In creating a resource for ecological designs we are focusing on the NorthEast bioregion because we believe that ecological design is place based. The unique solutions found in this database will not be useful in other bioregions, in fact they could be counter-productive.
But the concept of ecological design could be universal, no? Lets take permaculture, which at its root is a design philosophy that was created largely in Australia. When permaculture migrated around the world, many of its examples came with it, which were ecologically still rooted in Australian ecology. It has taken a while for the rest of the permaculture movement to fully grasp their own ecology and integrate their solutions with the permaculture design approach.
I believe this to be the case with ecological design.
Śūnyatā
शून्यता (Sanskrit noun from the adj. śūnya: "zero, nothing"), Suññatā (Pāli; adj. suñña), stong-pa nyid (Tibetan), Kòng/Kū, 空 (Chinese/Japanese), Gong-seong, 공성(空性) (Korean), qoγusun (Mongolian) is frequently translated into English as emptiness. Sunya comes from the root svi, meaning swollen, plus -ta -ness, therefore hollow ( - ness). A common alternative term is "voidness".
When you look at a house, what do you see? The edges that define the object, or the connections that connect and integrate the house with the environment? When you no longer view a house or structure as a definable structure, you have understood the concept of sunyata, and the basis of an ecological design approach.
JP Muhly recently stated in a conversation "simply looking a one component -- a house/structure -- is a bit to reductionist. The house/structure might better be put in the context of the community and the spiritual insights and inclusiveness necessary to allow it to survive".
I believe this is a challenge of the Ecological House model, starting with its title. In the west, we like to objectify things and deconstruct them into small, distinguishable parts. But ecology does not work in this way. Instead, ecology develops in relation to everything else. That means when you look at one particular element of a system, like a house, in and of itself. You are missing the big picture. Not only that but it makes it virtually impossible to practically solve system based design issues such as energy, material selection, water flows or affordability. That means that ecological cycles such as moisture, resource and nutrient flows, that are not normally considered a part of a house design, must be a part of any ecological design solution.
It seems the only thing universal in ecological design, is the emphasis to work with the local ecology.
Culture as Ecology
Is it possible for a house to be built without the support of a specific community? Well, I suppose if you flew in a house with a helicopter and landed in a place that no one cared about, you could. But it is useless until someone inhabits it. Otherwise, minimally, you would typically need a building permit in order to locate the structure in a community.
What I am trying to communicate is that it doesn't seem possible for a house or building to be "ecological" without being integrated not only to its local ecology but also its local culture or community. You need people to build it, provide the resources and materials to construct it and the myriad of community connections required to support ecological flows of resources that are held by people. Nutrient flows in human communities rely on people to close the gap.And every community will work differently and provide different processes and approaches based on who is part of the community.
Therefore an ecological house design needs to be based on and account for the local community.
All of this leads me to believe that an ecological design is not well suited for the idea of a universal design. Again, this is why this blog focuses on the bioregion of the NorthEast of NorthAmerica.
As a part of the list of resources that should be seen to the right of the blog, "Ecology NE" should be a link to understand the local ecology of your site, which will be the basis for an "ecological house" in the NorthEast, but unfortunately no where else. On the bright side, you may view this aspect as a wonderful pattern of biodiversity and cultural diversity where distinct vernacular styles can emerge from a place based sense of design.
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