Chapter 2

1. Concepts and principles of ecologic design

1.1.Ecological Design

“Ecological design is a large concept that joins science and the practical arts with ethics, politics
and economics;” David W. Orr. For him, ecological designs not so much about how we make
things as about how we make things that fit gracefully over long periods of time in a particular
ecological, social, and cultural context.
Ecological design is a large concept because it calls for an integration of the way we meet human
needs for shelter, food, education, community, clean air & water, transport, energy and a
meaningful life into the opportunities and limits set by local and regional ecosystems as well as
the biosphere as a whole.
Ecological designs are important in enhancing ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are
functions performed by the natural environment that enhance human well-being and are directly
useful to people. They involve the interaction of living elements, such as vegetation and soil
organisms, and nonliving elements, such as bedrock, water, and air. Ecosystem services have
four categories that are:
1. Provisioning services: Products obtained from nature, such as food, fresh water, wood,
fiber, and fuel.
2. Regulating services: Climate, flood, and disease control.
3. Cultural services: Aesthetics, spirituality, knowledge, and recreation.
4. Supporting services: Nutrient cycling, soil formation, water cycling, oxygen, and
biomass production. Necessary for all other ecosystem services.

1.2.Benefits of ecological design

1.2.1. Ecosystem Benefits of Ecological Design
Storm water Management
Managing storm water is an increasingly important urban issue, requiring large investments in
infrastructure to handle infrequent peak flows and filter out pollutants. Water runoff from roofs
and streets is treated like waste, instead of as a valuable resource.
Vegetation (especially trees) and porous surfaces (such as permeable pavers) can slow down the
flow of storm water and allow it to percolate slowly into the ground. This reduces runoff, the
pressure on drainage systems, and the amount of pollutants and sediment reaching streams; it
also recharges aquifers that supply drinking and irrigation water.
Methods such as tree planting and “green streets,” which are landscaped with bio swales to
retain and infiltrate storm water, are three to six times more effective than conventional storm
water management systems. On-site water-harvesting systems can store water for irrigation and
out of the wastewater system.
Temperature
The “heat island effect” is familiar to all city dwellers. The solid, un-shaded surfaces
dominating cities can increase maximum temperatures by as much as 45°F over shaded areas.
Trees and vegetation, which provide shade and evapotranspiration, can reduce peak summer
temperatures, greatly increasing human comfort and reducing the amount of energy needed for
cooling.
Pollution and Carbon Sequestration
Trees, especially large trees, are excellent at filtering pollutants out of the atmosphere,
absorbing carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and other pollutants. In addition, they
are an important carbon sink, holding up to 45 percent of terrestrial carbon worldwide. In an
urban setting, trees help provide cleaner air and reduce carbon pollution.
Landscapes utilizing native plants can be managed differently than conventional landscapes;
since the plants are adapted to the site, they need fewer chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Native require less mowing and trimming, reducing the use of pollution-emitting devices.
Wildlife Habitat
Urban forests and diverse understory vegetation provide habitat for native animals. Native plants
support native insects, birds, and mammals. Native pollinators supplement honeybee pollination
for gardens and farms. Birds, butterflies, and other wildlife provide great pleasure for city
dwellers.
1.2.2. Economic Benefits of Ecological Design
A landscape designed with ecological principles in mind can perform multiple ecosystem
services more cheaply and effectively than man-made infrastructure. Such a multifunction
landscape, simultaneously providing shade, wildlife habitat, and storm water management, is an
investment that tends to increase in value as plants grow and become more self-sufficient.
Energy Savings
Properly placed trees shade buildings, reducing cooling costs in the summer. A 25-foot tree
can reduce the annual heating costs of a typical residence by 8 to 12 percent. In addition,
evergreens serving as windbreaks can save heating costs in the winter in areas that need air
conditioning.
Green roofs not only aid in water management and provide aesthetic benefits; they also cool
and insulate buildings, reducing heating and cooling costs.
Reduced Infrastructure and Maintenance Costs
Street designs incorporating green infrastructure, such as permeable pavement and bio swales
are less costly than conventional construction. In addition, they provide traffic calming, pollution
remediation, and aesthetic benefits. In a housing subdivision, this could greatly reduce long-term
costs.
Water Management
Water harvesting incorporated into a building site can collect water for use on-site. For exam-
ple, 38 annual inches of rainfall collected from a 1,000-square-foot surface adds up to over
20,000 gallons. Multiply that by the local cost of water to calculate the savings. An additional
benefit of water harvesting is that less storm water infrastructure may be required to handle
runoff and peak flows.
Reduced Landscape Maintenance Costs
Although the initial installation cost of an ecological landscape can be a bit higher than con-
ventional landscaping, the real savings come during the lifetime of the landscape. Native plants
in natural associations require minimal applications of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
Being adapted to local conditions, they have greater drought resistance, so little or no irrigation
is needed. They are likely to be winter hardy, so they may need replacing less often. If lawns are
replaced with associations of shrubs, trees, and understory plants, the expense of constant lawn
mowing, feeding, watering, and edging is also waived.
These benefits are not limited to native plants. Well-chosen, regionally adapted non-native plants
in association with natives can provide many of the same benefits, while increasing the season
and variety of bloom, and providing a greater selection of tough, attractive plants. In addition, a
landscape designed with such a palette of plants will be more able than traditional landscapes to
be resilient to the unpredictable weather patterns of the future.
Property Values
It has been well established that the value of properties with trees and landscaping is greater than
those without. In addition, homes facing or abutting parks are more, and commercial offices rent
for more price if they have high-quality landscapes. Beyond the general value of trees and
greenery, people are willing to pay more for an attractively designed ecological landscape
featuring native plants.
1.3.Principles of Ecologic Design
1.3.1. Ecological principles

