AESTHETICS AND ENERGY How Aesthetics Impact Energy Efficiency

AESTHETICS AND ENERGY How Aesthetics Impact Energy Efficiency and Conservation By Dawn Lee

• “. . . aesthetic experience of the world at large is seemingly very different from the aesthetic experience of art. In the former case, unlike the latter, appreciators are confronted by, if not intimately and totally immersed in, objects of appreciation that impinge upon all their senses, are constantly in motion, are limited in neither time nor space and are of a non-predetermined nature and meaning. Appreciators are within and among objects of appreciation and their risk is to achieve aesthetic appreciation of those objects. Moreover, appreciation must seemingly be achieved without the aid of frames, the guidance of artistic traditions or the direction of artists and their designs. ” – Environmental Aesthetician Allen Carlson

Overview • What is Aesthetics? • Aesthetics in Human Culture • The “Art of Living” • Skilled Consumption • Underconsumption of Energy Efficient Methods • Quality of Life • Aesthetics of Ecology • Examples of Aesthetics in Energy Efficiency/Conservation • • Wind Energy Solar Power Historical Preservation Transportation • Further Questions/Issues

What is Aesthetics? • Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, with the creation and appreciation of beauty • It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste • Applied Aesthetics is the application of the branch of philosophy of aesthetics to cultural constructs • Some examples that may be applicable to energy efficiency • Architecture and Interior Design • Industrial Design • Urban Life • Functional Aesthetics is based on an appreciation for and satisfaction with the practical function or functional requirements • This is oftentimes viewed as a completely separate from traditional aesthetics, but there is actually more overlap between the two spheres

The Importance of Aesthetics in Human Culture • Creative activity and artistic expression are the most evident marks of culture • Some anthropologists argue that the universality of artistic behavior suggest that aesthetic expression and appreciation are inherent to our species • Lance Hosey argues that embedded in concepts of ecology and sustainability is an aesthetic mandate- an imperative toward beauty, pleasure, and joy

The Barn at Fallingwater • Energy Efficient Methods: • Geothermal heat pump for heating and cooling needs • Sensors that shut off lights when a room is empty and when sunlight is sufficient to light a room • The facility recycles gray water • It also employs low fixtures that allow it to use less water to perform the same tasks • This barn in western Pennsylvania lies on land adjacent to Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Fallingwater house (a structure acclaimed for its artistic appeal and use of the natural landscape) • In keeping with Fallingwater's brilliant integration of nature and civilization, the Western Pennsylvania Conservatory (WPC) uses the barn as a both a forum and example for visitors to learn about green building • Originally built in the 19 th century, the WPC had the barn renovated to become sustainable as a way to reflect their mission to connect the community to nature

The Art of Living: The Behavior of People in Developed Economies • “… a stationary condition of capital and population implies no stationary state of human improvement. There would be as much scope as ever for all kinds of mental culture, and moral and social progress; as much room for improving the Art of Living, and much more likelihood of its being improved, when minds ceased to be engrossed by the art of getting on. ” Principles of Political Economy with some of their Applications to Social Philosophy by J. S. Mill (7 th Ed. ) • What is “the Art of Living” (as opposed to “the art of getting on”)? • How do developed economies compare to developing economies? • What are the different priorities for each? • Hoes does this concept affect appeals to energy efficiency? • What are the methods most likely to succeed? • J. B. Schor argues that pushing for lifestyles based on environmental or moral grounds are less likely to change behavior than offering the alternative of a higher-quality life

The Art of Living: An Alternative View • Virginia Postrel offers an alternative view to the art of living • Rather than focusing on “the art of living” as an improvement to the quality of life, Postrel emphasizes that aesthetics are an inherent part of human culture and ever present in all stages of development • “Human beings do not wait for aesthetics until they have full stomachs and a roof that doesn’t leak… They do not pursue aesthetic needs ‘only when basic needs have been satisfied… Given a modicum of stability and sustenance, people enrich the look and feel of their lives through ritual, personal adornment, and decorated objects. Poor people create the body decoration that illustrates National Geographic. Poor people built the cathedrals of Europe and developed the sand paintings of Tibet. Poor people turned baskets and pottery into decorative art. Poor people invented paints and dyes, jewelry and cosmetics. . These artifacts do not reflect societies focused only on ‘lower-order’ needs. Aesthetics is not a luxury, but a universal human desire. ”

Skilled Consumption (T. Scitovsky) • Consumption is an inevitable and ongoing everyday process • Scitovsky maintained that the problem of material overconsumption is rooted in the lack of skilled consumption • Acquiring consumption skills in part requires motivating operations • What is skilled consumption? • Without acquisition of consumption skills, people generally fall into a pattern of engaging in resource-intensive work to consume resourceintensive material goods • What are some motivating operations that may help people to acquire adequate consumption skills? • How does a concern for aesthetics affect such motivating operations? • What about concerns regarding the quality of life? • How are these concerns interrelated?

