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On Permaculture Design: More Thoughts
ON PERMACULTURE DESIGN: MORE THOUGHTS, IDEAS, METHODOLOGIES,
PRINCIPLES, TEMPLATES, STEPS, WANDERINGS, EFFICIENCIES, DEFICIENCIES,
CONUNDRUMS AND WHATEVER STRIKES THE FANCY ...
PERMACULTURE AND SUSTAINABLE SITE DESIGN
Today professionals and students in business, government, education,
healthcare, building, economics, technology, and environmental sciences are
being called upon to ‘design’ sustainable programs and activities.
Through systems science we have learned that actions taken today can affect the
viability of living systems to support human activity and evolution for many
generations to come. Sustainability is a concept introduced to communicate the
imperative for humanity to develop in our built environment those conditions
that will sustain the structures, functions, and processes inextricably linked with
capacities for life.
The challenge we face in this new era of sustainability is a realization that
the goals and needs for developing sustainable conditions in our social
environment are complex, diverse, and at times counter to the dynamics of
ecological systems.
In recent years ecology has been called upon to include the studies of how
humans interrelate with ecological processes, within ecosystems. Although
humans are part of the natural ecosystem when we speak of human ecology, the
relationships between humanity and the environment, it is helpful to think of the
‘environment’ as the social system. What are the relationships and interactions
within this ecosystem? What are the relationships and interactions between the
social system and ecological environment (this includes air, soil, water, physical
living and nonliving structures)? How do the interactions between systems,
affect the global ecosystem?
The most fundamental means we have as a society in transforming human
ecology is through modeling and designing in our social environment those
conditions that will influence sustainable interactions and relationships
within the global ecological system. “The social system is a central concept in
human ecology because human activities that impact the global ecosystem are
strongly influenced by the society in which people live”. Currently, social system
designs create fragmentation, and counter productive relationships with
ecological environments and dynamic processes. Such design in social
organizations directs human activity towards unsustainable patterns of behavior
and living conditions that create imbalances in both social and environmental
ecologies. We must learn anew how to ‘design’ within our social environment,
viable, sustainable, and regenerative system conditions.
Humanity has the cognitive capacity to learn, envision and project through
design to application, intended future outcomes. Until now this capacity has
been utilized for economic prosperity which has created many complex
structures, and processes within the social environment that impede our
capacity for sustainable development. Many people are being called upon to
design and develop within the socio-‐economic environment the means for
sustainable development. But along with the awareness of the need for
transformation, is a growing realization that the environment in which we have
learned to interpret information, develop skills and apply knowledge, to date
have shaped our capacity to understand systems and their functioning process in
our own lives.
Survival in our culture has been inextricably linked with our socio-‐economic
environment. It is within this environment, that our observations and
understanding of ‘how life works’ has been maintained for generations. The
social environment was not developed with an understanding of ecological
structures and functions for building and sustaining those capacities inherent in
succession, and regeneration. Fragmented from this understanding, humanity
misuses ecological resources, which support processes for succession,
regeneration, and evolution. All natural resources are moved or converted from
the ecosystem to support the socio-‐economic system. Human constructions have
been conceived and designed as though our function and survival is not only
separate from the ecological systems, but unaccountable to sustaining those
capacities in which we depend.
Socio-‐Economic Design
Conventional economic design, and production methodologies that serve one
purpose such as economic wealth/ profit, results in a one way relationship in
which commodities are being developed at increasing levels of resource use and
energy consumption. If surplus does not go into replenishment of those same
resources being used or consumed in the production process, and the resources
are not being accounted for by the same valuation method as the commodities
they were converted into; there is a one way valuation and accountability that
hides resource depletion. Resource depletion within social, environmental, and
human equity has become inherent in current social design.
Ecological Design
On the other hand ecological design, functions and self-‐organizes to create
system-‐efficiencies, regenerative capacity, and succession. Yields and surplus are
returned to the system in order to strengthen and optimize the developmental
capacity of the elements or parts within the system. As the parts, (i.e. elements of
a system) are able to develop and function to their fullest potential, and form
capacity building relationships, there is an emergence of a viable and abundant
eco (life)-‐system. Production and Consumption within ecological design is not
the means to an end, but are instead part of an ongoing process of fortification.
All resources, including waste are considered potential building blocks to be
utilized to regenerate the systems’ form, feedback, and functional health.
The most comprehensive source for transformative design in the human
social environment begins with learning how to design Permaculture
systems within any context of social, environmental, or economic
organization.
The Permaculture Design methodology teaches students to learn through careful
observation, and develop the ability to think through the cycles, functions,
structures and dynamic principles of ecological systems.
The Permaculture Design process takes an interdisciplinary approach to
understanding ecology, systems, and sociology. This is integrated with
specializations in appropriate technologies, eco-‐engineering, design & building,
physical-‐chemical-‐biological, renewable energies, and economics. In order to
create, in human design, the structure, conditions, and capacities for sustenance
that will be sustainable over time, we must allow for a more ecologically stable
and viable human culture to evolve.
SITE ASSESSMENT AND DESIGN
Site design is a process of intervention involving the location of circulation,
structures, and utilities, and making natural and cultural values available to
property owners and visitors. The process encompasses many steps from planning
to construction, including initial inventory, assessment, alternative analysis, detailed
design, and construction procedures and services.
In many places, the land is more damaged than previously believed. Soil erosion,
groundwater contamination, acid rain, and other industrial pollutants are damaging
the health of plant communities, thereby intensifying the challenge and necessity to
restore habitats. As only one component of an interdependent natural system, the
human species must develop a respect for the landscape and expend more effort
understanding the interrelationships of soils, water, plant communities and
associations, and habitats, as well as the impacts of human uses on them.
Beyond a change in basic approach, sustainable site design requires holistic,
ecologically based strategies to create projects that do not alter or impair but
instead help repair and restore existing site systems. Site systems such as plant
and animal communities, soils, and hydrology must be respected as patterns and
processes of the living world. These strategies apply to all landscapes, no matter
how small or how urban.
Useful in understanding sustainable ecologically-‐based site design are the "Valdez
Principles for Site Design," developed by Andropogon Associates, Ltd. And the
Permaculture design methodologies ands principles. These strategies are
precedent-‐setting in their application and especially important to rightfully
integrate the built environment into a setting or site.
• Recognition of Context. No site can be understood and evaluated without
looking outward to the site context. Before planning and designing a project,
fundamental questions must be asked in light of its impact on the larger
community.
• Treatment of Landscapes as Interdependent and Interconnected.
Conventional development often increases fragmentation of the landscape.
The small remaining islands of natural landscape are typically surrounded by
a fabric of development that diminishes their ability to support a variety of
plant communities and habitats. This situation must be reversed. Larger
whole systems must be created by reconnecting fragmented landscapes and
establishing contiguous networks with other natural systems both within a
site and beyond its boundaries.
• Integration of the Native Landscape with Development. Even the most
developed landscapes, where every trace of nature seems to have been
obliterated, are not self-‐contained. These areas should be redesigned to
support some component of the natural landscape to provide critical
connections to adjacent habitats.
• Promotion of Biodiversity. The environment is experiencing extinction of
both plant and animal species. Sustaining even a fraction of the diversity
known today will be very difficult. Development itself affords a tremendous
opportunity to emphasize the establishment of biodiversity on a site. Site
design must be directed to protect local plant and animal communities, and
new landscape plantings must deliberately reestablish diverse natural
habitats in organic patterns that reflect the processes of the site.
• Reuse of Already Disturbed Areas. Despite the declining availability of
relatively unspoiled land and the wasteful way sites are conventionally
developed, existing built areas are being abandoned and new development
located on remaining rural and natural areas. This cycle must be reversed.
Previously disturbed areas must be re-‐inhabited and restored, especially
urban landscapes.
