Sustainable Design Education:
Students take charge of creating a clean, green university
Nicola Bould
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Design history
Form & function
Human factors
Material selection
Introduction
Manufacturing
processes
Interaction between
user and product
Sustainable design?
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
The terms
‘sustainable design’
and ‘product design’
appear to be polar
opposites
Moggridge, 2007
How often do we judge designer objects on superficial values?
Comp
-rubbish
How do we believe we are cutting edge designers when we are producing consumer
products that are made using un-renewable resources, polluting processes or encourage unsustainable behaviour?
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Balance
Can product designers balance ‘desirable’ (appealing and engaging to
consumers) with ‘sustainable’ (environmentally acceptable and can
continue indefinitely)?
Charter & Tischner, 2001
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Design Brief
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Create a product,
system or service to
reduce waste
(paper, trash,
recyclables, organic,
energy or water)
which is useful,
usable, desirable and
sustainable.
To 27 students taking
full year papers:
DESI 301 Product
Design Two
In conjunction with
DETE 321 Professional
Design Project
Research
Research
Free exploration = student + digital camera
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Bibliographic search
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Field research
Understanding the problems and achievements of recycling
Audit of waste | Visit recycling centres | Meet experts in waste minimisation | Interview
peers, academic staff, general staff & cleaners
User observations = students observed fellow students and staff
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Design Outcomes
RetroCycle
Aluminium construction
clips onto the current bin
frames.
Three bin bags securely
attach to legs.
Retrofits existing bins
Bottle &
Can
Recycling
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Trash
Paper
Recycling
Design Outcomes
Tri-Cycle
Retro fits existing small bins
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Uses same symbols as RetroCycle
Design Outcomes
Located next to the library
Paper Tower
Paper stacks; covers trees. Aim is to
reduce amount of paper waste
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Poster/sticker campaign
advertises paper recycling
Design Outcomes
Plugs directly into computer
LED White Light
Brightness controlled
from desktop
Light goes blue when computer sleeps
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Info station on Leith Bridge
Design Outcomes
Bridge over Leith…
Users interacting with info station
Hydro Power
…becomes the home to the
Hydro Power Station
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
lowtec.furniture@gmail.com
One shape creates a multitude of
furniture
Design Outcomes
Lowtech Furniture
z stool
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Sustainable Product
Design
Useful considers the
point of view of the user
& queries if the product
does its job.
Useable questions
whether the product
fits the hand & mind of
the human being.
+ Sustainable ?
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Desirable determines
how appealing &
engaging the product is
to consumers.
cradle-to-grave
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
cradle-to-cradle
McDonough &
Braungart, 2002
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz z
Triple Bottom Line:
Economic prosperity,
Environmental quality
& Social justice
Sustainable Economy
Elkington, J. (2005). Cannibals with Forks:
The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century
Business. Connecticut, United States: New
Society Publishers.
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Better by Design,
Better by design
New Zealand
“Design for the Environment”
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
“Does design shape your enterprise?”
RMIT >> www.cfd.rmit.edu.au
Surrey >> www.cfsd.org.uk
Carnegie Mellon >>
Sustainable Design
Education
www.ce.cmu.edu/GreenDesign
www.io.tudelft.nl
www.innovationspace.org
www.lboro.ac.uk/
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Design Evaluation
The project promoted social
responsibility and
challenged student’s ideas
about both the design
process and their own
ethical considerations.
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
However…
Has the year provided
the students with enough
knowledge to ensure
they practise sustainable
solutions themselves?
Questionnaire
Questionnaire results
“The reason this started
was because one of our
lecturers, Nicola Bould,
got us to write a
submission for the
Dunedin City Council
waste strategy….”
Evans, 2007
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
lowtec.furniture@gmail.com
References
Charter, M., & Tishner, U.
(2001). Sustainable Solutions:
Developing Products and
Services for the Future.
Sheffield, England: Greenleaf
Publications.
Datschefski, E. (2001). The
Total Beauty of Sustainable
Products. England:
Rotovision.
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Evans, L. (2007). Dunedin
Designs. Organic NZ (Soil and
Health Association)
January/February.
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Flannery, T. (2005). The
Weather Makers: The
History and Future
Impact of Climate
Change. Melbourne,
Australia: The Text
Publishing Company
References
Gore, A. (2006). An
Inconvenient Truth. United
States: Rodale Books.
McDonough, W., & Braungart,
M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle:
Remaking the way we make
things. New York, United
States: North Point Press.
Nicola Bould | nicola@design.otago.ac.nz
Moggridge, B. (2007) Designing
Interactions. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Stern, N. (2006). Stern
Review on the Economics
of Climate Change.
Cambridge, England:
Cambridge University
Press.