Underconsumption of Energy Efficient Methods • Although there a plethora of existing energy efficient methods available, there is a general underconsumption of such methods • Why does such underconsumption exist? • How prevalent are such methods in mainstream culture? • Is there a long term tangible value in these methods? (other than the actual energy efficiency itself) • E. g. , Is there resell value in an energy efficient home? • How do we increase the accessibility and effectiveness of such energy efficient methods?

Quality of Life • An improvement in the quality of day to day life is more likely to increase such consumption than merely an appeal to environmentalism (in the absence of immediate negative harm) • What is the difference between improvements to the quality of life and aesthetics? Is there an interconnection or overlap between the two concepts? • How do aesthetics impact the quality of day to day life? • Are aesthetics necessary for a certain standard of living? • Look at the extremes: opulence on one end and barren on the other • Where do most people fall on this spectrum? The Cube House

“Earth Friendly” Aesthetic Clichés • Many attempts to merge style and sustainability have become aesthetic clichés- “earth friendly” should look “earthy” • • • Hemp shirts Rattan furniture Unbleached paper Wood-pulp walls Wheat-board cabinets • Forbes Magazine summed up such aesthetics in 2010: “Eco-fashion conjures up images of burlap sacks. ” • Many architects scornfully refer to conspicuously green buildings (scrap metal, solar panels, grass roofs, etc. ) as “green bling” Designer Burlap

“Green Bling”

Aesthetics of Ecology • Lance Hosey argues that sustainability should have style, but not become a style • Designers shouldn’t have an ecological aesthetic, but rather an Aesthetics of Ecology • A set of principles and mechanics for making design more responsive and responsible, environmentally, socially and economically • Would an aesthetic of ecology help to promote consumption of energy efficient methods? • Would people be more willing to consume such methods if such methods did not have a distinct “sustainable” or “green” style? • What about those people for whom such a style is desirable? • How is this style generally perceived? Is there a general like or dislike?

Wind Energy • What are the aesthetic properties of wind turbines (as they become part of a wholly new landscape)? • There is debate as to whether an obstruction to natural beauty is worth the power that such wind turbines generate • Appeals to functional aesthetics fail when addressing how a wind farm is destructive to the wholeness of the landscape- the deep aesthetic satisfaction of the land • Cape Wind project, Nantucket Bay, with its beaches and shoals and marine ecosystems, is a center of living activity • Industrially-produced structure seldom has this quality of being alive

Solar Power • Some people appreciate solar panels (in an unaltered form) either for what the panels represent or for their unique industrial beauty • However, for others, such panels are bulky, unattractive, or do not conform with HOA covenants • Alternatives to solar panels exist • Aesthetically Pleasing Options in Solar Power • Solar Shingles • Photovoltaic Slates • Solar Canopies

Historical Preservation • There can be a conflict between a push for energy efficiency in buildings and historical preservation • How can historically significant buildings be preserved while updating such buildings to conform to more modern energy efficiency standards? • Some solutions • Weatherization • Updating features with aesthetically pleasing (and/or historically accurate) fixtures Southminster Presbytarian Church

Transportation: The Prius • 2004 Prius • Prior to the 2004 Prius, efficient hybrids effectively hid beneath the hood. Essentially identical to other models, there was no unique design feature that was unique to hybrid vehicles • Although there was some criticism regarding the design of the 2004 Prius, it was the identifiable shape that helped to increase its marketability • Is this unique shape a bonus? Or is it preferable to drive a hybrid vehicle that is virtually undetectable (aesthetically)?

Transportation: Bicycles • An alternative to motor vehicles is the bicycle, particularly within cities where biking between destinations is feasible • Safety Considerations • While as there is increasing concern regarding the safety of motor vehicles (and policy enforcement- e. g. , seatbelt laws), bikers are unique in that they are overwhelmingly aware of the dangers of not wearing a helmet, but generally choose not to wear one • Are there personal aesthetic considerations regarding the wearing of a helmet? • The Invisible Bicycle Helmut

Further Questions/Issues • How do we create policy that can effectively address the underconsumption of existing energy efficient methods? • Can aesthetics play a role in devising such a policy? • What are some ways to change the behavioral patterns of societal underconsumption? • What are some motivating factors? • Should aesthetics be a “second thought”? Or vice versa- Should energy efficiency be a “second thought”? • Is it more important to pioneer energy efficient methods (without regard to aesthetics)? • Or should be only try to incorporate energy efficiency as an afterthought to aesthetic designs? • What about Hosey’s idea about the Aesthetics of Ecology? • Should aesthetics play a direct role in the design of energy efficient methods?

Have a BEAUTIFUL day!