One Step Closer to Sustainable Interior Design

 

         “Find a proper interviewee and prepare carefully for your interview… ”said my teacher in class. When I heard this announcement, I was quite anxious about how to find an expert on the topic, interior design. The topic from my essay was not my major related area. But after a series of twists and turns, I finally found my ideal interviewee. When I came into the office of Ms. Young located in PAO Hall, I saw the whole wall decorated with her self-made ornaments and there were several graphic designs that she ever designed for her clients hung on the center of the wall. She welcomed me with a bright smile and actively introduced herself. My interviewee, Barbara L. Young, an American and a teaching assistant, is seeking for a master’s degree in the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Purdue. She had been working for a company for five years after she got her bachelor’s degree in Indiana University, Bloomington. Meanwhile, she has been a member in United States Green Building Council (USGBC), International Interior Designers Association (IIDA) and Interior Design Educator Council (IDEC). From this interview, I hoped I could get the professional views and better understanding about sustainable interior design and the application of it.

        After I introduced my purpose for doing this interview, I started the conversation by asking what kind of aspects she focused on in sustainable interior design area. Slightly shaking her head, she responded me with a bright smile, , saying that we needed to think about it as a whole. And then she recommended me a book, Cradle to Cradle, saying that if we reduced energy in one area, we can also solve a problem in another area. She gave me some examples when she saw my confused facial expression. She told me that if we put a green roof on the building, it could help reduce the energy within the building and provide the habitats and green space for the people and animals. One decision can have either positive or negative impacts on the other aspects of building. So there was not one specific area that you really should focus on. I agreed with this point and I wondered about her response to my next question regarding the roles that interior designer played. She replied that as an interior designer, even though she was not an engineer or architect, she could also sit on the table and talk to the person who does the technical calculations, such as how much air they need to push in through mechanical system. An interior designer should make sure engineers and architects understand the idea of sustainability and have the same goal. Therefore, designer should work with them together.

Since I got the basic view on this topic, I continued to ask her more details about sustainability. I was wondering about her thought about “green” or “sustainable.” She immediately corrected my wordings; she believed that when we talked about “green”, people might only focus on the impact on environment, but when we used ”sustainable” in sustainable interior design, people should consider the impact on cost of decoration, people who use it, and environment. That is what designers call “triple bottom line” in sustainable area.

          After I figured out how we should look at sustainable interior design, I really wanted to distinguish sustainable interior design from normal interior design. So, I asked her about the differences between them. She pointed out that there should be no difference and that every designer coming out of school should have the basic understanding of sustainability and knowing their impact on people and environment, and making good quality choices in their practices. For her, it was not a choice; it was the responsibility to make the interior design sustainable. She added that, interior designers work on different types of buildings. They can work on residential designs, schools, large public buildings, and offices for business purposes, retail stores, or individual places. Each area requires the corresponding knowledge.

         I thanked Ms. Young for her time spent on my interview and being patient to answer my questions. I learned a lot on sustainable interior design, such as “triple bottom line” and types of different interior designers. Hearing her professional views, I compared my views and hers. I can say that most of my previous thoughts are congruent with what she said, but Ms. Young complemented some aspects I was not fully considered, such as the responsibility of an interior designer, profound meaning of “sustainable” and so forth. Therefore, I can say that “sustainability” is an essential aspect when we design our indoor space, because designers should consider the indoor air quality to take care of residents’ health, meet the specific functional requirements, and certain forms of beauty, and shows good green environmental protection ideas.