• Making a Habit of Restoration. Where the landscape fabric is damaged, it
must be repaired and/or restored. As most of the ecosystems are
increasingly disturbed, every development project should have a restoration
component. When site disturbance is uncontrolled, ecological deterioration
accelerates, and natural systems diminish in diversity and complexity.
Effective restoration requires recognition of the interdependence of all site
factors and must include repair of all site systems -‐ soil, water, vegetation,
and wildlife.
The above strategies can serve as policy guidelines in site design for developed
areas of national parklands and challenge the design of appropriate tourism
development.
TRADITIONAL VERSUS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable site design reinforces the holistic character of a landscape. It
conveys appreciation of and respect for the interrelationships of a site,
illuminating the interconnection of all parts through responsive design
integrated with interpretive and cultural objects. Using a resort as a model, the
difference in focus between traditional and sustainable development can be
illustrated.
§ GENERAL SITE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
• Promote spiritual harmony with, and embody an ethical responsibility to, the
native landscape and its resources.
• Plan landscape development according to the surrounding context rather
than by overlaying familiar patterns and solutions.
• Do not sacrifice ecological integrity or economic viability in a sustainable
development; both are equally important factors in the development process.
• Understand the site as an integrated ecosystem with changes occurring over
time in dynamic balance; the impacts of development must be confined
within these natural changes.
• Allow simplicity of functions to prevail, while respecting basic human needs
of comfort and safety.
• Recognize there is no such thing as waste, only resources out of place.
• Assess feasibility of development in long-‐term social and environmental
costs, not just short-‐term construction costs.
• Analyze and model water and nutrient cycles prior to development
intervention -‐ "First, do no harm."
• Minimize areas of vegetation disturbance, earth grading, and water channel
alternation.
• Locate structures to take maximum advantage of passive energy technologies
to provide for human comfort.
• Provide space for processing all wastes created onsite (collection/recycling
facilities, digesters, lagoons, etc.) so that no hazardous or destructive wastes
will be released into the environment.
• Determine environmentally safe means of onsite energy production and
storage in the early stages of site planning.
• Phase development to allow for the monitoring of cumulative environmental
impacts of development.
• Allow the natural ecosystem to be self-‐maintaining to the greatest extent
possible.
• Develop facilities to integrate selected maintenance functions such as energy
conservation, waste reduction, recycling, and resource conservation into the
visitor experience.
• Incorporate indigenous materials and crafts into structures, native plants
into landscaping, and local customs into programs and operations.
§ SPECIFIC SITE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Site Selection
Premises: What makes a region or site attractive for tourism development? First
and foremost, it must possess outstanding natural or otherwise unique
characteristics -‐ e.g., beaches, mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, oceans, land forms,
cultural resources -‐ that visitors will want to experience. Siting of the tourism
development focuses on these natural characteristics, and the site inventory and
analysis should clearly identify the quality and extent of these geographic features.
A site may also be attractive for its proximity to a feature or merely its remoteness
from other development.
The environmental characteristics that make an area attractive to visitors may also
pose problems. Some attractive areas may be very sensitive to disturbance and
unable to withstand impacts of human activity. The limits of acceptable
environmental change may be small for these areas, allowing only low density use to
maintain a sustainable environmental quality. Other attractive areas may be too
remote to justify development for direct visitor use. Conversely, some areas may be
too close to safety hazards or overly developed to be appropriate for tourism
development. However, some degraded areas may in fact provide opportunities for
visitor development, allowing more options for site manipulation and ecological
restoration.
Many recreational developments are in remote locations, often at the "end of the
line," making many product inputs and outputs quite expensive and
environmentally consumptive.
The site selection process asks a series of questions:
• Can development impacts on a site be minimized?
• What inputs (energy, material, labor, products) are necessary to support a
development option, and are required inputs available?
• Can waste outputs (solid waste, sewage effluent, exhaust emissions) be dealt
with at acceptable environmental costs?
The process of site selection for sustainable developments is one of identifying,
weighing, and balancing the attractiveness (environmental, cultural, access) of a site
against the costs inherent in its development (environmental, cultural, access,
hazards, energetics, operational). The characteristics of a region or site should be
described spatially (either conventional or computer-‐generated maps) to provide a
precise geographic inventory. Spatial zones meeting programmatic objectives,
within acceptable environmental parameters, are likely development sites.
Factors: The programmatic requirements and environmental characteristics of
sustainable tourism development will vary greatly, but the following factors should
be considered in site selection:
• Capacity -‐ As difficult as it can be to determine, every site has a carrying
capacity for structures and human activity. A detailed site analysis should
determine this capacity based on the sensitivity of site resources and the
ability of the land to regenerate.
• Density -‐ Siting of facilities should carefully weigh the relative merits of
concentration versus dispersal. Natural landscape values may be easier to
maintain if facilities are carefully dispersed. Conversely, concentration of
structure leaves more undisturbed natural areas.
• Climate -‐ Environments for tourism developments range from rain forest to
desert. The characteristics of a specific climate should be considered when
locating facilities so that human comfort can be maximized while protecting
the facility from climatic forces such as violent storms and other extremes.
• Slopes -‐ In many park environments steep slopes predominate, requiring
special siting of structures and costly construction practices. Building on
slopes considered too steep can lead to soil erosion, loss of hillside
vegetation, and damage to fragile wetland and marine ecosystems.
Appropriate site selection should generally locate more intensive
development on gentle slopes, dispersed development on moderate slopes,
and no development on steep slopes.
• Vegetation -‐ It is important to retain as much existing native vegetation as
possible to secure the integrity of the site. Natural vegetation is often an
essential aspect of the visitor experience and should be preserved. Site
selection should maintain large habitat areas and avoid habitat
fragmentation and canopy loss. In some areas such as the tropics, most
nutrients are held in the forest canopy, not in the soil -‐ loss of canopy
therefore causes nutrient loss as well. Plants occur in natural associations
(plant communities) and should remain as established naturally.
• Views -‐ Views are critical and reinforce a visitor experience. Site location
should maximize views of natural features and minimize views of visitor and
support facilities.
• Natural Hazards -‐ Sustainable development should be located with
consideration of natural hazards such as precipitous topography, dangerous
animals and plants, and hazardous water areas. Site layout should allow
controlled access to these features.
• Access to Natural and Cultural Features -‐ Good siting practices can
maximize pedestrian access to the wide variety of onsite and offsite
resources and recreational activities. Low impact development is the key to
protecting vital resource areas.
• Traditional Activities -‐ Siting should be compatible with traditional
agricultural, fishing, and hunting activities. Some forms of recreational
development that supplant traditional land uses may not be responsive to
the local economy.
• Energy and Utilities -‐ Conventional energy and utility systems are often
minimal or nonexistent in potential ecotourism areas. Siting should consider
possible connections to offsite utilities, or more likely, spatial needs for
onsite utilities. The potential exists for alternative energy use in many places,
particularly solar-‐ and wind-‐based energy systems. Good sustainable siting
considers these opportunities.
• Separation of Support Facilities from Public Use Areas -‐ Safety, visual
quality, noise, and odor are all factors that need to be considered when siting
support services and facilities. These areas need to be separated from public
use and circulation areas. In certain circumstances, utilities, energy systems,
and waste recycling areas can be a positive part of the visitor experience.
• Proximity of Goods, Services, and Housing -‐ Tourism developments
require the input of a variety of goods and services and often large staffs for
operation. Siting should consider the availability of these elements and the
costs involved in providing them.
Site Access
Site access refers to not only the means of physically entering a sustainable
development but also the en route experience route. For example, the en route
experience could include transitions between origin and destination with sequential
gateways, or it could provide an interpretive and/or educational experience. Other
considerations for enhancing the experience of accessing a developed area include:
• Select corridors to limit environmental impacts and control development
along the corridor leading to the facility.
• Provide anticipation and drama by framing views or directing attention to
landscape features along the access route.
• Provide a sense of arrival at the destination.
