Sustainable Student Project Comes to Life: An Interview with Sara Alway
by Craig Schlanser
February 2008There's no shortage of information on sustainable design. But accessible and concise information? That's another story. As part of a class project, Sara Alway, a graduate student at Tyler School of Art, designed a handy set of booklets for the eco-conscious homeowner. In this interview, Sara discusses the challenges of designing "green" and how her project was picked up by a local business.
Craig Walk me through, if you would, the objective of this project.
Sara Currently, environmental issues are being discussed in every venue. The public is encouraged to use more environmentally-friendly products, and in the construction business, architects are exposed to new products that are energy efficient, made from recycled materials and are environmentally sustainable. Unfortunately, the typical homeowner does not have access to these resources. The goal of my project, "Green Cards", is to give the residential homeowner a clear and concise resource for green building products. The homeowner can use a specific book that pertains to a small project, or refer to the whole set for an entirely green home.
Craig How did your project go from being a class assignment to something actually used by a company?
Sara During my research I came across a copy of Philadelphia Weekly's "Green Issue" which featured a new store in Old City called Greenable. I contacted the owner of the store, Angelo Anastasio, hoping that he could give me advice on green building materials. Soon, Angelo and his team were helping me find pricing for products, allowing me to have mini photo-shoots in the store and giving me samples. When I unveiled my finished project to the team at Greenable, the response was amazing. They were extremely excited about the information it provided and suggested they produce Green Card sets in their store for their customers.
Craig What other resources did you use to learn about your topic?
Sara Because environmental activism is so popular right now, there were endless resources for green-building. I found several websites targeted towards consumers for specific products, books that approached green-living and green-building as a theory, and magazines that specifically targeted green-remodeling. When I was finishing the project I decided to include all these resources in the booklets to allow the consumer to research more on their own. In the end it was even more apparent to me that someone needed to pull all this information together and make it digestible for the typical homeowner.
Craig When I hear the name "Green Cards", I can't help but think of immigration. Were you ever concerned that the name could be a distraction?
Sara While I was aware of the association with immigration, I was more invested with the use of the word "green" as an environmental reference. I don't think anyone thinks of immigration when they see my product. It's more of a reference than a defining phrase.
Craig One of the things that I liked about your project was how you described the strengths and weaknesses of using a particular material or approach. Why did you chose to present the information this way?
Sara I firmly believe that homeowners would be going green much faster if the information they needed was presented in a simple and digestible fashion. We make our choices by looking at the consequences; we shop for products the same way. If I purchased a t-shirt produced from a sweatshop and was told the benefits and drawbacks of doing so, I could weigh the consequences. When you research a specific product, the fabricator or salesperson only tells you about the benefits of their product--you need to find the drawbacks elsewhere. In fact, not all of the products featured in Green Cards are made from recycled or sustainable materials, but some of the products contain superior energy efficiency which makes the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
Craig What qualifies as a sustainable material in your account?
Sara The word "sustainable" means that the material regenerates in a tangible amount of time and can be maintained at a certain level indefinitely. Petroleum products, for example, are made from a material that requires millions of years to regenerate and will soon disappear. Wood products, however, if harvested conscientiously, can regenerate every several years. Choosing sustainable materials decreases our dependency on non-renewable resources and encourages us to work with what we have.
Craig Tell me about the materials you used in the project itself.
Sara The ten booklets included in Green Cards set are made of Epson paper. I struggled with keeping the paper waste to a minimum. I even chastised my mentor on the project, Scott Laserow, for pointing out widows and missing periods that required me to reprint. The packaging box is made of Kirei board, which is manufactured from reclaimed agricultural fiber from the Sorghum plant. The manufacturing plant is even on the agricultural grounds, which reduces shipping time and energy consumption. The store, Greenable, kindly donated the Kirei board for my project.
Craig What do you imagine are the biggest obstacles as far as people using sustainable materials in their homes?
Sara The public is not informed about their choices in building supplies. The typical consumer depends on Home Depot and Lowe's to tell them what products to buy. There are a lot of misconceptions about sustainable and/or green materials, one is that they cost more than the conventional product. Currently there are green products on the market that are comparable in price, provide better energy efficiency, a healthier living environment, as well as a better environment for their community. The public just needs to be aware of their choices, Green Cards educates the consumer with concise information, clear design and provides resources for further investigation.
Craig Do you think doing this project will affect your future work, and if so, how?
Sara The project has already infiltrated my decision making: I purchase recycled
paper products, non-harming cleaning products and every week I try to get the
Philadelphia trash collectors to NOT dump my recyclables in with the garbage. I
also bombard anyone I know that's working on a building project, including my
father, with information about alternative products. I currently rent an apartment,
but when it's time to purchase a home of my own, the problem won't be finding
sustainable building materials, it will be deciding which ones to use.
I want to thank Scott Laserow, Angelo Anastasio and the team at Greenable for all
their help.
ABOUT THE SUBJECT: Sara Alway is currently attending the Master's program in Graphic and Interactive Design at Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Originally from Western Washington, Alway has been employed as an environmental graphic designer and has worked on several LEED certified buildings with architectural clients.
