WORKSHOP MODULE 1 | CLASS INTRODUCTION
Sustainable [Living] Design for the Anthropocene – A Whole New Practice.
“Design is where theory and practice meet … all design is either consciously or unconsciously an expression of our theories about the world – our culturally dominant worldview.
Our world view shapes our designs and our designs reinforce the worldview they were created in.
That is one of the reasons why we cannot solve today’s problems within the worldview that created these problems in the first place.”
Daniel Christian Wahl – Author of Designing Regenerative Cultures
THEORY + PRACTICE
[accordion multiopen=”true”] [toggle title=”A Theoretical Introduction to Arch 8516″ state=”opened”]Welcome to the Sustainable +Resilient Design Theory + Practice Workshops! This workshop series explores systems theory + applied systems thinking through the lens of Sustainable Living Design [Resilience, Regeneration, Sustainability, Inclusion and Wellbeing].
The systems thinking approach shared in these workshops is universal and it can be used to dramatically improve the design outcomes for all disciplines and any project or endeavor regardless of its scale, type, location or specific goals (Urban Planning + Design, Strategic Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interiors, Industrial Design, Engineering and more). Systems thinking, while valuable to any design pursuit, is fundamental and essential to all five major ecologically based design perspectives: regeneration, restoration, resilience, sustainability and wellness. It is revolutionary and it has the subtle power to transform design + the way we solve our problems.
The Class Purpose is to help you transform the way you work + think over the long run to be more inherently resilient, regenerative, restorative, sustainable and healthy. The Greater Purpose of this course is the radical transformation of practice to one that better serves the whole of life.
What is the General Content and Direction of this Workshop Series?
The series is designed to include both theory and practice in way that generally alternates back and forth from between modules, theory, practice and then back to theory; or is mixed together within each module. Author Daniel Christian Wahl outlines this perspective in his recent book Designing Regenerative Cultures stating that “Design is where theory and practice meet.“ Wahl goes on to explain the concept noting that “all design is either consciously or unconsciously an expression of our theories about the world – our culturally dominant worldview. Our world view shapes our designs and our designs reinforce the worldview they were created in. That is one of the reasons why we cannot solve today’s problems within the worldview that created these problems in the first place.”
You may find that the socio-ecological worldview presented by these workshops closely aligns with your current perspective and design approach or you may find it very different. It’s likely to be somewhere in-between. Regardless of where you are starting from; we hope you find the videos, reading and exercises to be informative and thought provoking. The theories and concepts offered in the course are viable at either the transformative level of thought and action or at the level of incremental action.
The workshops will focus on two interactive, symbiotic topics – Systems Thinking + Reductive Thinking
- Systems Thinking: We’ll kick-off the workshop series with an ecologically based perspective on design and and a quick, but deep dive into systems thinking. Applied systems thinking will then be explored through exercises your team project as the ‘systems thinking collateral.’
- Reductive Thinking: We’ll being using a number of Living Design indicators from LEED, RELi, Minnesota B3, Living Building Challenge and several others sources. These indicates are the ‘parts and pieces’ that make up ‘systems.’
We hope you enjoy the journey that’s been mapped. And we hope that it inspires + informs you to go further with your designs than you ever imagined.
In-Class Videos
Video: Welcome to the Anthropocene | Time: 3:38 Minutes
Welcome to the Anthropocene opened the UN’s Rio +20 Earth Summit in June of 2012. As listen to the video and ask yourself this question: If design is the professionalization of humanities native survival skills to create, adapt and shape the world around us, what does the Anthropocene mean for the role of design in society?