Site access can be achieved by various means of travel including pedestrian, transit
systems, private vehicles, boats, and aircraft. These transportation means impose
limitations on users based on the capabilities of the traveler or the capacity of the
particular transportation mode. Transportation means that are the least polluting,
quiet, and least intrusive in the natural environment may be the most appropriate
for a recreational development. Where environmental or other constraints make
physical access impossible, remote video presentation may be the only way for
people to access a site. The need to construct a road into a site is the first critical
decision to be made. Building a road into a pristine site should be considered a
serious intervention that will change the site forever. Roads tend to create
irreversible impacts.
Road Design and Construction: A curvilinear alignment should be designed to flow
with the topography and add visual interest; crossing unstable slopes should be
avoided. Steep grades should be used as needed to lay road lightly on the ground,
and retaining walls should be included on cut slopes to ensure long-‐term slope
stability. The road should have low design speeds (with more and tighter curves)
and a narrower width to minimize cut-‐and-‐fill disturbance. Over-‐engineering of
park roads should be avoided.
Access corridors should be provided for multiple purposes -‐ e.g., visitors,
maintenance, security, emergency vehicles, under ground utilities. Secondary access
(road, dock, or helicopter landing site) should always be provided to permit
emergency entry and evacuation in the event of a natural disaster. Multiuse
corridors can be effective, especially in preconstruction planning. Using the same
road during construction can limit site degradation and re-‐landscaping.
Many soils are highly susceptible to erosion. Vegetation clearing on the road
shoulders should be minimized to limit erosion impacts and retain the benefits of
greenery. All fill slopes should be stabilized and walls provided in cut sections
where needed. Exposed soils should be immediately replanted and mulched. Paved
ditches are frequently used to stem erosion along steep road gradients. In the design
of park roads, landscape solutions are preferred to render a softer appearance.
Unpaved surfaces are appropriate in areas of stable soils, lower slopes, and low
traffic loads, but they require more maintenance. Permeable paved surfaces allow
limited percolation of precipitation while providing better wear than unpaved
surfaces. Impermeable paved surfaces are needed for roads with the highest load
and traffic requirements. Whenever possible, recycled materials should be used in
the construction of the surfacing, e.g., crushed glass, shredded rubber tires, or
recycled aggregate. The surfacing material should blend with predominant
landscape tones. Contractual arrangements should be developed with local
businesses for the reuse/recycling of any construction waste.
Other Access Improvements: It is imperative that ship corridors or channels do not
traverse or that boat docks are not constructed over fragile marine environments
such as coral reefs. Marine facilities should be developed to allow natural beach
sand movement to continue unimpeded. Permanent anchor buoys should be
installed in harbor areas to mitigate anchor damage to bottom environments.
Airstrip and approach flight paths should be located safely and to protect recreation
facilities (park development) from visual and noise impacts of airplanes. Permeable
pavements should be used to increase water recharge and lessen runoff.
Core Site Access: Access within recreation-‐related development is typically
pedestrian. Automobiles are usually restricted to the edges of the development.
Paths should be laid out to avoid sensitive resources and be built at-‐grade. In areas
that are particularly environmentally sensitive or very steep, elevated walkways can
be used. Elevated walkways also limit indiscriminate pedestrian access to fragile
vegetation.
While all visitor facilities should be accessible to visitors with disabilities, some
natural features and site opportunities may by their very nature limit total
accessibility. Rather than forcing unacceptable physical disturbance to make these
areas accessible or precluding access to all visitors with disabilities, the concept of
challenge levels should be used. The degree of difficulty is determined and made
known to visitors in advance much the same way ski slopes are classified as
beginner, intermediate, or expert. Challenge levels assume that while key facilities
will be readily accessible to all visitors, other sections of the park or tourism
development will be more difficult to access, and will involve some sense of
adventure and accomplishment.
Utilities and Waste Systems
Utility Systems: With the development of a site comes the need for some level of
utility systems. Even the smallest human habitat requires sanitary facilities for
human waste and provisions for water. More elaborate developments have
extensive systems to provide electricity, gas, heating, cooling, ventilation, and storm
drainage. The provision of these services and the appurtenances associated with
them sometimes create substantial impacts on the landscape and the functioning of
the natural ecosystem. Sustainable site planning and design principles must be
applied early in the planning process to assist in selecting systems that will not
adversely affect the environment and will work within established natural systems.
After the appropriate systems are selected, careful planning and design is required
to address secondary impacts such as soil disturbance and intrusion on the visual
setting.
Utility Corridors: Due to environmental impacts of utility transmission lines, onsite
generation and wireless microwave receivers are preferred. When utility lines are
necessary, they should be buried near other corridor areas that are already
disturbed, such as roads and pedestrian paths. Overhead lines should not be located
in desirable view sheds or over landform crests. Low impact alternatives for utility
liens such as shielded conduit placed on the ground or on low pedestal mounts
should be considered. Many utility lines can be concealed under boardwalks and
thereby eliminate ground disturbance.
Utility System Facility Siting: Sustainable development of the infrastructure
embodies the principles of reducing scale, dispersals of facilities, and the use of
terrain or vegetative features to visually screen intrusive structures. Odor and noise
are strong nuisance factors that must be addressed by location and buffering. Also,
the insulation of mechanical equipment that can have acoustical impacts should be
considered. The exception to this rule may be to feature alternative utility systems
for the purposes of interpretation for the environmentally conscious visitor.
Night Lighting: The nighttime sky can be dramatic. Light intrusion and overlighting
glare can obscure what little night sight is available to humans. Care is required to
limit night lighting to the minimum necessary for safety. Urban lighting standards
do not apply. Low voltage lighting with photovoltaic collectors should be considered
as an energy-‐efficient alternative. Light fixtures should remain close to the ground,
avoiding glare from eye level fixtures.
Storm Drainage: In undisturbed landscapes, storm drainage is typically handled by
vegetation canopy, ground cover plants, soil absorption, and streams and
waterways. In a modified landscape, storm drainage must be understood in regard
to the impacts on the existing drainage system and the resulting structures and
systems that will be necessary to handle the new drainage pattern. The main
principle in storm drainage control is to regulate runoff to provide protection from
soil erosion and avoid directing water into unmanageable volumes. Removal of
natural vegetation, topsoil, and natural channels that provide natural drainage
control should always be avoided. An alternative would be to try and stabilize soils,
capture runoff in depressions (to help recharge groundwater supply), and re-‐
vegetate areas to replicate natural drainage systems.
Irrigation Systems: Low volume irrigation systems are appropriate in most areas
as a temporary method to help restore previously disturbed areas or as a means to
support local agriculture and native traditions. Restoration projects should consider
the use of ultraviolet-‐tolerant irrigation components laid on the surface of the soil
and removed when native plants have become established. Irrigation piping can be
reused on other restoration areas or incorporated into future domestic hydraulic
systems. Captured rain water, recycled gray water, or treated effluent could be used
as irrigation water.
Waste Treatment: It is important to use treatment technologies that are biological,
non-‐mechanical, and do not involve soil leaching or land disposal that causes soil
disturbance. While a septic system can be considered, treatment methods that result
in useful products such as fertilizer and fuels should be preferred. Land-‐intensive
methods that significantly alter the natural environment may not be appropriate in
sensitive environments. Constructed biological systems are being put to use
increasingly to purify wastewater. They offer the benefits of being environmentally
responsive, nonpolluting, and cost-‐effective.
Site-‐Adaptive Design Considerations
The concept of sustainability suggests an approach to the relationship of site
components that is somewhat different from conventional site design. With a
sustainable approach, site components defer to the character of the landscape they
occupy so that the experience of the landscape will be paramount. More ecological
knowledge is at the core of sustainable design. Instead of human functional needs
driving the site design, site components respond to the indigenous spatial character,
climate, topography, soils, and vegetation as well as compatibility with the existing
cultural context. For example, all facilities would conform to constraints of existing
landforms and tree locations, and the character of existing landscape will be largely
maintained. Natural buffers and openings for privacy are used rather than
artificially produced through planting and clearing. Hilly topography and dense
vegetation are natural ways of separating site components.
