Course Description
This course focuses on exploring the relationship between environmental challenges, design, and innovation, while simultaneously introducing students to systems thinking as a fundamental approach for understanding complex ecological, social, technological, and cultural interdependencies. The core pillars of the course are the concepts of biodesign, which examines design involving living systems, biological processes, and bio-based materials, and geodesign, which approaches design with an emphasis on place, spatial analysis, and the use of environmental data.
Through theoretical frameworks, case studies, and applied exercises, students examine principles of sustainability, circular economy, regenerative design, and climate-change resilience. Particular emphasis is placed on the ethical, social, and cultural dimensions of environmental design, such as environmental justice, the importance of local knowledge, and the critical evaluation of techno-centric solutions.
The course concludes with the development of an applied design project, through which students formulate well-documented proposals for sustainable and regenerative innovation.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Knowledge
- The systemic relationships between environmental challenges, design, and innovation, including ecological, social, technological, and cultural interdependencies.
- Core concepts and theoretical frameworks of biodesign and geodesign, as well as principles of sustainability, circular economy, regenerative design, and climate-change resilience.
- Ethical, social, and cultural dimensions of environmental design, including environmental justice, the role of local knowledge, and critiques of techno-centric approaches.
Skills
- Apply systems thinking to analyze complex environmental design problems across multiple scales and contexts.
- Use principles and methods of biodesign and geodesign to develop place-based, data-informed, and environmentally responsible design proposals.
- Critically assess environmental design solutions using sustainability criteria, ethical considerations, and evidence from relevant literature and case studies.
Competencies
- Design and communicate well-substantiated proposals for sustainable and regenerative innovation in response to environmental challenges.
- Integrate interdisciplinary perspectives and stakeholder considerations into environmental design processes.
- Demonstrate responsible professional judgment and autonomy in addressing complex environmental and design-related problems.
Key Topics Covered
- Environmental challenges, sustainability, and innovation
- Systems thinking and complexity in environmental design
- Biodesign and geodesign approaches
- Regenerative design, circular economy, and climate resilience
- Ethical, social, and cultural dimensions of environmental design
- Applied, place-based design projects and case studies