Visit my other book, Architecture & Design versus Consumerism online. In Amazon paperback & kindle.

Category Archives: basic principles

Let’s talk local

Many of us have probably assigned a “local materials” brief. I have a couple of these in my teaching guide. One focuses on having students work hyperlocally (10-mile radius) and the other focuses on the balance between local and global components. Global sources for the materials and processes in bluejeans Resources aren’t evenly distributed andContinue Reading

Crash course in eco-literacy

Eco-literacy, like numeracy and literacy, is the idea that we should all have a basic fluency in ecological ideas. We should have a sense of the ecological in personal and social life. how do the energy and materials we use connect to the ecosysems around us? With each passing year, I hoped that my universityContinue Reading

Multi-tasking design features

A hallmark of sustainable is a system where components serve more than one purpose.  This observation, whether treated as a question or a requirement, can be built into student projects of any design discipline, either as the basis for a design brief or of a critical essay. Here are a few examples to inspire discussion.Continue Reading

Subscribe

About

Join me on the first Thursday of the month for ideas, tips and inspiration for teaching and researching sutainable design. Sign up to get these posts in your inbox.