The Power of One

As professionals, whether we are Architects, Interior Architects, Landscape Architects or other allied disciplines, we all have great power to influence our clients and their projects, through specification. With that power also comes great responsibility. Our core objective must always be to protect our client’s interests and to provide a high quality service. As a key function of this core objective, improved sustainability outcomes on all projects are a perfectly aligned goal when specifying materials, products and systems on projects. At Edmiston Jones we believe we have the responsibility to specify renewable energy solutions, water conservation solutions, recyclable materials and systems that will increase the operational sustainability of a development into the long term. In a larger scale context, we should always consider opportunities for co-generation or even tri-generation with a view to reducing the carbon footprint of multi-storey projects. (This will be the subject of a future blog, watch this space). What our industry doesn’t always have is the detailed knowledge or the confidence to select appropriate technology, materials or processes for projects. The vast majority of sustainable solutions available for buildings or external spaces are now mainstream with significant technical data a mere “Google” search away. Whilst this technical data solves the knowledge gap for the specifier, the confidence to choose the correct sustainable mix of solutions in the first instance can still be elusive. At Edmiston Jones, we believe passionately in a collaborative, holistic design process that includes improved sustainability outcomes as a standard component of our design development with clients. We can bridge the confidence gap when specifying with our in-house expertise in renewables, water conservation and thoughtful materials selection. The power of one design professional is therefore a sustainability force of great potential as long as it is wielded with responsibility, knowledge and confidence.