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Interior Design Studio - Sustainable Design

Unit Code: HDINT311HK




Duration

Contact Hours

Campus

Prerequisite

Corequisite

1 Semester

36 Hours per Semester

External Venue

Competence in a 3D modelling package such as Autocad, 3D Studio Max, or Solidworks.

Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points

Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Bachelor of Design (Interior Design) offered at City U, Hong Kong.

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Aims & Objectives:

This unit aims to introduce students to the concept of sustainability and to the principles of ecologically sustainable design. Sustainability and ecologically sustainable design (ESD) will be examined through both a lecture series and a series of studio-based activated organized around the development of the student’s own design project.
At the completion of this unit students should be able to:
  • Interpret and document sustainability scholarship relevant to the design problem-context, ie. sustainability and ecologically sustainable design (ESD) scholarship;
  • Analyse project specific opportunities based on ESD / sustainability scholarship and apply as relevant to an individual project;
  • Examine, re-examine and elaborate the ESD implications of the questions identified (above) within the student’s own design project;
  • Communicate the their own research / project work both visually and verbally, through presentations and peer discussions;
  • Develop a design project that responds to the sustainability issues explored, and coherently demonstrates an understanding of the implications of that design in this context.  

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Teaching Methods:

This unit will be primarily conducted through project-based studio learning with ongoing project development and assessment tasks. This unit of study will be a combined second and third year studio and will facilitate ongoing peer-based learning and discussion across year levels. A number of ESD practitioners and other relevant experts will contribute to the lecture series, workshop and panel reviews.

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Assessment:

Note: Percentage weightings are indicative. See Unit Briefs for full assessment details.

Part 1: Research Project 40%
Part 2: Design Project 40%
Part 3: Contribution Group Activities 20%


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Generic Skills Outcomes:

Swinburne University works to produce higher education graduates who are capable in their chosen profession.  Learners bring to Swinburne a diverse wealth of experiences and graduate with individual understandings, abilities and attitudes.
Within this context the unit aims to provide students with the following attributes:
  • Are capable in their chosen professional, vocational or study areas;
  • Are aware of local and international environments in which they will be contributing;
  • Operate effectively and ethically in work and community situations.      

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Content:

The following topics will be considered / discussed throughout the semester:
  • Principles of sustainability;
  • Environmental degradation & environmentalism;
  • Sustainability & design practice;
  • Consumption and the environmental impacts of consumption;
  • Living within ecological limits;
  • Social effects of the environmental crisis & design practice;
  • Ecological sustainable design (ESD) – models & methodologies;
  • Sustainable design strategies – applying ESD techniques to a design project;
  • Communicating design project outcomes.

Throughout the unit, students will engage in:
• Reviews of ongoing work;
• Team or individual exercises (in class);
• Site visits;
• Panel reviews;
• Presentations;
• Peer support and critique.

Preparation requirements
Projects will be conducted within a studio-based learning environment on a work-in-progress basis. Studio-based learning requires the active participation of all students both individually and in group-based activities.

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Reading Materials:

Beder, S (1996) The Nature of Sustainable Development. Newham, VIC: Scribe Publications.
Dresner, S (2002) 'What Does ‘Sustainable Development’ Mean?', Chapter 5 in Simon Dresner, The Principles of Sustainability. London: Earthscan.
Lowe, I (2005) 'Achieving a Sustainable Future', Chapter 12 in Goldie, J, Douglas, B & Furnass, B (Eds). In Search of Sustainability. Collingwood, VIC: CSIRO.
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) From One Earth to One World, in WCED. Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yencken, D & Wilkinson, D (2000) 'The Physical and Global Context', Chapter 2 in Resetting the Compass. Collingwood, VIC: CSIRO Publishing.
Degraff, J, Naylor, TH & Wann, D (2002) What is Affluenza?, Introduction to Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic. San Fransico / London: Berrett Koehler / MacGraw Hill.
Hamilton, C (2005) Affluenza: When Too Much is Never Enough. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Princen, T, Maniates, M & Conca, K (Eds) (2002) Confronting Consumption. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Redclift, M (1996) 'Metabolising Nature', Chapter 6 in Wasted: Counting the Costs of Global Consumption. London: Earthscan Publications.
Ecologically Sustainable Design: From ‘Small is Beautiful’ to “Cradle to’
Buchanan, P (2005) 'The Ten Shades', in Ten Shades of Green: Architecture and the Natural World. New York: Architectural League of New York / W.W.Norton.
European Commission, et al. (1999) The Green Building, Chapter 1 in A Green Vitruvius: Principles and Practice of Sustainable Architectural Design. London: James & James.
Papanek, V (1995) The Green Imperative: Ecology and Ethics in Design and Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson.
Phillips, C (2003) Sustainable Place: A Place of Sustainable Development. Chichester / Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Academy.
Porteous, C (2002) 'Spirit of the Age', Chapter 11 in The New eco-Architecture: Alternatives from the Modern Movement. New York: Spon Press.
Portoghesi, P (2000) 'Nature and Architecture', Chapter 1 in Nature and Architecture. Milan: Skira.
Sassi, P (2005) Strategies for Sustainable Architecture. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Todd, N & Tood, J (1994) 'Emerging Precepts of Biological Design', Chapter 3 in From Eco-cities to Living Machines: Principles of Ecological Design. Berkeley, CL.: North Atlantic Books.
Steele, J (2005) 'Constant Determinants of an Ecological Aesthetic', Chapter 1 in Ecological Architecture: A Critical History. London: Thames & Hudson.
 

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