Sustainable design is integrated design

Sustainable design requires an integrated approach, in which the end user is the key point of interest. Only this way will the designer be able to establish connections, create interaction and generate due care and dedication. Because what does it mean when a building or environment generates energy? What this involves, in fact, is the creation and production of added value, not only in the area of energy but above all in the area of human welfare. Connective designs lead to improved forms of collaboration, increased responsibility and creative capacity and a more meaningful relationship with the organisation.

The specific strength of sustainable construction is found in the wider picture. Besides physical advantages like energy efficiency, it involves distinctly human values, in which the quality of the architecture and the connectivity of the building with its environment create added economic value. These various values and performance indicators can be weighed side by side and expressed in a calculation model. This will clearly illustrate the return on investment and investment value of a sustainable building. If we can use this to make sustainable buildings economically profitable, an ideological design will become the same thing as a rational design. The public interest and specific interests will start to converge; number-crunchers and idealists will start drawing the same conclusions. At that point, the sustainable building becomes an intelligent building.