Natural Characteristics: The greatest challenge in achieving sustainable site design
is to realize that much can be learned from nature. When nature is incorporated into
designs, spaces can be more comfortable, interesting, and efficient. It is important to
understand natural systems and the way they interrelate in order to work within
these constraints with the least amount of environmental impact. Like nature,
design should not be static but always evolving and adapting to interact more
intimately with its surroundings.
• Wind -‐ The major advantage of wind in recreational development is its
cooling aspect. For example, trade winds in the tropical environments often
come from the northeast to the southeast quadrant, orientation of structures,
and outdoor gathering places to take advantage of this cooling wind
movement, or "natural" air conditioning. Native cultures understand this
technique quite well, and local structures reflect these principles.
• Sun -‐ Where sun is abundant, it is imperative to provide shade for human
comfort and safety in activity areas (e.g., pathways patios). The most
economical and practical way is to use natural vegetation, slope aspects, or
introduced shade structures. The need for natural light in indoor spaces and
solar energy are important considerations to save energy and showcase
environmental responsive solutions.
• Rainfall -‐ Even in tropical rain forests where water is seemingly abundant,
clean potable water is often in short supply. Many settings must import
water, which substantially increases energy use and operating costs, an
makes conservation of water important. Rainfall should be captured for a
variety of uses (e.g., drinking, bathing) and this water reused for secondary
purposes (e.g., flushing toilets, washing clothes). Wastewater or excess runoff
from developed areas should be channeled and discharged in ways that allow
for groundwater recharge instead of soil erosion. Minimizing disturbance to
soils and vegetation and keeping development away from natural drainage
ways protect the environment as well as the structure.
• Topography -‐ In many areas, flatland is at a premium and should be set
aside for agricultural uses. This leaves only slopes upon which to build.
Slopes do not have to be an insurmountable site constraint if innovative
design solutions and sound construction techniques are applied. Topography
can potentially provide vertical separation and more privacy for individual
structures. Changes in topography can also enhance and vary the way a
visitor experiences the site by changing intimacy or familiarity (e.g., from a
canyon walk to sweeping hillside overview). Again, protection of native soil
and vegetation are critical concerns in high slope areas, and elevated
walkways and point footings for structures are appropriate design solutions
to this problem.
• Geology and Soils -‐ Designing with geologic features such as rock outcrops
can enhance the sense of place. For example, integrating rocks into the
design of a deck or boardwalk brings the visitor in direct contact with the
resource and the uniqueness of a place. Soil disturbances should be kept to a
minimum to avoid erosion of fragile tropical soils and discourage growth of
exotic plants. If limited soil disturbance must take place, a continuous cover
over disturbed soils with erosion control netting should always be
maintained.
• Aquatic Ecosystems -‐ Development near aquatic areas must be based on an
extensive understanding of sensitive resources and processes. In most cases,
development should be set back from the aquatic zone and protective
measures taken to address indirect environmental impacts. Particularly
sensitive habitats such as beaches should be identified and protected from
any disturbance. Harvesting of any aquatic resources should be based on
definitive assessment of sustainable yield and subsequently monitored and
regulated.
• Vegetation -‐ Exotic plant materials, while possibly interesting and beautiful,
are not amenable to maintaining healthy native ecosystems. Sensitive native
plant species need to be identified and protected. Existing vegetation should
be maintained to encourage biodiversity and to protect the nutrients held in
the biomass of native vegetation. Native planting should be incorporated into
all new developments on a 2:1 ratio of native plants removed. Vegetation can
enhance privacy, be used to create "natural rooms," and be a primary source
of shade. Plants also contribute to the visual integrity or natural fit of a new
development in a natural setting. In some cases, plants can provide
opportunities for food production and other useful products on a sustainable
basis.
• Wildlife -‐ Sensitive habitat areas should always be avoided. Encouraging
wildlife to remain close to human activities centers enhances the visitor
experience. This can be achieved by maintaining as much original habitat as
possible. Creating artificial habitats or feeding wildlife could have disruptive
effects on the natural ecosystem and should normally be avoided.
• Visual Character -‐ Natural vistas should be used in design whenever
possible. Creating onsite visual intrusions (road cuts, utilities, etc.) should be
avoided, and views of offsite intrusions carefully controlled. A natural look
can be maintained by using native building material, hiding structures within
the vegetation, and working with the topography. It is easier to minimize the
building footprint initially than it is to heal a visual scar at the end of
construction.
Cultural Context: Local archeology, history, and people are the existing matrix into
which visitation must fit. Sustainable principles seek balance between existing
cultural patterns with new development. Developing an understanding of local
culture and seeking their input in the development processes can make the
difference between acceptance and failure.
• Archeology -‐ A complete archeological survey prior to development is
imperative to preserving resources. Once resources are located, they can be
incorporated into designs as an educational or interpretive tool. If discovered
during construction activities, work should be stopped and the site
reevaluated. Sacred sites must be respected and protected.
• History -‐ Cultural history should be reinforced through design by
investigating and then interpreting vernacular design vocabulary. Local
design elements and architectural character should be analyzed and
employed to establish an architectural theme for new development.
• Indigenous Living Cultures -‐ Cultural traditions should be encouraged and
nurtured. A forum should be provided for local foods, music, art and crafts,
lifestyles, dress, and architecture, as well as a means to supplement local
incomes (if acceptable). Traditional harvesting of resource products should
be permitted to reinforce the value of maintaining the resource.
Construction Methods and Materials
The complexity of construction is magnified in most parkland given the sensitivity of
resources, isolation, and availability of local craftsmen and materials. The goal to
leave landscape visually unimpaired after development drives the need to find new
methods of management, new techniques, and constant reevaluation of every
method and material use. For the project to be successful, there should be no
residual signs of construction, and environmental damage should not be permitted.
Through a network of organizations, sources of nontoxic, renewable or recyclable,
and environmentally responsive building products are available to use when
specifying materials.
Certain site design strategies may be discouraged based on the probable
environmental impacts of the construction methods necessary to build them.
Providing fewer vehicular roads and more pedestrian circulation paths may allow
smaller structures in a more dispersed arrangement and be a means of providing
greater experience of the landscape (see sketch no. 3). The desire to incorporate
structures sensitively into the landscape may suggest the use of a few small light
structures in place of one larger one. For example, outdoor or semi-‐outdoor living,
cooking, or bathing facilities combined with enclosed sleeping facilities may reflect
local custom and create less disturbance to the site.
Construction Process Program: This required program will be a primer for
developers, construction contractors, and maintenance workers. The plan covers
materials, methods, testing, and options. A careful organization and sequencing of
construction is emphasized. Examples include building walkways first, then using
them as access to the site. Also it is important to plan material staging for areas in
conjunction with future facilities. A knowledgeable construction supervisor must be
involved, and all new construction methods should be tested in a prototypical first
phase. Maintenance and operations staff should also be involved in this construction
program and should participate in the development of an operations manual.
Construction Limits and Landscape Features: All undisturbed soil and vegetation
located outside specifically designated construction limits should be fenced or
otherwise protected (e.g., drop cloths, tree barriers). Where disturbance occurs, the
site should be restored as soon as possible. All topsoil from construction area should
be collected for use in site restoration. Preplanning the construction process will
help identify alternative methods that minimize resource degradation. Flexibility in
revising construction plans should be allowed to change materials and construction
methods based on actual site impacts. Not all of the design will be constructed as
drawn; therefore, the construction supervisor must be knowledgeable of the design
intent and project environmental philosophy in order to redesign or adapt as
necessary. Throughout construction, resource indicators should be monitored to
ensure that resources are not being adversely affected.
Native Landscape Preservation/Restoration
Preservation of the natural landscape is of great importance during construction
because it is much less expensive and more ecologically sound than subsequent
restoration. Preservation entails carefully defining the construction zone -‐ do not
"clear and grub" any unnecessary soil areas because it encourages volunteer exotic
growth in scarred areas.
