An Evolution of Sustainable Aesthetics

This paper will reflect on an exploration of the aesthetical influence of the sustainable architecture discourse from a historical and contemporary perspective. It aims to understand the link between different sustainable architecture movements, their labels, implications and subsequent aesthetics. This paper is framed within the understanding that while sustainable architecture has showcased ethical technology, it lacks the holistic aesthetic language needed for the discipline to progress. A discussion of literature concerning sustainability, architecture, and aesthetics, articulating the particularly overlapping relationships between these three discourses initiates this paper. This analysis is then compared with a study of the sustainable architecture discourse after the 1960s. This analysis is conducted to outline the progression of not only theoretical advances and philosophical grounding but also their aesthetical influence both on alternative architecture and the everyday. In continuation, a visual analysis of selected case studies, both historical and contemporary analyses visually what different theoretical concepts are implemented into different design aesthetics. Initial findings emphasise the importance of understanding the origins and implications of sustainable design choices. By understanding sustainable theoretical groundings and their associated aesthetics, there is an opportunity for a new ethical and aesthetical dimension to emerge.