Abstract
M.Tech. (Interior Design)
In an endeavor to achieve, the activities of many
industries will need to transform and design is no exception. Commercial design has
played a substantial role in contributing towards waste-generation, pollution and the
exhaustion of non-renewable resources. Fundamental to achieving sustainable
development is the need to determine design's contribution to economic growth in
relationship to social development and environmental preservation, as these issues
are completely interdependent (and need to be considered as such) if sustainability is
ever to be achieved.
Although much theoretical information about sustainable design has been made
available, little evidence exists to prove that this theory is being put into practice,
specifically in South Africa. It is also unlikely that the solutions engineered in some of
the more developed countries can simply be transferred into the context of a
developing nation with its own very specific social, economic and environmental
conditions. This seems to justify the need to research practical and contextualized
methods of implementing sustainable design theory.
The main research methodology implemented in this project has taken the form of
applied or practice-based research, in order to determine the feasibility of
implementing established ecological design theories. Initially, theoretical research
was conducted to establish the principles of sustainable design; these principles
were then contextualized according to South African specific conditions and
manifested in a practical application in the design and manufacture of artifacts.
A consumer sampling was also undertaken to determine consumer response and
economic viability of these products...