Environmental Design Utilities

Environmental design is not a new concept. Broadly speaking, it describes any effort to integrate the artificial built environment with the surrounding natural world in a manner that preserves limited resources. The ancient Greeks and Romans, for example, incorporated the principles of environmental design into most of their houses: because wood was scarce in those regions, they determined that south-facing windows and doors would allow the maximum amount of solar energy absorption during wintertime and thus minimize the amount of firewood needed for heating.