An Arts & Crafts Experiment in Sustainable Architecture: Exploring Parallels for Inspiration and Experimentation

Abstract

Assuming that there are parallels between Arts and Crafts architecture and sustainable architecture, these parallels should inspire experimentation when creating regional forms of sustainable architecture. An analysis of these parallels presents the design approaches of each type of architecture in the first two sections of this study. Arts and Crafts architecture is taken as the point of origin, and a discussion of sustainable architecture follows. The study includes a summary of the historical context which helped form both sets of ideals in architecture, as well as the important characters who practiced & shaped these ideals. Within the major categories of design approaches presented as parallels, architectural examples and historical background information highlight how these design approaches are embodied within the buildings and designs from each period.The third section studies these parallels in a regional context -the Southwestern U.S., and, in particular, Tucson, Arizona. It describes the context and a brief history of the region and the city itself. Its goal is to present a clearer understanding of the physical, cultural, and architectural forces that should shape any regional approach to sustainable arts and crafts architecture in Tucson.The final section presents the design of a residential house in Tucson as a series of 2- demensional, 8x11 illustrated pages. The process as represented herein can be thought of as the embodied energy of a search for information and inspiration. Ideally, this process of inquiry, design and construction will help to solve some of the environmental problems which face the residents of Tucson, the Southwestern U.S., the country and even the world today and into the future.It is hoped that the establishment of these parallels will highlight an historical precedent for the development of regional, sustainable, and beautiful, small scale residential architecture in the future. It is hoped that the final outcome of this research will contribute to improving the well -being of its occupants and of its site. Ideally, the design process, as documented, will also reflect the artistic ideals and beauty which both the Arts and Crafts movement and the belief in sustainable devlopment share and search for with respect to architecture.