PRINCIPLES IN PRACTICE
ENV Design, pronounced ‘E’’N’’V’ Design, is a building design business started in 2019 by Stephen Dobson as a way to focus on holistic, first principled design thinking and approach. ‘ENV’ is shorthand for ‘Environmental’ or ‘Environment’ Design.
Environmental Design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. Which, I hold to be both an ‘Outwards-In’ and First Princples approach to design thinking.
‘Environment’ can be defined as a sum total of all the living and non-living elements and their effects that influence human life. While all living or biotic elements are animals, plants, forests, fisheries, and birds, non-living or abiotic elements include water, land, sunlight, rocks, and air.
‘Holistic Design Thinking’ embraces the multi-faceted complexities of the built environment – a juxtaposition of harmony and balance, light and color, relationship to our surroundings including local and global contexts.
First Princpled Design Thinking: First principles help us solve problems by avoiding generalities that can lead to poor decision making. Applying first principles thinking is a two part process:
Question assumptions about a problem or scenario until you’ve reached some fundamental truths. (this approach and deep investigation of the specific project problems and realities helps lead us more directly to solutions that are fit for site, fit for purpose, fit for budget and fit for the environment)
Rebuild your solutions from scratch. (in this case in site specific, custom design)