Interior designers require advanced sustainable strategies beyond the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to expand their ecological accountability. Biomimicry is a biology inspired design (BID) methodology that is integrating into U.S. interior design (ID) curricula. This thesis research aims to identify the extent to which biomimicry is taught in Canadian post-secondary ID programs. Through a mixed-methodology research design, this study explored the strategies and lessons learned from North America interior design educators teaching biomimicry. Integrating a science-based problem-solving methodology into design education requires a transition strategy that includes both high-tech and low-tech teaching tools. This study discusses avenues to heighten biomimicry awareness, for Canadian educators, and addresses the challenges that weaving a complex multidisciplinary topic into interior design pedagogy will bring. Future research regarding biomimicry applications from interior design learner and practitioner perspectives would complement this study, and inform biology inspired design curricula development. / February 2016

Partindo do pressuposto de que o ato de projetar deve se ajustar às transformações sociais e conceituais contemporâneas e aos novos requisitos advindos da busca pelo desenvolvimento sustentável, este trabalho realizou estudo sobre as características e princípios do projeto sustentável em arquitetura e construção. Estabeleceu como hipótese que a combinação da tradição e da inovação (voltada para tecnologia limpa) pode contribuir para que os projetos tenham como finalidade a sustentabilidade. O estudo, de abordagem qualitativa e multidisciplinar, apresentou um panorama sobre a sustentabilidade nos campos de conhecimento da arquitetura e da construção, com dados coletados através de pesquisa bibliográfica, com a utilização de pressupostos da pesquisa antropológica e dos estudos de caso. A tese revelou que a arquitetura e construção sustentável contempla várias dimensões e que o processo para sua concretização é diferenciado, incorporando novas variáveis e apresentando vários desafios e perspectivas. Tanto a tradição (antigos saberes) como a inovação (novos saberes) podem fornecer lições e referenciais que rompam com as práticas usuais em arquitetura e construção e possibilitar a eleição de alternativas mais sustentáveis para os edifícios e assentamentos humanos, uma vez que propiciam uma melhor adequação ao meio natural e cultural, às necessidades e potencialidades locais e às necessidades e exigência dos usuários. Os achados da tese se propõem a integrar o conhecimento acumulado sobre o tema, na expectativa de que as conclusões alcançadas, mesmo se constituindo em um olhar sobre a realidade específica, possam ser úteis para a teoria e a prática de projetos sustentáveis em arquitetura e construção, contribuindo, assim, para a criação de habitats mais humanos. / Considering the assumption that the design act should respond to social and conceptual contemporary changes and the new requirements of achieving sustainability, this work studied characteristics and principles of sustainable design in architecture and construction. The hypothesis established by this study was that the combination between tradition and innovation (looking for an alternative technology) can contribute for sustainable design. This was a qualitative and multidisciplinary study and presented a panorama on sustainability in architecture and construction knowledge fields, with updated from the literature added with contributions from the anthropologic sciences and including a case study. The thesis showed that sustainable architecture and construction requires the consideration of many dimensions and the process for their materialization is differentiated, incorporating new variables and presenting many challenges and perspectives. Both, tradition (old knowledge) and innovation (new knowledge) can contribute with lessons and references that break up with the usual practices in architecture and construction and make possible the election of more sustainable alternatives for buildings and human environments, since they are more suited to value social and cultural aspects and the environment, to better exploit local potentialities and supply user’s needs. The thesis findings intend to integrate the accumulated knowledge on the theme, in the expectation that the conclusions, even if restricted to a specific point of view, can be a useful addition to the theory and the practice of sustainable architecture and construction, thus contributing for the creation of more human habitats.

