Hearst Considers the Future of Eco-Conscious Living

quotWhat39s at stake is the erasure of American historyquot said ChiThien CT Nguyen Chair of Preservation Design at Savannah College of Art and Design SCAD during a panel titled quotPreservation A Solution Toward Better EcoConscious Livingquot It was moderated by Steele Marcoux Editor in Chief of Veranda magazine quotOur work is about ensuring that these places stand in perpetuity If you take all of the aspects of historic significance out of the structure just the fact that we39re reusing the building is climate actionquotSCAD is living these principals on its different campuses quotAll of our buildings used to be something elsequot Nguyen explained quotGlobally we39ve reused 100 buildings including 60 buildings here in Savannah We didn39t cordon off a section of the city and build new We spread it throughout the city That allows the public to come in and interact with our resources It39s about inviting the public and the community in to touch the artwork It39s about letting people interact with history and resources instead of setting it on a pedestal for viewingquotquotPreservation is climate actionquot added Nakita Reed an associate at sustainable architecture firm Quinn Evans and host of the Tangible Remnants podcast quotBuildings leave tangible remnants if you will of the pastquotIssues of preservation particularly affect African Americans and people of color said Brent Leggs Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund quotPreservation at its core is realestate development and entrepreneurship It39s about how you build a viable plan to sustain heritage architecture and culture and how do we direct these strategies to Black and BIPOC Black Indigenous and people of color communitiesquotThe African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is currently working on several projects intended to preserve African American history In Akron Ohio the fund is creating a public park and memorial for activist and onetime slave Sojourner Truth who delivered her famous quotAin39t I a Womanquot speech in Akron in 1851 quotWe39re creating this public park that intersects culture and nature and community in a new and creative wayquot Leggs said quotPreservation is a form of activision and social justice It helps society to manage change that does not disconnect its work from the legacy of the pastquotAccording to Leggs the fund is also creating a public park and memorial in Dix Hills NY around the home of jazz legend John Coltrane and his wife Alice where the saxophonist wrote his famous album quotA Love SupremequotBy connecting these historic sites to historical figures and stories people are more able to understand the issues at stake quotThe definition of humanizing heritage is the idea of making it accessiblequot Nguyen asserted quotThe most important definition of humanization is empathy Preservation is not just about tangible assetsamp160 It39s also about being storytellers and preserving the culture the heritage and the stories It39s about preserving the soulquotLater in the day Elle Decor Editor in Chief Asad Syrkett moderated a panel titled quotMaterial World How We39ll Build Our Sustainable Futurequot which took the idea of preserving buildings and brought it inside to include sustainable furniture materials cleaning products and clothesquotEducation is important in bringing change to the design industryquot said Luam Melake Senior Researcher of the Healthy Materials Lab and Donghia Healthier Materials Library at Parsons School of Design quotThe problems that come with climate change are made worse by the lack of awareness about the issues It39s such an emotional problem so it39s about taking the emotion out of it and breaking it down for people There are so many problems but here are some actionable solutionsquot Among them avoiding plastics including vinyl and acrylic paint investing in sustainable furniture and clothing even though it may be more expensive and using natural materials in place of synthetics wherever possible Western consumers also need to be aware of how their habit of buying and discarding affect people all around the worldquotPeople in the global south contribute almost nothing to the climate crisis but are the most impacted by itquot said Beatrice Galilee CoFounder and Executive Director of The World Around quotThere are clothes strewn over the mountains in Chile that were discarded and then bought by the Chilean government They didn39t fit into a landfill and ended up strewn across these mountains There39s a lack of accountability for production that reaches all levels of designquotTo combat the problem of too many disposable goods sustainable office furniture producer Humanscale works to build products that will last quotWe offer a 15year warranty on our products and we replace individual components as part of that if they wear outquot said Jane Abernethy Chief Sustainability Officer at Humanscale quotWe also do a lot of work to make sure these products last and look good after many years of usequotGalilee is inspired by designers who are creating buildings using only local sustainable products such as Mariam Kamara who built a mosque in Niger using three materials gathered from within a 12mile radius quotWe need to ask ourselves how we can build but also invest in learningquot she said quotWe need to teach people how to build and design so that the results are products that are nurturing and supporting and not just shiny and extracted I do feel hopeful when I hear these conversationsquotClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet

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Hearst Considers the Future of Eco-Conscious Living

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Paige Albiniak

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