Sustainable Design Principles

Sustainable design skills and attitudes

This course serves as an introduction to the design discipline through the lens of sustainability.  Though not comprehensive, the list below describes skills and attitudes that are essential to a successful sustainable design practice.  This list might serve as a useful guide for goal-setting, reflection, and assessment as you progress through your program of study.  

Integrative Literacy (systems thinking + creative thinking)

  • Able to identify elements, principles, relationships, patterns, and emergent properties for a given system
  • Fluent with systems thinking tools and terminology (time over change graph, diagrams, archetypes, habits, etc)
  • Fluency in analyzing interactions between system elements
  • Able to identify leverage points for change in a given system
  • Able to connect and synthesize different ideas
  • Generates novel approaches
  • Integrates divergent or contradictory perspectives
  • Recognizes consequences of different paths of action
  • Comfortable with risk

Ecological literacy (as related to formulating and using design principles)

  • Familiarity with the dynamics of geophysical systems and how they interact to support the community of life
  • Able to describe primary impacts of human industrial activity on the earth’s physical and biological systems
  • Able to describe how ecological design principles reflect our understanding of ecosystem dynamics
  • Familiarity with design constraint concepts such closed-loop manufacture and zero carbon/energy footprints
  • Demonstrates attitudes of stewardship for natural resources

Social Literacy

  • Able to describe differences in how industrial, traditional, and indigenous cultures interact with natural systems
  • Observes social and human responses to stimuli and considers how to access/mediate those responses through design practice
  • Understands social systems as analogous to ecosystems
  • Demonstrates attitudes of stewardship for human resources

Ethics and Values

  • Able to rationalize decisions in relation to values they reflect
  • Able to describe basic concepts behind sustainability-related value systems  (such as Permaculture values, triple bottom line, 3P’s, 3E’s, etc.)
  • Understands self as a participant in civic society in response to personal and cultural ethics and values
  • Articulates a personal set of guiding values

Design methodology (understanding/practice of design as a discipline)

  • Uses Design vocabulary when describing work (principles, elements, etc)
  • Refers to steps in the design process when describing work
    • Observation (opportunity)
    • Statement of problem
    • Statement of vision
    • Analysis of context
    • Research and information gathering
    • Ideation
    • Selecting/integrating/resolving ideas generated
    • Implementation
    • Assessment
    • Iteration

Design Frameworks

  • Familiar with differences and similarities between design frameworks (such as: Permaculture, Ecological design, Regenerative design, Natural step, Living Building, Biomimicry, Etc.)

Project management

  • Sets appropriate goals and objectives
  • Sets realistic timelines
  • Practices effective client relations
  • Maintains accurate records
  • Demonstrates a productive work ethic

Craftsmanship

  • Able to describe the physical characteristics of materials used and how they contribute to the success of the work
  • Demonstrates appropriate uses of materials
  • Practices stewardship of resources
  • Considers aesthetics on a continual basis
  • Develops an appropriate skill level for effective practice

Best Practices

  • Familiar with current literature and seminal designers and authors
  • Able to connect individual work to exemplary models and examples

Visual and Verbal Communication and Presentation Skills

  • Proficiency with 2-d and 3-d modeling for both ideation and presentation
  • Effective speaking/writing and visual communication skills
  • Effective portfolio
    • Portfolio accurately represents the work product
    • Portfolio is organized and easy to navigate
    • Portfolio presents an individual creative voice

Productive Attitudes and Skills

  • Creative, visionary, innovative, engaged
  • Ability to listen, integrate perspectives, and work collaboratively
  • Ability to take on different roles to support collective activity
  • Intrinsically motivated – actively pursues individual learning goals
  • Persistent – able to constructively work past difficulties and disappointments
  • High standards – work reflects attention to detail and finish

Development of Voice – reflective thinking

  • Portfolio presents an individual expressive orientation
  • Portfolio presents clearly stated value, vision, and mission statements for work and practice
  • Able to outline a strategic plan for achieving goals appropriate to stated values, vision and mission
  • Awareness of “domains of practice”
  • Identifies at least one domain for individual work direction
  • Development of skills appropriate to at least one domain of practice
  • Presents appropriate qualifications for work direction
  • Connects individual practice to historical and cultural contexts
  • Identifies exemplars as models for individual practice