aps
The Blog
Articles
Authored and curated articles about home and workplace designs, healthy buildings, environmental equity, regeneration, and other related topics.
An Analysis of the Effects of Toxic Textiles on Humans and the Environment
Toxic textiles can have significant negative effects on both humans and the environment. These effects arise from the production, use, and disposal of textiles that contain hazardous substances. Here's an analysis of the impact of toxic textiles: Human Health Effects...
Dear Darkening Ground
Dear darkening ground,you’ve endured so patiently the walls we’ve built,please give the cities one more hourand grant the churches and cloisters two,And those that labor —maybe you’ll let their workgrip them for another five hours, or sevenbefore you become forest...
“We cannot design just to please our clients anymore” – Yasmeen Lari
Architects must stop waiting for commissions from wealthy clients and prioritise designing for the planet, says RIBA Royal Gold Medal winner Yasmeen Lari in this exclusive interview. Speaking to Dezeen from her home in Pakistan, Lari said she hopes her Royal Institute...
Indoor Air Quality 101
INTRODUCTION When making the case for green buildings, in regard to the economics, one of the key arguments is that green buildings create a better indoor environment. A better indoor environment results in higher productivity and improved economic performance based...
Climate Change and Nature Based Solutions
Daily I read articles from LinkedIn posts that provide invaluable information. I learned quickly how important it is for me to be able to capture some of this information in a way that allows me to "go back" and reference information. That is the purpose of this...
The Value of Interior Environmental Quality
What is the greatest cost to a building owner? The answer is the people in the building, everything from salaries to benefits. A happy employee is a productive employee, and a healthy employee is a productive employee. That affects the economic bottom line. What are...
7 Ingredients to Simple Design
I’ve found that some of the best and most beautiful designs are simple and understated. This approach to design can be easy on the budget, your time and your well-being, Try these 7 Steps to design for simplicity and serenity.
What is Mindfulness
Mindfulness is not thinking, interpreting, or evaluating; it is an awareness of perception. It is a nonjudgmental quality of mind which does not anticipate the future or reflect back on the past. Any activity can be done with mindfulness. Talking on the telephone,...
Design for Wellbeing
New concepts in interior spaces are emerging as rapidly as the technology we use to work within them. We continue to research and understand the impact of or interiors on our health and well-being. We spend roughly 90% of our time indoors, disconnected often from what...
Mindful Mondays
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of what we are doing, thinking and feeling and not become overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is going on around us. - Mindful.org Several months ago, I assumed responsibility for leading...
7 Inspiring Traits of Compassionate Leadership
The driving forces of exceptional leadership are desire, self-awareness and, most important, compassion. Effective leadership cannot prevail under negative circumstances such as putdowns, dishonesty, demands, frustration, denigration, manipulation, fear or micromanagement.
Another Type of Morning
We all do it! We wake up in the morning thinking about what we need to accomplish in the hours ahead of us. Or we mull over the details of what happened to us the day before – good and bad. It’s the kids, or an ailing parent, or bills that need to get paid. It’s an inconsiderate manager or coworker, or a nagging headache.