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Sustainable Design - A Synergy Between Human Habitation, and the Natural World

Published on
Feb 19, 2021
Written by
Brooke English
Published by
Edited by
Lannii Layke

Javier Senosiain is a Mexican architect known for designing organic architecture. He is renowned for his identifiable approach to organic architecture that you have likely spotted on Pinterest or Instagram. His personal style represents an abundance of natural light, free air circulation, in addition to using the earth and the grass as a roof protecting his ‘Green Dunes’ from excess sun, wind, and hail, all while providing a garden rooftop. Senosiain’s initial idea of the Green Dunes emulates a peanut shell, turning it into a sustainable home. To me, a house with no corners feels like a big hug.

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Senosian’s work participates within the philosophy of architecture that promotes a synergy between human habitation and the natural world. This is achieved through his design objectives that aim to be sympathetic to Mother Nature, and to allow the Earth to come first by integrating the site into nature; As opposed to the conventional approach to design. This produces a unified, interrelated composition of living and occupying space without disrupting the surrounding beauty. In addition, one of his spaces is available to rent on Airbnb - Oh to occupy space within such an expansive form of art!

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Companies such as Sustainable provide energy-efficient, natural based home solutions for home builders and renovators in the Toronto area. Paul Dowsett is the principal architect at Sustainable, and focuses on creating architecture for a healthier planet. Dowsett advocates for community engagement among equity-seeking groups of all backgrounds and abilities within Toronto. From sustainable solutions for heating/cooling, sustainable building materials, cross-ventilation, providing operable windows placed to draw hot air up and out in summer while also providing natural light, green roof, HRV/ERV, and radiant heating, Dowsett’s team at sustainable circles back to their main philosophy and practice, sustainability and design.

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Javier Senosiain and Paul Dowsett both have one thing in common; both of these industry professionals allow us to rethink the future of sustainable design. In order to drastically shift our attention to the climate crisis, new builds should be designed to comply with carbon neutral, high-performance energy efficiency standards as demonstrated by both Senosian and Dowsett.