We Just Can’t Help Ourselves!

When it comes to creating beautiful, practical and functional spaces for work or play, there has to be an element of change. It’s the one constant in our lives… things change.

Within the building industry or more specifically the ‘fitout’ of a building, this is where we see, sense and feel the difference. Designers are increasingly pushing boundaries and creating inspiring places of work that make us feel a sense of connection. Check out the stunning urban design that evokes a sense of difference and individuality in the images below.

Contrast this with a typical council building, only 1 years ago and the difference is stark...

The council building lacks visual appeal and doesn't stimulate your senses or emotions when compared to the stylish, modern urban space. It is austere and flat. You won't mention to your peers that you were in this particularly cool place since the walls were covered with live moss and hot pink neon LED lights, etc.

So what? Why highlight an obvious contrast between the old and new or those with big or small budgets?...

… Because change is inevitable, persistent, and often seems unstoppable. In a free liberal, progressive and capitalist society we are conditioned to seek out the difference, the new, the novel and the next best thing. We cannot help ourselves because the framework of living in a consumer lead society means we’re perpetually bombarded to ‘not stand still’. We seem to need to be moving, pushing, developing ourselves and our work spaces for tomorrow and beyond. The world turns constantly and so do we.

Ok… but again… so what?...

… Because change means out with the old and in with the new… it was ever thus! This means we’re in an eternal conflict between our need to change and our need to live sustainably. As the old adage has us believe, imagine there are a pair of tigers fighting one another… change on the left, sustainable living on the right. Who wins the fight? Well, the one you feed of course.

Feeding change is easy, we’re conditioned every day to do it. But who is feeding sustainable living? Even with climate change breaking weather records almost every year across the world, it doesn’t stop or slow down our deep desire to change or experience new environments to work in, live in, play in.

The point of this musing? Surely there is some positive change that is both healthy for us and the planet.

I'm not certain. A designer or architect can provide you a lot of good examples of what has to be altered to make a building more cosy, functional, and pleasant to be in. As a result of technological advancements in every field, materials today are superior than they were fifty years ago, making the seemingly impossible, possible.

The irony is palpable… In order to live sustainably you need to design spaces where energy usage is minimised and the impact on the environment is reduced.

In other words, new technologies and breakthrough materials will always be discovered, which means that we will never stop modifying and discarding our surroundings, which is in direct contrast to sustainable living. So, while I could put a good spin on it and argue that we can build a more sustainable life for ourselves, I think that would be incredibly foolish since, as history reminds us, it always was this way.

Too dismal a conclusion, perhaps? So, the bare minimum we can do to give ourselves a chance is to send in a third tiger. This third tiger will serve as a referee and intervene if one tiger is eating more than their fair share or being too dominant.

Its name? I call it ‘Libra.’

It’s job is to fight for the balance so our desire for change doesn’t overwhelm our need to live more sustainably.