GreenLife: A Sustainable Retail Space

GreenLife is the name of the retail interior design project that embodies this thesis. Using interior design as a medium to influence customers,I sought to create an environment that promotes a connection to nature and an awareness of creative possiblities within the context of a store. It addresses the problem of personal social responsiblity by using shopping, a dominant activity in the western world, as a tool for change. As a project, GreenLife attempts to answer three questions: How does design inform cultural experience? How can a connection with nature inform consumerism? Can a store transcend its purpose from filling materialistic needs to become a place of fulfilment? I theorize that if offered a desireable alternative to products that create excess waste and harm our surroundings, an individual will choose the green option, because it will satisfy both a materialistic want and an emotional desire to feel good by personally contributing to help our environment. If these options are presented with a sense of beauty, fun and exploration, it can change how we culturally perceive social responsibility, removing guilt and making it a matter of course. GreenLife is a store designed as a model home with all products set up in a testable format. The interactive nature of the design is intended to provide education and a sense of security within a pleasureable experience, allowing people to confidently choose to live green in their own homes, and to thoughtfully consider the possiblities in other aspects of their lives.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Fine Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Interior Design

Year dc:date.available

2008

Author dc:creator

• Ledford, Veronica J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Camden Whitehead

• interior
• sustainable
• retai design
• Art and Design
• Arts and Humanities

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1124

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-2123