The thesis is focused on the construction of cartographic systems not only as a tool for environmental representation, but also for shaping practices, values, technologies, and cultural narratives around sustainable development of human landscapes in non- Western contexts. Cartographic theory is employed to question existing mapping techniques, especially in relation to documenting sustainable development. The thesis investigates the merging of technology, science and art in the process of making maps and explores the possibility to represent several spheres of reality in cartographic elements. Representation concepts and methodologies were tested around the Mexican settlement of Ciudad Obregon, within the bioregion of the Gulf of California. Parts of the agendas for sustainable development revised stimulate the collection of dreams, images, and fantasies about non-Western human agglomerations and their ecosystems, critically informing sustainable narratives framed in other contexts. The works reviewed reveal an absence of complex cartographic and visual systems, portraying instead emerging landscapes in growing economies as exotic, mysterious, folkloric, chaotic, less developed, and in need of corrective study and supervision from a Western viewpoint. Interpretive, visual, and technological instrumentations were utilized with the aim of constructing a cartographic system that exposes dynamics of sustainable development in emerging settlements. The methodological scheme considers a series of associations between quantitative and qualitative approaches, employing eighteen dialectical negotiations in the representation of six ecologies. The outcome was a hybrid system of representation concerning bi-dimensional maps, photography, and chronicles from local newspapers. Two fieldtrips to Mexico were completed in 2012 and 2013, visiting and studying eighteen human agglomerations in total. The outcomes (measured and gathered data, perceptions, bibliography, photographs, and cartographic evidences) of both fieldtrips were linked to the hypothesis previously outlined in the literature review. The methodological structure was influenced by the cartographic representation interpretation of the biosphere of Ciudad Obregon and its natural ecosystems. On the other hand, the cartographic representation-interpretation of different networks resulted in the study of polymorphous infrastructures that facilitate the flow of goods, capital and people throughout the same territory. The correlation of the research interrogates the paradigmatic challenges of the ‘network society’ in developing contexts. It questions the notion that human settlements develop sophisticated infrastructure networks, selectively connecting together the most favoured users and places, linking valuable segments and discarding irrelevant habitats, locales and people. As the cartographic and visual evidences gathered by this research suggest, these commodity landscapes allow terrestrial and aerial flow of physical and knowledge resources (food, water, gasoline, telecommunications, transport, information, services, waste) in granulated and disseminated environments of buildings and networks, materializing a palimpsest of infrastructures. The research finds that the assessment of social, cultural, and environmental sustainability in emerging and dispersed landscapes requires an adjacent design of cartographic and visual frameworks that represent the complexity found in developing locations.

Partindo do pressuposto de que o ato de projetar deve se ajustar às transformações sociais e conceituais contemporâneas e aos novos requisitos advindos da busca pelo desenvolvimento sustentável, este trabalho realizou estudo sobre as características e princípios do projeto sustentável em arquitetura e construção. Estabeleceu como hipótese que a combinação da tradição e da inovação (voltada para tecnologia limpa) pode contribuir para que os projetos tenham como finalidade a sustentabilidade. O estudo, de abordagem qualitativa e multidisciplinar, apresentou um panorama sobre a sustentabilidade nos campos de conhecimento da arquitetura e da construção, com dados coletados através de pesquisa bibliográfica, com a utilização de pressupostos da pesquisa antropológica e dos estudos de caso. A tese revelou que a arquitetura e construção sustentável contempla várias dimensões e que o processo para sua concretização é diferenciado, incorporando novas variáveis e apresentando vários desafios e perspectivas. Tanto a tradição (antigos saberes) como a inovação (novos saberes) podem fornecer lições e referenciais que rompam com as práticas usuais em arquitetura e construção e possibilitar a eleição de alternativas mais sustentáveis para os edifícios e assentamentos humanos, uma vez que propiciam uma melhor adequação ao meio natural e cultural, às necessidades e potencialidades locais e às necessidades e exigência dos usuários. Os achados da tese se propõem a integrar o conhecimento acumulado sobre o tema, na expectativa de que as conclusões alcançadas, mesmo se constituindo em um olhar sobre a realidade específica, possam ser úteis para a teoria e a prática de projetos sustentáveis em arquitetura e construção, contribuindo, assim, para a criação de habitats mais humanos. / Considering the assumption that the design act should respond to social and conceptual contemporary changes and the new requirements of achieving sustainability, this work studied characteristics and principles of sustainable design in architecture and construction. The hypothesis established by this study was that the combination between tradition and innovation (looking for an alternative technology) can contribute for sustainable design. This was a qualitative and multidisciplinary study and presented a panorama on sustainability in architecture and construction knowledge fields, with updated from the literature added with contributions from the anthropologic sciences and including a case study. The thesis showed that sustainable architecture and construction requires the consideration of many dimensions and the process for their materialization is differentiated, incorporating new variables and presenting many challenges and perspectives. Both, tradition (old knowledge) and innovation (new knowledge) can contribute with lessons and references that break up with the usual practices in architecture and construction and make possible the election of more sustainable alternatives for buildings and human environments, since they are more suited to value social and cultural aspects and the environment, to better exploit local potentialities and supply user’s needs. The thesis findings intend to integrate the accumulated knowledge on the theme, in the expectation that the conclusions, even if restricted to a specific point of view, can be a useful addition to the theory and the practice of sustainable architecture and construction, thus contributing for the creation of more human habitats.

