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'Sustainability yes, but not at any cost'
Barry Broekhuijse, passionate designer.

'Sustainability yes, but not at any cost'

It is now more than clear that our generation faces enormous challenges. The ultimate goal of the challenges ahead is that future generations can continue to enjoy all that the earth has to offer. For this reason, sustainability is receiving increasing attention, including in the design discipline. But to focus exclusively on sustainability does not do the discipline justice. Design consists of so much more than that.

As a designer, I specialize in designing high-end housing. I like to take my time for this, as a designer, but certainly also in the contact I have with the client. Several years ago I was asked to design a house in a special location: a beautifully situated green plot in a place with history and a distinctive architecture that fits in with the ribbon development around a picturesque village.

During the first meeting with the clients, it turned out that they were not so much looking for a design to fit into the environment, but for sustainability. For almost every designer today, sustainability is self-evident. Yet it does not align with my view that the end result is solely a result of the sum of sustainable choices.

Partly for this reason, I did not engage with the clients. The contract ended up going to an agency with a large, green sign on its facade. That was guided by sustainable thinking and fully realized the clients' wishes. Nothing wrong with that perhaps, but the result is that on this beautiful location with elegant houses from the '20s and '30s a Finnish-looking wooden hut has appeared, with a roof of plastic slates to the ground. In short, a design that does not fit in with its surroundings.

The question then arises for me whether this house is really that sustainable. Doesn't it hurt our eyes in this characteristic environment? Do we want to keep looking at it or will it be demolished after 25 years for this very reason? With all its consequences, because even a circularly built house leaves an ecological footprint when dismantled or modified.

Of course it is good to build and design with sustainability in mind, but that should not be a license to jettison other design aspects. In our penchant for sustainability, we sometimes forget that form, environment and vision are also essential components of our profession. I would therefore argue that as designers we should jointly ensure that we do not lose sight of the importance of beauty. Only in this way can we prevent future generations from being saddled with the misconstructions we have made in connection with the challenges of our time.

Barry Broekhuijse, passionate designer of high-end villas with an eye for detail, quality and premium materials.

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