1. “Awaken” the students on the impacts that design makes on the health and welfare of the planet and the people who live and work in the communities they design.
2. Introduce students to the concepts, terminology and global issues of sustainability and green design.
3. Expand the thinking of students beyond their immediate environments and understand the global impact of the decision they make as future designers.
4. Help students understand the positive impacts they can make as designers on the health of our planet and the people who are impacted by our designs.
5. Encourage students to integrate concepts of sustainability into their design process from the inception of the design through the execution of the design development.
6. Increase awareness and sensitivity to timely environment & behavior issues and the impact on the design and maintenance of built environments.
   
   

1. “What has history taught us about how we treat the environment?”
2. “How do our cultural backgrounds affect our views about the environment?
3. “How do our environments reflect what we value as a society?”
4. “Why do designers need to be concerned about the impact on earth in their design decisions?”
   

Students are also asked to take the HEP-NEP (Human Exceptionist Paradigm/ New Environmental Paradigm) questionnaire (included in their reading) as developed by Dunlap and Van Liere (1978) to assess their current personal basic attitudes toward the environment. Since students fill out their own questionnaire in their personal reading materials, all responses are confidential, and they are not graded. The goal is not to put anyone on the spot regarding their current opinions, but to allow an opportunity for the student to reflect on their own current values.

The Planet Neighborhood series (1997)of three videos is introduced to the students through a review of the concepts and issues of sustainability at three levels of impact: the community, the workplace, and the home. The students are told to reflect on the case studies and examples showcased in the videos and directly relate the lessons applied as both a future designer and a consumer of goods and services.

The video series is introduced and a study guide distributed. Students are expected to answer the questions on the study guide based on the information covered in the day’s videos. After each video, students are randomly selected to share their answers and impressions to specific issues covered in the presentation and overall impressions are discussed.

After the last video, students are asked to re-take the HEP-NEP questionnaire and make a self-assessment as to any changes in their basic attitudes towards the environment. Students then form groups of three or four to complete an in-class exercise where they are asked to respond as a group to questions regarding sustainability and green design (see In-class Exercise No 5). The exercise is completed with a summary discussion that encourages students to share their ideas on how interior designers can make an impact on these issues with regard to material specification, energy efficiency, etc. Team answers are shared with the entire class and then submitted for a grade.

At the end of the semester, students form groups of five or six to discuss what they now consider to be important issues for design professionals. The team addresses two questions focused on the role of the designer in society and the societal obligations of professionals (see In-class Exercise No. 8 or 9). Team responses are shared with the entire class and all exercises are turned in for a graded evaluation. The final examination also tests students’ knowledge on the issues of environmental attitudes and sustainability. [See Evaluation Criteria]

1. 5 assigned readings to be completed prior to class.
2. Completion of the HEP-NEP questionnaire (before and after viewing videos) [Click here to see HEP-NEP questionaire]
3. In-class viewing of 3 videos
4. Completion of video study guide
5. In-class discussion to review concepts and presented ideas.
6. In-class Exercise completed in teams of 3-4.
7. Final In-class Exercise completed at the end of the semester in teams of 5-6.
   
   

1. Planet Neighborhood video series, production of WETA Washington, D.C. in cooperation with the National Academy of Engineering: Produced (1997) by Larry Klein; Video 1: Community, Video 2: Work, Video 3: Home. (These videos can be obtained by contacting Bullfrog Films at http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/pn.html)
   
2. TV / VCR
   
3. Room (of suitable class size) with flexible furniture and that can be rearranged for working/ discussion groups of 3-4 students each.
   
   

Student learning outcomes are evaluated by responses to in-class exercises and selected questions on both the comprehensive mid-term and final examinations.

1. The first part of this unit is structured to help students understand their current value systems and impact these values have on their current behavior. Students are asked to record their HEP-NEP scores before and after viewing the videos and class discussion and then respond the following question: “Would you say that your values about the earth and the need to sustain our environment have changed as a result of the videos and discussions on green design? Why or Why not?” These responses are not graded, but indicators of the impact and lessons learned can be seen from the responses (See Exemplars of Student Outcomes).
   
   
2. In-Class Exercise No. 5 is evaluated on the student’s ability to synthesis the information covered in the readings, discussions, and video presentations. The goal is to develop students’ ability to connect seemingly unrelated issues and to foster creative problem solving. Each question of the exercise presents an issue to the students for reflection and discussion. Responses are evaluated upon the student’s ability to articulate the problem and then present possible answers that correctly apply the concepts of sustainability and identify multiple variables involved in considering the solution. It is also expected that students use the appropriate terminology learned through readings, lectures and class discussions in their answers.
   
   
3. The final in-class exercise (In-Class Exercise No. 8 or 9) is evaluated on the depth and breadth of the response and the student’s ability to integrate the various topics covered throughout the class. For example, in response to the question “After having completed this course, what is your position on the role the design profession plays in serving society?” a student that responds with an answer that links the importance of understanding a client’s needs as well as the impact of a design on the general public and the importance of educating clients on the appropriate use of materials to conserve resources would score higher than a student who simply answers “interior designers must use ‘green design’ in their projects.”
   
   
4. The mid-term and final examination provides an opportunity to test specific terminology and concepts of sustainability. The following are selected examples of test questions used in the comprehensive final examination:
   
   
   1. True or False: A large proportion of landfill waste is from construction materials (True)
   2. True or False: Up to 50% of the garbage that we throw away is recyclable (True)
   3. Each of the videos on environmental attitudes highlighted issues and project across the US that was focused on ways to reduce waste and preserve our natural resources. In each of the videos, who makes the biggest impact on these goals for change?
      1. Consumers who buy products and materials (this is the correct answer)
      2. Designers with a commitment to the environment
      3. Government agencies
      4. Manufacturers
      5. Construction industry
   4. A product that is designed and developed for a specific use and then is disposed of and not reused again is considered…?
      1. Environmental sustainability
      2. Cradle-to-cradle life cycling
      3. Down cycling
      4. Cradle-to-grave life cycling (this is the correct answer)
      5. None of the above
         
         

The goal of the unit is to have a lasting impact on the students and be evident in future application to their designs without being a specified “requirement” of the project. Therefore, another identifiable outcome of the unit can be seen in the application of these concepts into the design process in student work in future studios. Although not a specific criteria for the design concept for a small commercial space, 10 out of 24 second semester sophomore students (42%) incorporated some issue of green design into their project design. All of these students had previously completed this course during the Fall 2000 semester. [Click here for assignment sheet and student examples]