Restoration of native planting patterns should be used when site disturbances are
unavoidable. All native plants disturbed by the construction should be saved,
healing them first in a temporary nursery. The site should be replanted with native
materials in a mix consistent with that found in a natural ecosystem. In some
instances, native materials should be used compositionally to achieve drama and
visual interest for human benefit.
Noxious or toxic plant materials should not be used adjacent to visitor facilities.
Eradication or control of exotic species should be considered, without creative
negative effects on native plants. Some exotics are relatively benign; others are
highly invasive. There should be an awareness of the hazards of removing exotics
that may have displaced a native species, but in the process achieved a useful or
even symbiotic relationship with other native plants. Ideally, plantings of native
materials to control exotics should be used. Water for new plantings can be
provided by locating plants in drainage swales or by using temporary irrigation.
New plantings should be mulched with forest cover.
Interpretation of the restoration areas will inform and educate the public on the
value of native landscape restoration. Protection of existing resources in the
ecosystem is the fundamental purpose of sustainable design.
Visitor Safety and Security
Visitor awareness of their natural surroundings is the best safety insurance. Written
and personal briefings by staff could help foster awareness of safety risks and allow
visitors to take responsibility for their own safety and security.
Some important design considerations are as follows:
• Visitors must have a sense of personal safety and security to be attracted to
recreation areas. The facility must have reasonable provisions to protect
visitors from natural and manmade hazards. Location of walks and lodging
must be designed to discourage visitor contact with dangerous plants or
animals.
• The design should consider safety from climate extremes; visitors may be
unaware of natural hazards, including intense sun, high wind, heavy rainfall,
and extreme humidity.
• Ecological integrity must be balanced with safety concerns in a development
where adventure and challenge are integral to the experience. Various
challenge levels in site facilities should be provided to accommodate all
visitors, including visitors with disabilities.
• The use of artificial lighting should be limited to retain natural ambient light
levels -‐ baffle lights or use ground-‐mounted light fixtures to limit spillover
light impacts while providing a basic sense of security.
• Appropriate atmosphere and security can be enhanced by remote location
and controlled access to the facilities -‐ incorporate natural barriers into
facility design to minimize need for security fencing or barriers.
• An alternate means of access should be available to provide essential
emergency provisions of water, food, and medicine, and a reliable
communication system.
CONCEPTS AND THEMES IN DESIGN (Bill Mollison)
Laws, principles, concepts and themes
Conversion of a law to a directive
There is a great variety of natural laws and principles and, as designers, we use
these as active tools, literally directives to act, whereas those who discovered them
did so as a result of a passive process of observation. The greatest difficulty we have
as designers is in the intelligent local application of cosmic passive principles.
An axiom is either an established principle or a self-‐evident truth (sunrise in the
east, sunset is in the west).
A principle is a basic truth, a rule of conduct, a law determining how something
works.
A law is a statement of fact about the behavior of natural phenomena; it is supported
by a set of hypotheses that have proved to be supportable or “correct”.
A thesis is an idea that is offered up for proof or discussion.
A hypothesis is a statement that is testable by experiment; it is objective, testable
and a priori before the test.
Many statements made by people are somewhat confused mixtures of the foregoing.
A rule is a discovered relationship, e.g. “as a rule” water flows at right angle to
contour.
A directive is a way to proceed. It is an applied principle, and has an active
component.
By examining several sets of rules, laws and principles we can establish a set of
practical directives, principles by which we can act on design.
All designers should be aware of the fundamental laws that govern every natural
system.
The overriding law is that:
The total energy of the universe is constant and the total entropy is constantly
increasing.
Entropy is bound energy; it becomes unavailable for work, or not useful to the
system. It is the waters of a mountain forest that has reached the sea, the heat, noise
and exhaust smoke that an automobile emits while travelling, and the energy of food
used to keep an animal warm, alive and mobile. In a sense, it is also disordered or
opposing energy of contesting forces.
All energy entering an organism, population or ecosystem can be accounted for as
energy that is stored or leaves. Energy can be transferred from one form to another,
but it cannot disappear or be destroyed or created.
This is a restatement of the First Law of Thermodynamics.
Caloric bookkeeping, energy budgets or energy audits are what measure the
efficiency of a designed system. In today’s society, gardens and farms, much non-‐
harmonic energy is degraded to waste.
No energy conversion is ever completely efficient.
This is the second Law of Thermodynamics.
No matter how good a design is, and how complex the net we set up to catch
energies before they are bound, or to slow the increase in entropy, when it comes to
the universal equation, we must lose. The only question really is “how much need
we lose of incoming or released energy?” and how much can we usefully store?
1. Nothing in nature grows forever.
2. Continuation of life depends on the maintenance of the global bio-‐
geochemical cycles of essential elements, in particular, C, O, N, S and P.
3. The probability of extinction of populations of a species is greatest when the
density is very high or very low.
4. The chance that a species has to survive and reproduce is dependent
primarily upon one or two key factors in the complex web of relationships of
the organism to its environment.
The Over-‐run Thesis
5. Our ability to change the face of the of the Earth increase at a faster rate than
our ability to foresee the consequences of change.
The Life Ethic Thesis
6. Living organisms are not only means, but ends. In addition to their
instrumental value to humans and other living organisms, they have an
intrinsic worth.
Although these laws are basic, inescapable and immutable, what we as designers
have to deal with are the here and now of survival on Earth. We must study
whether the resources and energy consumed derive from renewable or non-‐
renewable resources and how non-‐renewable resources can best be used to
conserve and generate energy in living (renewable) systems.
Fortunately for us, the very long-‐term energy derived from the Sun is available on
Earth and can be used to renew resources if life systems are carefully constructed
and preserved.
There are several practical design considerations to observe:
• The systems we construct should last as long as possible and take least
possible energy to maintain.
• These systems fuelled by the Sun, should produce not only for their own
needs, but also the needs of the people creating and maintaining them. A
system is sustainable if it produces more energy than it consumes, at least
enough in surplus to maintain and replace itself over its lifetime. A well design
system achieves this, and a large surplus of production over and above this
basic requirement of sustainability.
• We can use energy to construct these systems, providing that in their lifetime,
they store or conserve more energy than we use to construct and maintain
them.
Resources, Their Nature and Management:
• Matter
• Energy
• Space
• Time
• Diversity
Are all categories of resources and these are constant universal principles.
• Food
• Climate
• Habitat
• Plants
• Animals
These are the basic resources affecting plant and animal populations. Resources are
things thought of as of use to us, and enable us to utilize energy more efficiently.
A resource is anything available to an organism, population, or ecosystem that up to
an optimum level allows an increasing rate of energy exchange.
However we need to look at life systems as a whole in order to see that there are
several categories of resources and the use of some decrease the availability of
others, over-‐use of parts of the general resource base by a species or individual
decreases the diversity and or vitality of the whole system.
Definition of resource use effect:
• Increase if used (browse)
• Not affected by use (time)
• Decrease if not used (annuals)
• Need management to be maintained (forests)
• Decrease if used (fossil fuels, deep aquifers)
• Decrease other resources if used (uranium, biocides)
All these actions, to some extent, are affected by wise or unwise management. All,
except time and diversity, have an optimum amount that can be stacked into a
system beyond which there is either no increase in yield, or a decrease in yield.
However the number of possible life niches in a designed system has no fixed value,
there is no limit to richness.
The Principle of Chaos and Disorder
If resources are added beyond the capacity of the system to use them, then that
system becomes disordered and goes into chaos.
Chaos or disorder is the opposite of harmony, as competition is opposite of
cooperation. In disorder, much useful energy is cancelled out by the use of opposing
energy, thus creating entropy or bound energy.
Society, gardens, whole systems and human lives are wasted in disorder and
opposition. The aim of the designer is therefore two-‐fold:
• To use only that amount of energy that can be productively absorbed by the
system.
