ABSTRACT
The metaphor of sustainability as a green braid conveys the crucial need for the integration of economic, cultural, and environmental sustainability. The braid’s strength is derived from its weaving of the multiple strands. None of them are nearly so effective on their own and the fraying of one weakens the whole. This metaphor clarifies the challenge to designers of synthesizing performance in these three areas and signifies a sea change away from design methodologies engineered to optimize performance of only a single variable. In theory, the three strands both enrich and constrain each other. However, their integration in practice raises numerous questions.