Thesis (MTech (Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / This research study investigates the level of awareness of, and engagement with Design for Sustainability (DfS) among three categories of actors within the Cape Town communication design fraternity: design educators, design students and design professionals. It focuses specifically on the degree of application of DfS within three selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Cape Town, while also interrogating the local industry’s need for students who are knowledgeable and skilled in this subject. To successfully practice DfS, communication designers need to be responsive to the possible environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of their work. This study argues for the early incorporation of principles of sustainability into communication design curricula in order to promote the uptake of DfS. An extensive review of literature facilitates the showcasing of practical examples of how communication designers can positively address sustainability through their design solutions. Further, it also unpacks the barriers and solutions to integrating DfS into both education and practice. The study employs a qualitative research approach. Using purposive sampling, rich data is gathered from the key informants through focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Activity Theory is used as an analytical lens through which to examine the dynamics between the three different actors who are involved in the activities of teaching, learning and practicing DfS in communication design. The findings identify major gaps in the teaching of DfS as the subject is typically considered to be applicable to environmental issues. There is also limited understanding of how to practically apply principles of sustainability. Along with proposing appropriate strategies and tools to enrich the education around DfS in a more holistic manner, the study highlights the need for proactive re-curriculation so as to effectively sensitise students to the responsibility of communication designers to tackle sustainability issues. A set of adaptable guidelines is proffered as a way of making DfS more accessible to students while training them to channel their unique skill set and enhance attributes of agility and resilience in preparation for professional practice and an ever changing world. Educators are seen as playing the most crucial role in effecting the proposed guidelines because they interface with both students and industry; as well as straddle the critical domains of research, pedagogy and professional praxis. Additionally, this study recommends establishing more robust, responsive and meaningful connections between academia and industry in order to develop contextually relevant industry standards that will promote and advance DfS best practice among the Cape Town communication design fraternity.

