIA challenge – all new projects and major renovations to be carbon-neutral by 2030.
This article analyzes the benefits of sustainable design in the healthcare industry, the aspiration to create a comfortable space filled with natural elements that contribute to the healing process. L’Estrange writes that in implementing experiential design, architects and interior designers cannot lose sight of the sustainable practice that should dictate the entire project process; she argues that the work of experiential design can serve as a catalyst for a heightened level of awareness and affirmation for the organization’s attention to responsibility. The materials selected should be warm, soothing, and communicate their sustainable attributes. Hospital branded bamboo patient blankets and plaques/posters that greet patients, visitors, and staff, informing them about the sustainable decisions and where the materials were sourced are two examples described by L’Estrange also writes that a healing space should offer choice and customization to better accommodate user needs; the example she gives is a turnable LED light fixture that can emulate natural light while automatically changing color to match the circadian rhythms of our sleep patterns. She also points out the growing importance of these features; the generations that will soon comprise the majority of users (patients, nurses/doctors, designers) and are far more concerned about sustainable practices and their carbon footprint.
What Designers Can Learn from Indigenous Communities Fighting Climate Change by: Anoushka Khandwala
Anoushka Khandwala – London graphic designer, illustrator and writer; recently graduated from Central Saint Martins with a BA in Graphic Design. Passionate about pursuing diversity in the creative industry through empowering minorities, as well as decolonising our way of thinking about design. AIGA featured writer.
The article highlights the role design plays in the encouragement of endless consumption and its destructive consequences; designers being uniquely complicit in a system that is constantly producing and consuming. If the actions that seek to mitigate the impacts of climate change continue to prioritize free-market values, they have the potential to harm not only the Earth but the millions of people who will be displaced by effects of the climate crisis.By decolonizing our understanding of climate action, Examines the disproportionate amount of public attention given to organizations who often don’t give credit to the Indigenous movements that have long been on the frontlines of these movements. This article is an interview of three “creative practitioners who use design as a tool to highlight the relationship of indigenous peoples and the land.” Julia Watson, author of Lo-TEK: Designed by Radical Indigenism, which examines traditional ecological knowledge from different communities around the globe and how that might be the next generation of thinking for sustainable design. Knee Benally of the Navajo nation, member of Indigenous Action, is an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist agitator and uses design to propagandize; while Demian DinéTazhi’, founder of Radical Indigenance Survivance and Empowerment (R.I.S.E.), uses their art to platform voices of Indigenous descent. Although playing different roles, these voices unify to demand change through a subversion of hetero-patriarchal colonial power structures, emphasizing design as a way in which to manifest these principles.
Khandwala, Anoushka. “What Designers Can Learn from Indigenous Communities Fighting Climate Change.” Eye on Design, 15 Dec. 2020, eyeondesign.aiga.org/what-designers-can-learn-from-indigenous-communities-fighting-climate-change/.
The Sustainable Challenges and Opportunities in Environmental Graphic Design by: Dr. Wu Duan
Dr. Wu Duan – an associate professor of environmental design at Tongji University–College of Design & Innovation in Shanghai, China. She is a leader and cofounder of Public Design LAB in Tongji and the leader of environmental graphic design studio in Tongji Tiandi Institute of Art & Design Innovation. Duan Wu has a PhD in Architecture from the College of Urban Planning and Architecture, Tongji University; Master of Visual Communication Design and a Bachelor of Industrial Design from College of Art & Design, Tongji University. In her ten-year career she has worked on a broad range of projects including public design, wayfinding and environmental graphics, branding, exhibition design, landscape and urban design.
This paper analyzes the opportunities and challenges of sustainable environmental graphic design through two projects in Shanghai, China. The first is a wayfinding program for the Shanghai South Railway Station, a study using environmental graphic design (EGD) to support and enhance sustainable behavior–in this case to promote the use of public transportation instead of private. After the station opened in 2007, average daily passenger traffic reached around 300,000 people; shortly after, station users began to complain about the legibility of signage and the clarity of the wayfinding system. Volunteers assigned throughout the station to help people navigate the complex received 100 to 200 inquiries a day. Research and design for a new signage system began in 2008 and was implemented In 2010. The case study and research conducted concludes that properly researched and designed wayfinding systems can encourage more sustainable behaviors among users and deliver significant environmental and economic benefits not only for transportation buildings but all public spaces. The second is a signage and EGD program for facilities at Tongji University, demonstrating the ability of EGD to encourage sustainable behaviors. In a city like Shanghai, in order to meet universal needs, there tends to be less Chinese characters, more symbols, and more english. The redesign of the signage system in Tongji University integrates modern Chinese characters and words; characters combined with symbols can overcome literacy, language, and cultural barriers to help local and international students make sense of the space and culture around them.
