William McDonough and Michael Braungart recently
celebrated the 10th anniversary of the publication
of their groundbreaking manifesto, The Hannover
Principles: Design for Sustainability with a new,
updated edition. This feature is excerpted from
an article in the May/June 2003 issue of Green@Work
magazine, which was adapted from the new edition,
which is available from William McDonough + Partners
and MBDC.
Just over a decade ago, when the City of Hannover,
Germany, asked us to develop a set of design principles
for the 2000 World's Fair, design for sustainability
was in its infancy. By 1992, the desire to move
toward a solar-powered world had gained significant
momentum among the environmentally conscious,
and the ideas that inform ecological design had
begun to manifest themselves in encouraging innovations
in "green" architecture and technology. But a
coherent framework for applying sustainable design
to all sectors of society had yet to emerge. Imagining
designs that celebrated nature and technology,
aesthetics and commerce was even further off the
map.
The Hannover Principles were conceived to lay
the foundation for this hopeful, new paradigm
(see inset of Principles, at bottom). We knew
at the time that our efforts were just a first
step. Though we were striving to identify universal
principles based on the enduring laws of nature,
we also understood that our knowledge of the world
was incomplete. So, too, was our ability to predict
all the many ways in which the creativity of the
world's designers, architects, business leaders,
and NGOs would push design for sustainability
beyond the limits we could imagine in 1992. Thus,
we saw the Principles as a living document—a
set of enduring ideals and an open system of thought
that would evolve as it was put into practice.
And evolve it has. Our firms, and many others,
continue to use the Principles in their original
form. Yet, as the Principles are applied in the
design process or used to guide everyday decision-making,
new ideas and practices emerge. The language we
use is a good example. Whereas some of the Principles
were originally expressed with "shoulds" and "musts,"
today we use a more celebratory language that
expresses our growing faith in humanity's ability
to create mutually beneficial relationships between
people and the natural world.
Pursuing this positive vision over the past decade
has driven the evolution of an entirely new approach
to design. When one takes seriously the idea that
the concept of waste can be eliminated in the
worlds of architecture, commerce, manufacturing,
and transportation—indeed, in every sector
of society—the purview of design shifts radically.
Not only are we obliged to include the entire
material world in our design considerations, we
are asked to imagine materials in a whole new
way. We can begin to create and use materials
within cradle-to-cradle systems, in which there
is no waste at all.
When the Principles become practices, when industrial
and architectural systems are modeled on the earth's
flows of energy and nutrients, the notion that
humanity must limit its ecological footprint is
turned on its head. Indeed, as cradle-to-cradle
thinking continues to be enriched by the inspired
work of our colleagues, we are increasingly able
to design products and places that support life,
that create footprints to delight in rather than
lament. This changes the entire context of the
design process. Instead of asking, "How do I meet
today's environmental standards?" designers are
asking, "How might I create more habitat, more
health, more clean water, more prosperity, more
delight?"
Questions such as these, emerging from the daily
application of the Hannover Principles, are stimulating
the worldwide evolution of cradle-to-cradle design.
Examples of work inspired by the Hannover Principles
are growing more numerous all the time. The work
of William McDonough + Partners, MBDC, and EPEA
testify to the lively relationship between principles
and practices. And a host of our client companies
are also implementing these principles.
Ford Motor Company is executing a cradle-to-cradle
renovation of its famous Rouge River industrial
site, and its 2003 Model U concept car embraces
a cradle-to-cradle vision. Shaw Industries, the
largest producer of commercial carpet in the world,
has begun to apply the Hannover Principles and
cradle-to-cradle thinking to the company's product
development process. The Chicago Principles, which
will be announced by the City of Chicago in 2003,
will provide a reference point as Chicago develops
community plans and cradle-to-cradle systems that
will make it a national model of how industry
and ecology, nature and the city can flourish
side by side.
There is really no end in sight—and that's
the point. As we seek constant improvement by
the sharing of knowledge, as our understanding
of the world evolves, the Hannover Principles
will continue to be our touchstone and inspiration
for new designs. This process, merely a decade
old, has already created hopeful changes in the
world and is transforming the making of things
into a regenerative force. Ultimately, we believe
the principled practice of design will lead to
ever more places and ever more products that honor
not just human ingenuity but harmony with the
exquisite intelligence of nature. And when that
becomes the hallmark of good design, we will have
entered a moment in human history when we can
truly celebrate our kinship with all life.
| The Hannover Principles |
 |
|
1.
|
Insist on the right of humanity
and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive,
diverse and sustainable condition. |
| 2. |
Recognize interdependence.
The elements of human design interact with
and depend upon the natural world, with broad
and diverse implications at every scale. Expand
design considerations to recognize even distant
effects. |
| 3. |
Respect relationships between
spirit and matter. Consider all aspects
of human settlement, including community,
dwelling, industry and trade, in terms of
existing and evolving connections between
spiritual and material consciousness. |
| 4. |
Accept responsibility for
the consequences of design decisions upon
human well-being, the viability of natural
systems and their right to co-exist. |
| 5. |
Create safe objects of long-term
value. Do not burden future generations
with requirements for maintenance or vigilant
administration of potential dangers due to
the careless creation of products, processes
or standards. |
| 6. |
Eliminate the concept of
waste. Evaluate and optimize the full
life cycle of products and processes to approach
the state of natural systems, in which there
is no waste. |
| 7. |
Rely on natural energy flows.
Human designs should, like the living
world, derive their creative force from perpetual
solar income. Incorporate this energy efficiently
and safely for responsible use. |
| 8. |
Understand the limitations
of design. No human creation lasts forever,
and design does not solve all problems. Those
who create and plan should practice humility
in the face of nature. Treat nature as a model
and mentor, not as an inconvenience to be
evaded or controlled. |
| 9. |
Seek constant improvement
by the sharing of knowledge. Encourage
direct and open communication between colleagues,
patrons, manufacturers and users to link long-term
sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility
and to reestablish the integral relationship
between natural processes and human activity. |
|
| The Hannover Principles should
be seen as a living document committed to
transformation and growth in the understanding
of our interdependence with nature so that
they may be adapted as our knowledge of the
world evolves. |
|
discuss
this feature in the online eco-effective discussion
group
|