• To build harmony, as cooperation, into the functional organization of the
system.
Do not confuse order with tidiness, because tidiness is usually disordered in the life
sense.
1. Applying laws and principles to design
2. Resources
3. Yields
4. Cycles: a niche in time
5. Pyramids, food webs, growth and vegetarianism
6. Complexity and connections
7. Order and chaos
8. Permitted and forced functions
9. Diversity
10. Stability
11. Time and yield
PATTERNS
A. Pattern Understanding: Reading the Land (gathering information)
1. Seeing through the eyes of the artist
a. Shapes, relative sizes, colors, textures, edges, negative and positive
space, growth levels, the canvas of the landscape, underlying design
features, slope, waves and spirals, geometric forms
b. Form and function: metamorphosis of organic forms through the
year
2. General patterns of models of events
3. Matrices and the strategies of compacting and complexing components
4. Properties of media
5. Boundary conditions
6. The harmonics and geometries of boundaries
7. Compatible and incompatible borders and components
8. The timing and shaping of events
9. Spirals
10. Flow over landscape and objects
11. Open flow and flow patterns
12. Toroidal phenomena
13. Dimensions and potentials
14. Closed (spherical) models; accretion and expulsion
15. Branching and its effects; conduits
16. Orders of magnitude in branches
17. Orders and dimensions
18. Classification of events
19. Time and relativity in the model
20. The world we live in as a tessellation of events
21. Introduction to pattern applications
22. The tribal use of patterning
23. The mnemonics of meaning
24. Patterns of society
25. The arts in the service of life
26. Additional pattern applications
B. Pattern Applications: how to apply what we have learned through observation
and study (field walk)
1. Exercises in observation and site analysis
a. Ex: animal tracking
1. Following a trail from start to finish
2. Interpreting signs (track forms, weather imprints, trails,
feeding and bedding areas, animals in the web of life, habitat,
species, etc.)
b. Plant identification
1. Leaf and flower shapes and colors
2. Plant guilds and habitat based on climate, soil, etc.
3. Uses of wild plants: food, medicine, and utility
4. Using the senses for identification: ex: taste tests, scent
c. Micro/macro seeing: taking in the entire perspective of the
landscape, seeing things up close and at a distance
2. Problem solving: exercises on placement of elements and reasons for
choices based on pattern understanding
3. Analysis and diagnosis of landscape plusses and minuses: discussion on
what needs to be augmented and what needs to be eliminated or
transformed based on pattern understanding
4. Processes and connections; not isolated events
a. Exercise: analysis of intrinsic behaviors, needs and products of each
element
b. How each element fits in with other elements in a working whole in
the landscape based on observations of patterns and relationships
found in the landscape
Pattern in Design
The world is a sequence of events within a pattern. All things spiral through the
pattern. In pattern application, there are two aspects: 1) the perception of the
patterns that already exist (and how these function), and 2) the imposition of
pattern on sites in order to achieve specific needs.
Zone and sector planning are examples of pattern application.
A) Edge effects and harmonics
Edge effect: the interface between two ecosystems represents a third, more complex
system which
combines both. The interface, or edge, receives more light and nutrients and so is
more productive.
Harmonics and area: increase in linear effects while the area is constrained.
Low productivity (square, circle pond): productivity increases as the shape of the
pond is changed to produce more “margin” or edge. The number of plants around
the edge may almost double, and so may the number of fish since they are mainly
marginal feeders.
Other examples of patterning with edge include:
• Circle garden rather than linear garden (saves space and water)
• Trellis on zigzag pattern rather than straight line
• Crops planted in strips and contours with companionable crop in between strips
(crops receive more light for photosynthesis and yield is high for both)
• Windbreak can be planted either to deflect wind or to funnel it into a gap for wind
power.
• Gardens can make use of “keyhole” pattern to maximize space and yield.
Species edge possibilities are determined by whether plants/animals are
compatible. E.g. wheat planted
with Lucerne (alfalfa) will increase yield, while yields decrease if planted with
Brassica.
B) Flow Patterns
Can use pattern in river flow to scour deep ponds, to accumulate mulch on edges,
and to build up a layer of silt.
Mulch and silt accumulate during the flood phase of the river, but trees must be
planted to catch this accumulation.
Aboriginal tribal song pattern shows a map of desert with wadis and saltbushes.
Pattern and song are used together to find one’s way in a desert landscape.
PATTERN UNDERSTANDING
Traditional uses
Revelation, seeing in one example 1000 questions
The universe is a series of events. Most are similar in form, as the core model (apple
core). Tessellation is connected form of two core models from the earth, as the
oceans and land masses or the simpler pattern of a tennis ball. Section of the core
model demonstrates many recognizable patterns we see every day in the natural
environment. Events evolve patterns because it is the most efficient way to grow.
There are two classes of events one organic, typified by seeds as growth patterns,
and one inorganic, atomic and typified by explosions and impacts (craters and
shatters), like the pattern of the atomic bomb explosion. But they are both very
similar in form.
Orders of All Things
Traditional uses of pattern by people:
• Critical in navigation in seas and deserts alike.
• Sagas and genealogy.
• Timing of events, and therefore prediction.
Patterns are information dense, as teaching systems.
Pattern understanding, and pattern teaching.
Pattern applications, and how to apply pattern knowledge in design. Design in a
sense is good application of pattern or the sophisticated application of patterning.
References:
-‐Alexander, Christopher, A Pattern Language, Oxford University Press, London,
1977.
-‐Bohm, David, Wholeness and the Implicate Order, Routledge and Keegan Paul,
London, 1980.
-‐Brown, Tom, Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking, Berkley Books, NYC,
1977.
-‐Capra, Fritjof, The Tao of Physics, Fontana Press, 1976.
-‐Coates, Callum, Living Energies, Gateway Books, Bath UK, 1996.
-‐Cook, Sir Theodore Andrea, The Curves of Life, Constable, London, 1967.
-‐Garrett, William, Torque Analysis, Investment Book Publishers, Washington, 1980.
-‐Hall, Manley P., The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Philosophical Research Society Inc,
LA, 1977.
-‐Lawlor, Robert, Sacred Geometry, Thames and Hudson, London, 1982.
-‐Mandlebrot, Benoit, The Fractal Geometry of Nature, W.H. Freeman Company, NYC,
1982.
-‐Mollison, Bill, Introduction to Permaculture, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum Australia,
1991.
-‐Mollison, Bill, Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum
Australia, 1988.
-‐Plummer, Tony, Forecasting Financial Markets, John Wiley and Sons, NYC, 1989.
-‐Schneider, Michael, A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe, Harper and Collins, NYC,
1994.
-‐Schwenk, Theodore, Sensitive Chaos, Rudolf Steiner Press, London, 1965.
-‐Thompson, D’arcy, On Growth and Form, Cambridge University Press, 1952.
-‐Tompkins, Peter and Bird, Christopher, Secrets of the Soil, Harper and Row
Publishers, NYC, 1989.
METHODS OF DESIGN: Design Strategies and Techniques
Permaculture is about whole systems, not about separate components. Because each
element in a landscape or the built environment affects every other element at a
site, we believe that a complete, comprehensive assessment is tantamount to
develop healthy, productive, energy efficient relationships between elements for the
benefit of everyone involved in day to day operations. By paying attention to all the
details: topography, climate, water, wind, sun, activity nodes and corridors,
buildings, machinery and tools, the waste stream, plants and animals, it enables us
to make best use of what is already on the ground, and what we intend to put there.
With a dynamic interaction of elements in process, and an assessment of both
spatial and temporal attributes, organized around sound ecological principles, we
can maximize yields and balance the landscape. In order to accomplish this we
conduct a three phase process as follows:
Phase I: Initial discussion, protocol, history, institutional analysis, vision, mission,
geopolitical assessment, bioregional delineation, values, objectives, needs, wants,
budgets.
