COTE Book TALK: People, Planet, Design

I attended the latest Committee on the Environment (COTE) book talk hosted by AIA Oregon back on February 8. The virtual presentation, produced by Island Press, featured author Corey Squire, AIA and his new book People, Planet, Design: A Practical Guide to Realizing Architecture’s Potential. Corey’s compelling presentation, along with the subsequent question-and-answer period moderated by AIA COTE Leadership Group member Lyndley Kent AIA, focused on the idea that successful buildings should not only be beautiful but also positively impact the community, the planet, and the people who use them.

 

Corey Squire is an architect and nationally recognized expert in sustainable design who has empowered multiple award-winning design firms to achieve high-performance projects across their portfolios. He lectures nationally on a range of sustainable design related topics and was a lead author of the American Institute of Architects Framework for Design Excellence, a resource that is actively redefining excellence in the built environment. Corey is presently an Associate Principal and Director of Sustainability at Bora Architecture and Interiors in Portland.

 

Corey Squire, AIA

People, Planet, Design is a guide for designing change, making the case for how every design choice affects the community, the planet, and the people who will use a given building. The book (which I have yet to read) aims to simplify complex ideas by providing architects with a framework for transforming their practices to meet the needs of a carbon-neutral future.

 

Fundamentally, Corey’s thesis revolves around the factors that empower high-performing architectural firms. He sees these as inextricably tied to the declaration of an urgent and sustained climate imperative, the consequent need to transform day-to-day professional practice, and in turn aligning and using external messaging to leverage support from peers, clients, and the broader populace. He believes some projects perform better than others precisely because the offices who designed them are thriving environments in their own right.

 

Helena Zambrano, AIA, furnished the illustrations used in the book.

To excel in sustainability, a firm committed to sustainability goals needs two things: 1) the right culture; and 2) the right knowledge. Corey asserts that our profession already has all the knowledge and technology it needs. If the right culture additionally exists within a practice, implementing a unified vision for design excellence through an understanding and prioritization of what matters is achievable.

 

One clear mechanism for reaching these goals is to redefine what design excellence means. It can no longer simply be defined by aesthetic trends or by the starchitects of our world. The impact of buildings is too great for the planet to withstand designs whose virtues solely lie in their idiosyncrasy. Instead, we need to define the right outcomes, align those outcomes and systems with effective design strategies, and create an environment—the right culture—within a practice to make them happen.

 

It really was this aspect of Corey’s talk that was my biggest takeaway. The vision thing lies at the crux of the matter for firms who want to do the right thing but do not know where to start. Under even the best circumstances, cultural change takes time and requires effort and patience. Firm leaders must be the ones to establish the necessary vision. They often know what they need to do. How to do it is the challenge. To date, there has been a notable gap in professional literature addressing this. I will reserve judgment until after I have read People, Planet, Design to gauge the extent to which Corey has bridged the gap.

 

I am hopeful the book directly addresses the challenges posed by the exponential growth of things we need to focus on when we design buildings and the limited time within which we are afforded to do so. The sheer volume of knowledge needed to align outcomes and systems with effective design strategies is overwhelming. I asked Corey whether he believes we can ensure that architects—all design professionals—can acquire the necessary knowledge within a reasonable period of development and experience. We all know students enter professional practice with woefully inadequate skill sets, so the problem seems particularly pronounced for the emerging generations of designers. Corey responded by saying his hope is that People, Planet, Design can be part of the solution by promoting a holistic approach to sustainable design that avoids the need for an exhaustive knowledge base. He believes the key is to provide every architect with a baseline understanding of what is important and with guidance about how to proceed when applying that baseline of information to every project.

 

As I said, I have not yet read People, Planet, Design, but hope to soon. If you’re likewise interested in the book, it is available for purchase directly from the Island Press or from Amazon in both e-book or hard-copy (paperback) formats. I am confident my time reading the book will be amply rewarded.