Partindo do pressuposto de que o ato de projetar deve se ajustar às transformações sociais e conceituais contemporâneas e aos novos requisitos advindos da busca pelo desenvolvimento sustentável, este trabalho realizou estudo sobre as características e princípios do projeto sustentável em arquitetura e construção. Estabeleceu como hipótese que a combinação da tradição e da inovação (voltada para tecnologia limpa) pode contribuir para que os projetos tenham como finalidade a sustentabilidade. O estudo, de abordagem qualitativa e multidisciplinar, apresentou um panorama sobre a sustentabilidade nos campos de conhecimento da arquitetura e da construção, com dados coletados através de pesquisa bibliográfica, com a utilização de pressupostos da pesquisa antropológica e dos estudos de caso. A tese revelou que a arquitetura e construção sustentável contempla várias dimensões e que o processo para sua concretização é diferenciado, incorporando novas variáveis e apresentando vários desafios e perspectivas. Tanto a tradição (antigos saberes) como a inovação (novos saberes) podem fornecer lições e referenciais que rompam com as práticas usuais em arquitetura e construção e possibilitar a eleição de alternativas mais sustentáveis para os edifícios e assentamentos humanos, uma vez que propiciam uma melhor adequação ao meio natural e cultural, às necessidades e potencialidades locais e às necessidades e exigência dos usuários. Os achados da tese se propõem a integrar o conhecimento acumulado sobre o tema, na expectativa de que as conclusões alcançadas, mesmo se constituindo em um olhar sobre a realidade específica, possam ser úteis para a teoria e a prática de projetos sustentáveis em arquitetura e construção, contribuindo, assim, para a criação de habitats mais humanos. / Considering the assumption that the design act should respond to social and conceptual contemporary changes and the new requirements of achieving sustainability, this work studied characteristics and principles of sustainable design in architecture and construction. The hypothesis established by this study was that the combination between tradition and innovation (looking for an alternative technology) can contribute for sustainable design. This was a qualitative and multidisciplinary study and presented a panorama on sustainability in architecture and construction knowledge fields, with updated from the literature added with contributions from the anthropologic sciences and including a case study. The thesis showed that sustainable architecture and construction requires the consideration of many dimensions and the process for their materialization is differentiated, incorporating new variables and presenting many challenges and perspectives. Both, tradition (old knowledge) and innovation (new knowledge) can contribute with lessons and references that break up with the usual practices in architecture and construction and make possible the election of more sustainable alternatives for buildings and human environments, since they are more suited to value social and cultural aspects and the environment, to better exploit local potentialities and supply user’s needs. The thesis findings intend to integrate the accumulated knowledge on the theme, in the expectation that the conclusions, even if restricted to a specific point of view, can be a useful addition to the theory and the practice of sustainable architecture and construction, thus contributing for the creation of more human habitats.

A causa primeira de nossa crise ambiental resulta de uma desconexão histórica entre natureza e civilização. O estado de nossas cidades tem raízes profundas nesta desconexão e a solução dos problemas urbanos requer uma ecologia das cidades, por onde a integração deve ocorrer de forma harmoniosa. Os mais recentes avanços em ecologia urbana introduzem os conceitos de resiliência, por onde o comando e controle são substituídos por uma gestão flexível, mais sensível à lógica inerente ao funcionamento de ecossistemas. As mais recentes tendências na busca por um urbanismo sustentável abrangem aspectos distintos que, pela perspectiva da resiliência, devem ser integrados. Por um lado, temos a necessidade de humanizar a cidade, por outro, a necessidade de integra-las aos ecossistemas naturais. A integração se realiza quando o desenvolvimento de uma comunidade sustentável se insere num contexto urbano onde natureza é infraestrutura, isto é, prestadora de serviços ecossistêmicos. Na geografia de São Paulo a hidrografia é a base física a partir da qual o sistema de infraestrutura verde deve se constituir. Adotamos a bacia hidrográfica do Córrego Água Preta, no bairro da Pompéia, como estudo de caso. A recuperação e naturalização do córrego implica na implementação de seu parque fluvial. Um urbanismo ecologicamente orientado, nas bordas deste parque, deve diluir a rigidez da fronteira entre parque e tecido urbano, de modo a possibilitar uma maior fluência dos processos naturais e humanos na totalidade do sistema. Neste processo, arquitetura e paisagem se fundem. / The first cause of our environmental crisis results from a historical disconnect between nature and civilization. The state of our cities has deep roots in this disconnect and the solution of urban problems requires a city ecology, where integration must occur in a harmonious way. The latest advances in urban ecology introduce the concepts of resilience, where command and control are replaced by flexible management, more sensitive to the logic inherent in the functioning of ecosystems. The latest trends in the quest for sustainable urbanism cover distinct aspects that, from the perspective of resilience, must be integrated. On the one hand, we need to humanize the city, on the other hand, the need to integrate them into natural ecosystems. The integration takes place when the development of a sustainable community is inserted in an urban context where nature is infrastructure, that is, provider of ecosystem services. In the geography of São Paulo hydrography is the physical base from which the green infrastructure system must be constituted. We adopted the water basin of Água Preta Stream, in the district of Pompéia, as a case study. The recovery and naturalization of the stream implies in the implementation of its river park. An ecologically oriented urbanism, on the edges of this park, should dilute the rigidity of the border between park and urban fabric, in order to allow a greater flow of natural and human processes throughout the system. In this process, architecture and landscape merge.