Phase II: On site assessment, abiotic and biotic factors, physical, biological and
cultural attributes, landform, built environment, energy sources, present and
historical land use features, activity nodes and corridors, land tenure, critical habitat
foundations, soil composition, vegetation composition and cover, successional
pattern and plant productivity, wildlife corridors, water resources, climatological
factors, the waste stream.
Phase III: Recommendations based on assessment and needs, suitability analysis,
the whys and wherefores of transitioning into a “green” environment.
Phase IV: Implementation
Phase V: Management and Maintenance,
Broad Scale Site Design
Methodology of Design
Permaculture design emphasizes patterning of landscape, function, and species
assemblies. It asks the question, “Where does this element go? How is best placed
for maximum benefit in the system?”
Permaculture is made up of techniques and strategies:
• Techniques are how we do things (one-‐dimensional)
• Strategies are how and when (two-‐dimensional)
• Design is patterning (multi-‐dimensional)
Permaculture is all about the science and ethics of design patterning
Approaches to design:
-‐Maps: “where is everything?”
-‐Analysis of elements: “how do these things connect?”
-‐Sector planning: “where do we put things?”
-‐Observational
-‐Experiential
Maps: A main tool of a designer, but “the map is never the territory”. Be careful
not to design just from maps, no map tells the entire story that can be observed
on the ground. A sequence of maps is valuable to see clearly where to place
elements: Water, Access, Structures, Topology etc.
The analysis of elements: List the needs, products, and the intrinsic
characteristics of each element. Lists are made to try and link the supply needs
of elements to the production needs of others.
An example that is easy to understand is the lists needed to link a chicken
into a system:
Experiment on paper, connecting and combining the elements
(buildings, plants, animals, etc) to achieve no pollution (excess product), and
minimum work. Try to have one element fulfill the needs of another.
Observational: Free thinking or thematic thinking (e.g. on weed species)
a) Note phenomenon
b) Infer (make guesses)
c) Investigate (research)
d) Devise a strategy
Experiential: Become conscious—of yourself, feelings, and environment. Can
be free-‐conscious or thematically-‐conscious. Zazen-‐walking without thinking,
unreflective.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER: Use all the methodologies of design
Select elements – pattern assembly
Place elements – pattern relationship
Applying Specific Methods, Laws and Principles to Design
Methodologies of Design
Permaculture design emphasizes patterning of landscape, function, and species
assemblies. It asks the question, “Where does this (element) go? How is it placed for
maximum benefit in the system?
Permaculture is made up of techniques and strategies:
• Techniques: concerned with how to do things (one dimensional) e.g. organic
gardening
• Strategies: concerned with how and when (two dimensional) e.g. Fukuoka system
• Design: concerned with patterning (multi-‐dimensional) e.g. permaculture
Approaches to Design:
1. Maps (“Where is everything?”)
2. Analysis of elements (“How do these things connect?”)
3. Sector planning (“Where do we put things?”)
4. Observational
5. Experiential
Maps (be careful-‐ the “map” is not the territory”) Must make observations.
Sequence of maps valuable to see clearly where to place many elements. Clear
overlays to plan: Access,
Water, Buildings, Topology.
Analysis of Elements
An analytical approach: list the needs, products, and the intrinsic characteristics of
each element. This is
done on paper. Lists are made to try to supply (by some other element in the
system) the needs of any
particular element.
Experiment on paper with connecting and combining the elements (buildings,
plants, animals, etc) to
achieve no pollution (excess of product) and minimum work. Try to have one
element fulfill the needs of
another element.
Observational
Free thinking or thematic thinking (e.g. on blackberry or bracken)
(a) Note phenomenon
(b) Infer (make guesses)
(c) Investigate (research)
(d) Devise a strategy
Experiential
Become conscious of yourself, feelings, environment. Can be free-‐conscious or
thematically-‐conscious.
Zazen-‐ walking without thinking, unreflective.
Putting It Together: Use all the methodologies of design.
Select elements -‐ pattern assembly
1. Analysis: design by listing characteristics of components
2. Observation: design by expanding on direct observations of a site
3. Deduction from nature: design by adopting lessons learned from nature
4. Options and decisions: design as a selection of options or pathways based
on decisions
5. Data overlay: design by map overlays (see above)
6. Random assembly: design by assessing the results of random assemblies
7. Flow diagrams: design for work places
8. Zone and sector analysis: design by application of a master pattern
Sector Planning
Sector planning includes (a) zones, (b) sector, (c) slope, and (d) orientation
Zones: It is useful to consider the site as a series of zones (which can be
concentric rings) that form a single pathway through the
system that moves outward from the home center. The
placement of elements in each zone depends on importance, priorities, and
number of visits needed for each element. E.g. a chicken house is
visited every day, so it needs to be close (but not necessarily
next to the house). An herb garden would be close to the
kitchen.
Zone 1:
• Home center
• Herbs, vegetable garden
• Most built structures
• Very intensive
• Start at the backdoor
Zone 2:
• Intensive cultivation, main crop
• Heavily mulched orchard
• Well-‐maintained
• Mainly grafted and selected species
• Dense planting
• Use of stacking and storey system design
• Some animals: chickens, ducks, pigeon
• Multi-‐purpose walks: collect eggs , milk, distribute greens and
scraps
• Cut animal forage
Zone 3:
• Connects to zone 1 and 2 for easy access
• May add goats, sheep, geese, bees, dairy cows
• Plant hardy trees and native species
• Un-‐grafted for later selection, later grafting
• Animal forage
• Self-‐forage systems: poultry forest etc
• Windbreaks, firebreaks
• Spot mulching, rough mulching
• Trees protected with cages, strip-‐fencing
• Nut tree forests
Zone 4:
• Long term development
• Timber for building
• Timber for firewood
• Mixed forestry systems
• Watering minimal
• Feeding minimal
• Some introduced animals: cattle, deer, pigs
• Zone 5:
• Uncultivated wilderness
• Re-‐growth area
• Timber
• Hunting
Species, elements, and strategies change in each zone.
SECTORS: the aim of sector planning is to channel external energies (wind, sun,
fire) into or away from the system.
The zone and sector factors together regulate the placement of particular plant,
animal species and structures.
SLOPE: placement of an element on slope so that gravity is used to maximum
capacity:
-‐Water storage
-‐Mulch and other materials (kick down)
-‐Cold air falls, warm air rises
ORIENTATION: placement of an element so that it faces sun-‐side or shade-‐side,
depending on its function and needs.
1. Zoning of information and ethics
2. Incremental design
3. Summary of design methods
4. The concepts of guilds in nature
5. Succession: evolution of a system
6. The establishment and maintenance of systems
7. General practical procedures in property design
C. Ideas and Applications (give examples of some of these principles in your
site)
1. Relative location
2. Each element performs many functions
3. Each important function is supported by many functions
4. Efficient energy planning
5. Using biological resources properly
6. Energy cycling
7. Small-‐scale intensive systems
8. Accelerating succession and evolution
9. Diversity (poly-‐cultures)
10. Edge effects
11. Water Conservation and the Keyline System (swales, dams, ponds, etc.)
12. Attitudinal principles in practice
D. Draw Basic Design based on initial observations of your site (use bubble
diagrams and drafting tools)
Principle Summary: Definition of Permaculture design: Permaculture design is a
system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern
which functions to benefit life in all its forms. It seeks to provide a sustainable and
secure place for living things on this earth. Functional design: Every component of a
design should function in many ways. Every essential function should be supported
by many components. Principle of self-‐regulation: The purpose of a functional and
self-‐regulating design is to place elements or components in such a way that each
serves the needs, and accepts the products, of other elements.
References:
-‐Barrat, Krome, Logic and Design, Design Books, Guilford, CT, 1980.
-‐Birkeland, Janis, Design for Sustainability, Earthscan, Sterling, Virginia, 2004.
-‐Fuller, Buckminster, Synergetics, Macmillan Publishing Company, NYC, 1975.
