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.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 and… Continue 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 university… Continue 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
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