University of Santo Tomas

College of Fine Arts and Design

The Impact of Sustainable Design of Home Offices to Filipino Interior Designers

Gan, Jeannie Lauren

2 ID-1

The Impact of Sustainable Design of Home Offices to Filipino Interior Designers

Client Profile:
Gelo Del Mundo is a talented Filipino interior designer, and has extensive experience in
residential, commercial, office, and hospitality interiors.
After attendance at the University of Asia and the Pacific with a degree in
Entrepreneurial Management, and a passion for interiors and architecture, he pursued further
education at the Philippine School of Interior Design. As a student in PSID, he was president of
the graduating batch that mounted the highly successful exhibit "Kontempo Pilipino" in 2009.
Prior to setting up his own design firm, Gelo was a junior designer at Design HQ and
was part of the design team that worked on Bloomfield Hotel in Baguio and the landmark project
Aqua Boracay by YOO in Boracay Island.
Gelo is the grand prize winner of the country's biggest Design Competition, Metrobank
Art and Design Excellence (MADE) 2011 Interior Design Category and a recipient of the PSID
Alumni Association Outstanding Achievement Award. MyHome Magazine named him Designer
of the Month (March, 2013) and was one of PIID's featured designers of Worldbex 2013.
Now heading MONDO, a design studio that is client centered and explores various
design styles. Being involved in almost 100 projects and featured in countless publications, Gelo
is poised to make a mark in the Philippine design scene.
Design Rationale:
Indoor spaces have a crucial impact on environment; whereas, People spend 90% of
their time indoors with pollutant levels may be 2-5 times higher than outdoor levels (Kubba,
2010). In addition, the energy consumption of the buildings that interior designers often work
within represents the biggest threat to climate change in the built environment. The other
changes are generating a significant quantity of waste, using for some time toxic materials that
associate with high created pollution, unconsidered planning causing depletion of resources.
The MONDO design studio caters to the mission and vision of sustainable and green
architecture. The design studio primarily consists of 4 co-workers with Gelo Del Mundo as the
principal designer. The design of the studio leans towards an environmentally responsible
design by using renewable materials such as bamboo and rattan. The designer used blue and

green as the main color scheme, offering the home office calm and stress free environment.
Also, the designer incorporated plants to stimulate the creativity of the workers. The chosen
pieces of furniture used are functional and easy to access.
The design studio would make use of low table partition to promote interaction among
the occupants. In addition the printer and the photocopy machine are located near the working
area for accessibility. In the executive room the executive table and chair is located directly in
front of its entry for the concerns of the workers to be addressed immediately. On the other hand
a lounge area was placed to accommodate the other waiting occupants that will enter the
executive room. The utilization of natural lighting creates a productive environment for the
users. Using easy clean and manageable materials lessening the maintenance needed for the
area.
Background of the Study:
Sustainability has emerged as a call for design in which it can inspire a new
environmental innovation because of its effects on most aspects of life (OSHA, 2011). Indoor
spaces, where 90% of our time is spent, are a key term; hence, they have the majority of
environmental impact (Moxon, 2011).
Interior designers might have an effective role in the choice of materials, achieving lowenergy systems, and improving the indoor quality. The quest to achieve a sustainable indoor
environment is necessary. Surprisingly, interior designers start to recognize the ecological
problems despite ignoring sustainable practicing. (OSHA, 2011)
In recent years interior design practice has seen a dramatic shift with design strategies
that now focus on providing healthy and sustainable environments for individuals to live, work
and play in. Society is beginning to recognize the interconnectedness of buildings, people and
community in the creation of an environmentally responsible built environment; clients are
beginning to understand their role and impact on the environment. As a result they are seeking
interiors that demonstrate environmentally responsible, sustainable design.
According to a previous WGBC (World Green Building Council, 2013) report published
last year which researched the health benefits of sustainable buildings, workers in green offices
experience less stress, better health and are more are more productive.

Furthermore, interior design decisions can no longer be made based on aesthetics and
functionality. Designers now have a responsibility to create indoor environments that reflect
environmental awareness, environmental protection and the sustainability of the building itself.
Very few resources are available that can aid an interior designer to design in an
environmentally responsible way.
Moreover by using sustainable design, it wont only help the environment but it can also
increase the productivity of the workers. Therefore the designer chose a greener approach for
the home office of her interior designer client Gelo Del Mundo.
Statement of the Problem:
What are the impacts of sustainable workspace to interior designers?
How will sustainable design establish a stress free environment?
How will sustainable design increase the productivity of the workers?
What is the relevance of sustainability to interior design?
Design Objectives:

To determine the impact of sustainable workspace to interior designers.

To know methods on how can sustainable design establish a stress free environment
To determine ways on how sustainable design increase the productivity of the workers
To gain knowledge on the relevance of sustainability to interior design

References:
Keane, O.(2009). Sustainable Commercial Interior Design. Masters Dissertation. Dublin Institute
of Technology.
The Business Case for Green Building. (2013). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from
http://www.worldgbc.org/files/1513/6608/0674/Business_Case_For_Green_Building_Report_W
EB_2013-04-11.pdf
OSHA 2011. Indoor Air Quality in Commercial and Institutional Buildings. U.S:
department of labor
MOXON, S. 2012. Sustainability in interior design, London Laurence King Publishing

KUBBA, S. 2010. Chapter 5 - Design Strategies and the Green Design Process. LEED
Practices, Certification, and Accreditation Handbook. Boston: ButterworthHeinemann.