-‐Grillo, Paul, Form Function Design, Dover Publications, NYC, 1960.
-‐Hemenway, Toby, Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-‐Scale Permaculture, Chelsea
Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, Vermont, 2001.
-‐Holmgren, David, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability,
Holmgren Design Services, Victoria, Australia, 2002.
-‐Lyle, John Tillman, Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development, John Wiley
and Sons, NYC, NY, 1994.
-‐Lyle, John, Design for Human Ecosystems, Island Press, Washington DC, 1999.
-‐McHarg, Ian, Design With Nature, American Museum of Natural History, Garden
City, NY, 1969.
-‐Mollison, Bill, Introduction to Permaculture, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum Australia,
1991.
-‐Mollison, Bill, Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual, Tagari Publications, Tyalgum
Australia, 1988.
-‐Schneider, Michael, Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe, Harper Collins,
1994.
-‐Todd and Todd, Nancy and John, From Eco-‐Cities to Living Machines, North Atlantic
Books, Berkeley, CA, 1993.
-‐Van der Ryn, Sim and Cowan, Stuart, Ecological Design, Island Press, Washington
DC, 1996.
-‐Yeang, Ken, Designing With Nature, McGraw Hill, Inc., NYC, 1995.
FROM ROBERT KOURIK
Site Assessment Analysis Checklist
A. Site
a. Parcel number
b. Latitude
c. Utilities, location of:
i. Gas line
ii. Water line
iii. Electric line
B. Easements, legal limitations as per title or deed
C. Existing Buildings, size and location
D. Existing Vegetation
a. Soil indicators
b. Water indicators
c. Potential uses
i. Fuel
ii. Edible
iii. Compostable
iv. Insectary plants
v. Others
E. Climate Information
a. Evapo-‐transpiration
i. Rainfall, yearly and monthly averages
ii. Humidity, yearly and monthly averages
iii. Wind, prevailing and monthly average
iv. Temperature, monthly maximum, minimum, average
b. Frost-‐ average and extreme first and last dates
c. Spring bloom sequence
d. Leaf fall sequence
e. Insolation, number of sunny and cloudy days
f. Heating and cooling degree days (for solar applications)
F. Physical Characteristics
a. Elevation
b. Slope
i. Erosion potential
ii. Air drainage
iii. Water table’s distance from surface
iv. Pollution sources and impacts
G. Soil Survey
a. Clay, sand and silt content
b. Structure
c. Organic matter content
d. pH
e. Nutrients-‐ nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, trace minerals, etc
H. Ecology
a. People impacts-‐ foot traffic, views from and to neighbors, and sounds
b. Animals-‐ gophers, deer, moles, other varmints
c. Pests
d. Diseases
I. Personal Considerations
a. Aesthetic preferences-‐ favorite plants, colors, fragrances
b. Allergies
c. Fear of insects-‐ especially wasps and bees
d. Leisure time for maintenance
e. Budget for installation and maintenance
f. Diet and taste favorites
g. Privacy form sound and light (END KOURIK)
EXAMPLES OF PHYSICAL, BILOGICAL AND CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES THAT MAY
BE MAPPED AT THE SITE SCALE
A. Physical
a. Soils
i. Bearing capacity
ii. Porosity
iii. Stability
iv. Erodibility
v. Fertility
vi. Acidity (pH)
b. Topography
i. Elevation
ii. Slope
iii. Aspect
c. Hydrology
i. Surface drainage
ii. Water chemistry (e.g. salinity, nitrates, phosphates)
iii. Depth to seasonal water table
iv. Aquifer recharge areas
v. Seeps and springs
d. Geology
i. Landforms
ii. Seismic hazards
iii. Depth to bedrock
e. Climate
i. Solar access
ii. Winds (i.e. prevailing and winter)
iii. Fog pockets
B. Biological
a. Vegetation
i. Plant communities
ii. Specimen trees
iii. Invasive species
b. Wildlife
i. Endangered or threatened species habitats
C. Cultural
a. Land use
i. Prior land use
ii. Land use on adjoining properties
b. Legal
i. Political boundaries
ii. Land ownership
iii. Land use regulations
iv. Easements and deed restrictions
c. Utilities
i. Sanitary sewer
ii. Storm sewer
iii. Electric
iv. Gas
v. Water
vi. Telecommunications
d. Circulation
i. Street function (e.g. arterial, collector)
ii. Traffic volume
e. Historic
i. Building and landmarks
ii. Archaeological sites
f. Sensory
i. Visibility
ii. Visual quality
iii. Noise
iv. Odors
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Responsibilities:
• Estimating project costs from site-‐gathered data or finalized landscape plans.
• Schedule development for Projects.
• Daily scheduling, logistics, and coordination of crews/personnel, and
subcontractors on multiple simultaneous projects.
• Management and ongoing implementation.
• Clear & effective communication with Site Foremen, Design Team, and Office
Staff of project expectations, standards, and timelines.
• Daily punch list generation based on real-‐time site conditions/progress.
• Daily collection & submission of job-‐cost data, crew labor hours, and job
progress actuals.
• Excellent client relations & communication skills are a requirement of this
position.
• Safety program development.
Project management is the art of directing and coordinating human and material
resources throughout the lifecycle of a project by using modern management
techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality and
participation satisfaction.
Construction project management may be defined more specifically as “the process
of coordinating the skill and labor of personnel using machines and materials to
form the materials into a desired structure.” Construction operations involve
planning, designing facilities, and supervising construction. Related items are the
procurement of materials and equipment and the use of personnel.
Project management in architecture and construction encompasses a set of goals
that may be accomplished by implementing a series of operations subject to
resource constraints. There are potential conflicts and management challenges
between the goals with regard to scope, cost, time, and quality, and the constraints
imposed by workers, materials and financial resources.
• Planning
• Organizing
• Staffing
• Directing
• Controlling
Much of the construction manager’s job is characterized by the plans to be
constructed. If they are detailed, if they are workable, if the project manager has the
authority to undertake them and understands what is expected, then the
construction manager will require little of anything else from either the owner or
constructor. The core of the construction project manager’s job in planning is
decision-‐ making, based on investigation rather than on snap judgment.
The key to successful planning is establishing the construction objectives of what to
do, where to place emphasis, and how to accomplish project goals. It is critical when
planning to make assumptions based on facts. For example: weather predictions are
based on past weather data; or policies for observing national holidays are expected
to continue. These are forecast data and basic policies that apply to the future.
• Develop project objectives, goals and strategies
• Develop project work breakdown structure
• Develop precedence diagrams to establish logical relationship of project
activities and milestones
• Develop time-‐based schedule for the project based on the time precedence
diagram
• Plan for resource support of the project
Organizing Function
The organizing function determines and enumerates the activities required
to complete the project, groups these activities, assigns the groups, and
delegates authority to carry them out.
Staffing Function
Staffing is finding the right person for the job.
A simple universal list of steps in the staffing function include:
• Determine project team member needs
• Assess factors that motivate people to do their best work
• Provide appropriate counseling and mentoring as required
• Establish rewards program for project team members
• Conduct initial study of impact of motivation on productivity
Directing Function
The management function of directing involves guiding and supervising
subordinates to improve work methods. The project manager must have a
thorough knowledge of the organization’s structure, the interrelation of
activities and personnel, and their capabilities.
A simple universal list of steps in the directing function include:
• Establish “limits” of authority for decision making for the allocation of
project
resources
• Develop leadership style
• Enhance interpersonal skills
• Prepare plan for increasing participative management techniques in
managing the project team
• Develop consensus decision-‐making techniques for the project team
Controlling Function
The key to development of a good control process is the preliminary
planning, detail planning, and the execution. A simple universal list of steps
in the controlling function include:
• Establish cost, schedule and technical performance standards for the
project
• Prepare plans for the means to evaluate project progress
• Establish a project management information system for the project
• Prepare a project review strategy
• Evaluate project progress