Duan, Wu, et.al. “The Sustainable Challenges and Opportunities in Environmental Graphic Design.” SEGD, 2 Oct. 2014, segd.org/sustainable-challenges-and-opportunities-environmental-graphic-design.
1977 Londonderry, Vermont is where Jake Burton Carpenter spent his days making ‘Burton Boards’ in a barn and testing them in the backcountry of southern Vermont. Over 40 years later and Burton is an international corporation with factories and offices around the world. Burton has used their reputation in the industry and international presence to advocate for human and environmental rights by giving back to the community as well as making strides in sustainable production and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Burton’s logo-mark has seen dozens of iterations throughout the company’s history with the famous mountain icon making its first appearance in 1979. The latest redesign done in-house goes back to the company’s roots with a modern, geometrically balanced look; emphasizing the role of the environment as a uniting cause.
The mountain icon used in Burton’s new logo comes from another iteration of the original from 1983. The previous version was unbalanced and the points lacked consistency in sharpness but more accurately reflected the rugged nature of the mountain. The left side of the icon extending lower than the right made it appear titled when used on products or placed as a sticker. The refreshed mountain was constructed on a grid to maintain balance and the points were made a consistent shape to make the icon appear more uniform. The return to the mountain icon signifies the re-focusing of brand values to align with current issues like climate change and human rights; the mountain being a central environment where those ideas come together. Similar to previous versions, the mountain is always to be accompanied by the word-mark; although it is now located underneath the icon instead of being incorporated into the shape. This allows for clear legibility and the elements to be more easily recognized independently. Going in a different direction than their 2000’s skate inspired graphics, large bold letter marks like B that looked like a 13 or the weird arrow thing they had when I was introduced to their brand. More geometric direction, balanced for easier application, matching better with lineal typeface and following the modernization minimalist trend. Bar logo and all caps word mark, bold and provocative while clean and organized, coming from 90s counterculture expression and snowboarding being an emerging sport and increasing in popularity with younger audiences because lame old skiers just don’t understand.
Constructed on the same grid system, the secondary logo separates the two elements of the primary logo and uses them in specific instances where vertical space is limited or certain stylistic contexts. The two elements are used together but placed separately, one usually contained within the corresponding shape in negative space. This allows for more clear use and identification of the word-mark and the use of the mountain icon as a compositional element.
A horizontal tertiary logo is used when both elements need to be represented but vertical space limits the use of the primary; placed side by side with the mountain icon first (reading left-to-right) is referred to as the horizontal logo and is used on things like product tags or web-page footers.
Burton may have returned to an 80’s inspired logo but they ditched the disco poster, bubbly serif typeface. In place of the retro style type is Helvetica Now.
“Our typeface is central to our brand expression, and essential for our brand to show up loud and clear. Adherence to our typographic standards is how we show up with a superior quality look and feel and avoid looking generic.”
Avoid looking generic? Burton has followed in the footsteps of countless companies over the years in transitioning from a hyper stylized font that stands out on a poster and early 2000’s webpage ad — to an organized, linear, and corporate identity; Helvetica is just about as generic as it gets. “Similar to our own identity, refinement of a timeless classic” is pushing for modernity and following the minimalism trend. Burton’s choice of a geometric font looks cohesive with the mountain icon and does a good overall job of representing the company as one that provides trustworthy products and has decades of experience in the industry. The modernization of Burton’s identity is no surprise as the company takes its role more seriously in the industry, as they become more and more involved advocating for human and environmental rights around the world.
The only official colors listed are black and white, colored use of the logo is found in clothing applications and some forms of media but most commonly be used as black and white to ensure clarity and consistency. Makes sense but seems pretty lazy, but also smart, an easy way to make use of a variety of colors in products and media while the brand maintains a clean and unified appearance.
Burton’s refreshed identity pays homage to its origin and represents the brands core values; after Jake, the founder of Burton, passed away in 2019 the company has worked to honor his legacy by continuing their efforts of inclusivity and environmentalism. Following corporate modernist trends seen throughout the decades, Burton’s redesign does a good job of representing the cultured history of the brand and sport while maintaining a cohesive identity that represents more than just quality products.
Note: A small glimpse into the evolution of Burton’s identity
