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Design for an Empathic World

Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self

  • Book
  • © 2013

Overview

Authors:
  1. Sim Ryn
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  2. Francine Allen
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  • Inspiration for rethinking the way we design from one of the most influential ecological architects in the US

  • References to projects and programs that provide hope for more empathic design

  • Beautiful four-color design using author’s original watercolors

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XXVIII
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  2. Introduction

    • Sim Van der Ryn
    Pages 1-15

  3. Human-Centered Design

    • Sim Van der Ryn
    Pages 17-46

  4. Nature-Centered Design

    • Sim Van der Ryn
    Pages 47-70

  5. Lifetime Learning Design

    • Sim Van der Ryn
    Pages 71-100

  6. Opportunities for Empathic Design

    • Sim Van der Ryn
    Pages 101-120

  7. Journey to the Inner Self and Outer World

    • Sim Van der Ryn
    Pages 121-137

  8. Back Matter

    Pages 139-161
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Keywords

About this book

Despite an uncertain economy, the market for green building is exploding. The US green building market has expanded dramatically since 2008 and is projected to double in size by 2015 (from $42 billion in construction starts to $135 billion). But green-building pioneer Sim Van der Ryn says, “greening” our buildings is not enough. He advocates for “empathic design”, in which a designer not only works in concert with nature, but with an understanding of and empathy for the end user and for one's self. It is not just one of these connections, but all three that are necessary to design for a future that is more humane, equitable, and resilient.

Sim’s lifelong focus has been in shifting the paradigm in architecture and design. Instead of thinking about design primarily in relation to the infrastructure we live in and with—everything from buildings to wireless routing—he advocates for a focus on the people who use and are affected by this infrastructure. Basic design must include a real understanding of human ecology or end-user preferences. Understanding ones motivations and spirituality, Sim believes, is critical to designing with empathy for natural and human communities.

In Design for an Empathic World Van der Ryn shares his thoughts and experience about the design of our world today. With a focus on the strengths and weaknesses in our approach to the design of our communities, regions and buildings he looks at promising trends and projects that demonstrate how we can help create a better world for others and ourselves. Architects, urban designers, and students of architecture will all enjoy this beautifully illustrated book drawing on a rich and revered career of a noted leader in their field. The journey described in Design for an Empathic World will help to inspire change and foster the collaboration and thoughtfulness necessary to achieve a more empathic future.

About the authors

Since the 1960’s, Sim Van der Ryn’s architecture, planning, teaching, writing, and public leadership have advanced the viability, public and professional adoption of ecological principles and green design in architecture and community planning.Appointed California State Architect in the 1970’s he created programs of energy efficient design and renewable energy for the mainstream, making California the leader in initiating programs that shaped the rise of the green building movement. His thirty years as Professor of Architecture and Founder of the University of California’s Ecological Design program were marked by leaps in connecting design with natural processes and a series of ground breaking projects and buildings.His work has been widely recognized through national awards and honors. Fine Home Building magazine selected the Integral Urban House as one of 25 most important houses in America, citing it as the “Birth Of Green.” Residential Architecture Magazine honored him as 2005 Architect of the Year. He is one of few architects ever selected as a Rockefeller Scholar.He is the founder of the Eco-Design Collaborative, the non-profit Ecologic Design Institute, and the Center for Regenerative Design at the College of Marin. He is a frequent public speaker and the author of seven books, including his latest, Design For Life.Van der Ryn is retired, but was the principal of VanderyRyn architects and taught at UC Berkeley School in the school of architecture.“Long before the Prius hit the road and sustainability became the buzzword du Jour, there was Sim Van der Ryn the intrepid pioneer on the eco-frontier” -- Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times profile, November 17, 2005

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Design for an Empathic World

  • Book Subtitle: Reconnecting People, Nature, and Self

  • Authors: Sim Ryn, Francine Allen

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-505-2

  • Publisher: Island Press Washington, DC

  • eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental Science, Earth and Environmental Science (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Sim Van der Ryn 2013

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-61091-505-2Published: 26 November 2013

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXVIII, 161

  • Number of Illustrations: 29 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Pollution, general, Urbanism, Design, general

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