Regionalism and Sustainable Design

Over the past decade, the measurement forsustainable design has become a national standardizedpoint-based system. The U.S. GreenBuilding Council's (USGBC) measure, Leadershipin Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) RatingSystem, is the leading national standard for evaluatinga building's level of sustainability. Few, if any,studies have explored whether a national standardis a suitable measure across all U.S. regions.Local topography and architectural traditionsinfluence a region's sustainable design decisions.This study explored the interaction between ofregionalism and sustainable design. In addition,the researcher designed elements of two middleschools interiors to highlight regional differences.To undertake the study, four rural counties,each in a different US geographical regions, wereselected. The investigator visited each location,interviewed practitioners, met with students andteachers, and visited various middle schools. In addition,the researcher visited LEED certified schoolsaround the country and interviewed LEED AccreditedProfessionals who worked on these schools. Afterthe background research for each site was completeda criteria was created to select the specificsite for each county.While the original intent of this study was toexplore the effects of regionalism on sustainabledesign, the conclusion drawn is regionalism effectsustainable design as much as sustainable designeffects regionalism.

Author

• Morris, Stephanie

Language

• en

Keyword

• Interior Design
• Sustainable Design
• Regionalism

Date created

• 2010

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• Interior Design

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Gavin, Carissa
• Bishop, Emily

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/q524jn927