This unit is part of the:

Master of Design (Industrial Design) 

Master of Design (Interior Design).

 

 

 

This unit will explore the nature of design practices and outcomes in a world of diminishing natural capital. It will provide students with the skills and knowledge to develop innovative sustainable design strategies and explore the development of sustainable outcomes that seek to analyse, determine and educate the end user.

This unit of study will introduce students to a range of design research and investigation strategies. Students will produce a self-initiated project brief as well as undertake a relevant literature and artefact review. Research will be couched within the broader theme of sustainable design and provide students with a range of strategies by which to develop design research methods.

This unit provides students with a framework by which studio and project work will continue to develop. The unit focuses on the development of core research skills that will have direct relevance to current design practice and design theory. Via research and investigation, students will learn to select specific design project outcomes from a range of studio themes.

Teaching is conducted in a student-centred studio environment, through lectures, group discussions, site visits, demonstrations and critiques. Students present their work to the group at the end of each project.

100% project work. Assessable work comprises discussed design deliverables, documented evidence of contextual research, concept development, design process and rationale, plus the appropriate application of software. Project briefs clearly define conceptual parameters, detailed design deliverables, assessment criteria, presentation formats and due dates but students are responsible for actively participating in this process to develop independently conceived projects and a sound understanding of assessment requirements. Formative feedback is given throughout the semester to allow students to develop their work for final submission. Assessment occurs at the end of the semester and is based on the submission of a body of research and a specified project brief.

At the completion of this unit students should be able to:

•      Conduct design research through literature and artefact review and apply these to a design proposal;
•      Use a range of analytical and research skills to facilitate the articulation of a design project;
•      Apply existing design research to a complex project brief;
•      Explore the relationship between a broader vision of research and design and social practice;
•      Articulate the investigative process and outcomes through concise, coherent and well-structured documentation, reports and presentations.

Birkeland, J, Design for sustainability: a sourcebook of integrated, eco-logical solutions, Earthscan Publications, Sterling, 2002.
Datschefski, E, The total beauty of sustainable materials, Rotovision, London, 2001.
Fraud-Luke, A, The Eco-design Handbook, Thames and Hudson, London, 2002.
McDonough, W. Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make things, North Point Press, 2002.
Mihelcic, J et al., Fundamentals of environmental engineering, John Wiley, New York, 1999.
Walker, S. Sustainable by Design: explorations in theory and Practice, Earthscan Publications, 2006.

Students may be given a reading list and ongoing readings for discussion over the course of the semester. These readings will constantly change to reflect the topics discussed in the Design Research Studio.