1. Nothing stands alone: Account should be taken of the local, regional and global implications
of urban activities and urban environmental policies
2. Thinking as a System: Connectivity, Not Fragmentation
When ecologists study a particular system or biome, they start by defining its boundary
as the next larger system. The sustainable design challenge starts similarly by studying the
environmental context at the next larger scale, as a living pattern are interdependent system.
In ecology the connections between systems are vital to life whereas in conventional
designing and planning only legal boundaries are used, as opportunities to integrate a site's
resources and microclimate are typically left unexplored.
Consequently, when designing sustainably, if the project is architectural in scale, the
neighborhood system must be included in the study; if the neighborhood is the project, then the
city must be studied; and if the city, then the study starts with the regional scale. For this reason,
the new challenge may well be to think globally live locally, and act regionally.
Designing regionally is the scale at which the most benefit toward sustainable living can
be achieved. The need and the ability to design at this scale exist, but the will to do it does not.
Design for connectivity, avoiding fragmentation, therefore, and means: fragmentation of
land, waterways, and forests decreases functional choices for species survival. In design,
connectivity of natural systems such as watershed streams and open spaces creates logical places
for pedestrian, walkways, bikeways and recreation, alongside protected corridors for wildlife and
plant habitat.
Conceive of projects and plans in terms of watershed viability and creating or restoring a
green infrastructure that is as powerful and important in community life as any utility grid.
Conceive of local rainfall as precious and limited resources: Depending on the rainfall
conditions prevailing at a site, the water goals of a project can be established so that the building
roofs and landscape can serve to store water (reducing and slowing storm water flow impacts), to
clean water (improving water quality by filtration as it returns to the local aquifer), and to
recycle and reuse water (reducing the drawdown of precious fresh water resources).
 Since ecology is the study of the relationship of plants and animals to their environment,
designing ecologically requires the incorporation of sustainable relationships to power the
design. The ecological model illustrates the foundation of the sustainable model and,
consequently, a model for sustainable design. The resulting design will be planned to receive,
store, and distribute sustainable energy and resources.
3. Prevention is better than cure: this stresses the importance of a precautionary approach to
urban development; environmental impact assessment must be conducted on all major
development projects.
4. Minimize waste; maximize the use of renewable and recyclable materials: In moving towards
greater urban self-reliance, maximize reuse and recycling of materials; minimize unnecessary
wastage of resources; and encourage built-in longevity in products. The use of low- and non-
waste technology should be especially encouraged; maximize the use of renewable resources
within sustainable limits.
5. Identify and respect local, regional and global environmental tolerances. This ensures that
urban development is sensitized to its capacity to interact with, and indeed alter, local and
global capacities to cope with environmental disturbances.
6. Enhance environmental understanding through research: This ensures that complex
environmental and economic interdependencies are better understood as a basis for informed
decision-making.
1.3.2. Social and economic principles
1. Use of appropriate technologies, materials and design. This is particularly useful where low
cost indigenous solutions take precedence over expensive imported models. Pollution is the
consequence of bad design
2. Create new indicators for economic and environmental wealth. Move away from relying on
Gross National Product as the primary indicator of national wealth, since it ignores
environmental 'capital stocks’.
3. Creating new indicators for economic and environmental productivity. This will encourage a
shift away from wasteful production and from unsustainable use of non-renewable
resources; productivity must be gauged as an outcome of the inputs of natural resources.
4. Establishing acceptable minimum standards through regulatory control: Improved market
incentives will always need to be accompanied by legislative back-up which sets minimum
standards in environmental matters.
5. Continuing action to internalize environmental costs into the market. This guideline
subsumes such well-known environmental principles as 'polluter pays' and 'user pays'.
6. Ensure social acceptability of environmental policies; Policies designed to improve the
urban environment should not result in a net decline in the quality of life of disadvantaged
groups, both in cities and globally.
7. Widespread public participation; This should be encouraged in strategy formulation, policy
implementation and project management