University of Rhode Island  
Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design

TMD 402N  Seminar: Sustainability

Sustainable Practices in Interior Design

Sean Solley, Solley Design

Summary by Chelsea Carson

One of the biggest pushes for sustainability is in architecture and interior design. It is human nature to live in some sort of dwelling. By creating houses and buildings that are economically, socially, and environmentally friendly we can start to see a shift towards a more sustainable world. Sean Solley of Solleydesign took us further into detail about these new “green buildings.”

He quoted Adrian Forty in saying that “history of design is a history of societies.” New innovations, cultural changes, and political changes all have an effect on our society and especially design. We hear every day in the media that we are having a global crisis in which the government is starting to get more strongly involved. Because of this we are seeing “green” everywhere: clothing, appliances, cars, and in buildings and interior design. 

The Reichstag building in Germany where the German parliament is held has a solar funnel in the middle of it which was added in 1999. Design is a form of communication and this solar funnel tells the German people that their government is forward thinking. They kept the traditional exterior of the building and added a new sustainable element. Another example of sustainable architecture is the United States Census Bureau building in Suitland, Maryland. The building is communicating to the American people that the government is embracing the issue of sustainability. Not only is it environmentally sustainable but socially sustainable. The architect took into account social relations between the people working there and designed the space for healthy interaction. One last example is a Vancouver company that placed its building in an area where workers could either walk or bike to work.

When it comes to sustainable interiors, many terms need to be defined in order to certify the building as sustainable. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a certificate program that sets specific terms for what goes into a building to make it certified sustainable. LEED has been a huge boost in making sure that new buildings and houses have sustainable interiors. 

Reusable and recyclable materials are the number one product going into these interiors. Since interior design has a faster turnaround than architecture, reusable and recyclable materials are a big issue in preserving our natural resources. Some examples of new, reusable materials are paperstone; the compression of recycled paper and cashew nut oil that is used for tables and countertop surfaces. Another is cotton insulation made from old denim or other cotton products that is used in houses. 

We must combine the three issues of sustainability—social, economical, and environmental—into how we interact with each other. As we can see the push towards sustainable architecture and interiors, thanks to certification programs such as LEED, we can start to see the change that will greatly benefit our future generations.