Over-consumption, rampant development, and climate change are changing our world in the space of just three generations. You can do your part to Save the Earth one decision at a time, both inside your home, and out. Eco-friendly design offers long-term environmental, social, and economic value to your property. Here are a few structural, interior design, and landscaping trends for 2019.
Biophilic Design
Biophilia means love for nature. Biophilic design centers on the notion that can bring occupants closer to nature while also tangibly increasing health and wellness through structural design. Studies show that incorporating direct or indirect elements of nature into the built environment can reduce stress, blood pressure levels, and heart rates, while increasing productivity, creativity, and well-being. A biophilic design could include the use of reclaimed or raw woods, stairs to encourage moving, rooms set aside for recuperating or even napping, excellent air quality and airtight ventilation, low VOC paints and stains, and maximization of natural light over artificial light. Some of the best and most progressive buildings in the world combine the theories of sustainability and biophilic design. The results are inspiring and can be applied to home design, sometimes more inexpensively than you might think.
Example: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Center in Virginia is an excellent example of biophilic design. The building exists in concert with its natural surroundings, with minimal impact on the surrounding land, air, creeks, river, and the Chesapeake Bay. Every aspect of the center—its location, materials, construction, utilities, operation, and use—meets the strictest environmental standards, resulting in the least impact possible.
Multi-Use Space
Buildings and even homes designed with multiple use rooms in mind reduce the need for new or more substantial construction. Many offices are also considering different types of work and collaboration when building, resulting in multi-functional lobbies and adaptable workspaces. At LinkedIn World Headquarters in San Francisco, the lobby plays triple duty as a Privately Owned Public Open Space (POPOS), a coffee cafe, and a meeting space, as well as the entry to corporate offices.
Resilient Structures
Climate change is at the forefront of designers’ minds as coastal cities increasingly face the challenges of rising water tables and hard-hitting storms. Annapolis and Anne Arundel County are ground zero for these concerns. Durable materials and the use of non-toxic materials that won’t pollute water, air and soil are critical considerations for builders. Prefab homes built to withstand strong winds, with fire resistant cladding materials, and battery systems that preserve electricity in case of power outages can help mitigate the severe financial damage that natural disasters can wreak on property owners. A notable example would be the home on the Florida coast that withstood Hurricane Michael when all surrounding properties were leveled.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Innovation is the name of the game in architecture and design. The best approach to addressing environmentally friendly building starts with innovation and creativity. We need more resilient and more sustainable buildings and homes, highly-adaptable designs and to use technological advancements. All-electric homes home, replace with electricity: induction range cooktops replace gas stoves, heat pump water heaters replace gas ones, and radiant heating and cooling create moist warmth while replacing gas furnaces. These innovations can lead to significant improvements in energy use, since there are various ways of recycling and preserving electric power through solar and water mechanisms.
The wide application of recycled materials will continue in 2019, with a focus on the repurposing of used materials, re-fabricated textiles, and salvaged wood. From window coverings and carpets to paneling and tiling, repurposed materials are being made into products that tell a story, are authentically interesting, and also live up to the goal of all three R’s. Common examples include shiplap paneling or home bars made from old barn wood.
Eco-Friendly Landscape Design
Today, going green and being sustainable is not limited to the inside only. A perfect and intensely green grass lawn is so passé, while native and low-maintenance plants are haute current. With drought-tolerant plants, shrubs and trees that naturally thrive in your home’s climate zone, you can save water, avoid using pesticides and fertilizers, and support local wildlife. Chesapeake friendly landscape designs include rain gardens and xeriscapes.
An Abundance of Greenery
From gardens and potted plants to walls and roofs, there’s no part of a home that can’t be made green. While houseplants add a splash of energizing green to the home interior, green roofs, and walls bring these traits plus a bit of insulation and stormwater mitigation to the exterior of homes. Plants make a home or workspace feel warm and healthy, can improve thermal performance, and increase air quality. Homeowners can create an abundance of green in every possible way, from private gardens to small oasis on patios and balconies. Vertical gardens and interesting topiaries are quite popular and can bring stunning visual appeal.
Nature Inspired Interior Design
In 2019, the eco-friendliness of a home will be measured by its nature-oriented design. Architects will maximize the home’s orientation to the natural landscape, design elements will consider the angle and direction of the sun, grading that impacts how water moves around the primary structures, and roofing materials and insulation that retain or expel heat.
Home décor will embrace earthy tones, natural wood in every hue, and organic textiles, and will introduce a sense of natural tranquility to living spaces. Natural wood finishes, raw wood, reclaimed wood, and even tree roots will be used for furniture and decorations, while porcelain tile, another eco-friendly option, will embrace a wood-like design. Mixed organic materials create a deep, layered look; combined with recycled, artisanal, and handcrafted decorations, the sense that the outside has been preserved and praised inside, the home can translate into more eco-friendly lifestyle decisions.
Water Efficiency
Water efficiency has always been the siren call for environmentalists, who continuously look for innovative investments and inventions that optimize water consumption in buildings and houses. With the growing scarcity of natural resources and fresh drinking water around the world, it’s imperative that every homeowner equips their home with water conservation features. From water-saving toilets, faucets, and showerheads to efficient appliances, to geothermal wells, rain cisterns for drinking water, waterless toilets, and irrigation-free landscaping, architectural design in 2019 will continue to hyper-focus on water and how we use it. The goal is to bring down water and sewer bills, reduce stormwater runoff, and to improve water quality in our streams, rivers and the Bay.
Example: At Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Phillip Merrill Center in Annapolis, cisterns capture rainwater for use in irrigation, fire suppression, hand-washing, mop sinks, gear washing, and laundry. Re-using rainwater reduces the need to draw from groundwater wells or municipal water systems, and decreases runoff to the adjacent Bay and Black Walnut Creek. Water consumption at the Merrill Center is 90 percent less than a conventional building.
Heating and Cooling
Summers are hotter, and according to scientists, so are the winters. One area that designers will especially focus on is how to efficiently heat and cool homes and offices. Insulation materials and methods will be increasingly innovative. Focus will be on creating airtight spaces decorated with furniture and accessories that contribute to comfortable interior temperatures. Ventilation systems will boast the cleanest air possible. Bamboo floors over radiant heat systems covered with eco-friendly carpets are a great example. According to the Department of Energy, heat gain and loss through windows are responsible for 25–30 percent of residential heating and cooling energy use. Reclaimed wood or sustainably manufactured wooden plantation shutters covering air-tight, energy efficient windows that maximize natural light, warm the home on cold days, and keep out the heat of summer will feature prominently in 2019. Windows will be large and airy, the perfect focal point for interior design, but highly efficient.
Sunlight
Telecommuting and increasing workloads mean that we are all increasingly confined to our homes and desks. We’re spending more time on screens than ever before, and that measurement is not going down despite all reports that advocate for a reduction. 2019 design trends aim to make our work spaces airier, healthier, and more open to natural sunlight than ever before. Designs will feature thoughtfully placed large or even floor length windows and doors, skylights and automated, programmed blinds. Windows may be covered in energy efficient coatings that forego decorative treatments. Alternatively, windows without these coatings will make the use of innovative interior designs relying on UV blocking shades. Example: mechanized rolling shades with UV blocking that can be set on timers—many companies make this.