Pour répondre aux enjeux du développement durable, une transition systémique est nécessaire. Notre proposition est d’appliquer, au niveau de l’entreprise, des principes issus d’une approche hybride, entre forecasting (tendances) et principled backcasting. Ces principes proposent des lignes directrices pour chacune des cinq dimensions du développement durable (politique, territoire, Homme, environnement et économie). La méthode développée s’appuie sur le processus stratégique (analyse, choix et déploiement) pour intégrer des dimensions complémentaires dans la conception de produit à travers le réseau interne de création de valeur de l’entreprise étendue. Deux trajectoires ont étés explorées : l’intégration de l’environnement (cas d’études) et du territoire (théorie) dans la conception de produit grâce à l’innovation organisationnelle portée par le renouveau de la gouvernance stratégique et opérationnelle. Cette recherche interdisciplinaire pose les fondations pour le développement d’une méthode permettant de supporter la transition de l’entreprise industrielle vers le développement durable à 5 dimensions, par l’intégration dans le processus de conception de produit de dimensions jusqu’alors peu ou pas exploitées / System transition is required.to meet sustainability challenges. Our proposal is to apply general principles from a hybrid approach between forecasting (trends) and principled backcasting to industrial companies. These principles provide guidelines for each of the five dimensions of sustainability (political, territorial, social, environmental and economic). The developed method is based on the strategic process (analyze, choose, deploy) to include additional dimensions in the design of the product through the value constellation of the extended company. Two trajectories are explored: the integration of the environment (case studies) and the territory (theory) in product design through organizational innovation driven by the renewal of strategic and operational governance. This interdisciplinary research lays the foundation for the development of a method to support the transition of industrial companies towards the 5-dimensions sustainable development by integrating new dimensions hitherto little or no exploited in the product design process

The expression "no man is an island" is intended to represent human isolation in its most extreme form depicting man as an isolated body of land. Contrary to the statement, an element unnoticed within this expression frequently is the existence of that Island. The expression is intended as an example of articulating absolute isolation of the human in existence. However, the idea of the human being a location being the island is still declared. As humans who inhabit this earth, we cannot exist without space. There is an undeniable link between the spaces and the inhabitants within them. As a result of Modernity, the majority of the human inhabitants of the world exist throughout their entire lives within the Built Environment. The Built Environment holds an assortment of spaces that have been composed in order to accommodate our existence. A practice of engaging the composition of these spaces for human inhabitance is commonly what is known as Architectural Design. Spaces will continue to exist and Architecture is a mean of addressing the design of them. Understanding these spaces through their Concepts, Conditions, and Components allows for a classification of common spaces that exist within the Built Environment. The classification of these spaces within the Built Environment arrives at the mutual dialogue of the Built Environment Spatial Layers. The ever-demanding human population that is growing exponentially cause many ecological, economical, and social dilemmas through our modern interpretations of spaces composed within the Built Environment. Understanding the Built Environment through the Built Environment Spatial Layers allows for the acknowledged design surrounding these spaces that yield the greatest sustainability through energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impacts without denying the humanity of that concept.

This thesis introduces and critically reflects on a design programme, Storyforming, that explores ways to design objects and places to enrich daily life narratives. Using an experimental design approach, the goal is to exemplify and explore this idea with discursive artefacts that, through their physical and temporal form, act as catalysts in the construction of meaningful experiences. In the current sustainability discourse, behavioural change has been pointed out as a key factor in achieving a sustainable society. Historically, design has been very effective in increasing production and consumption behaviours by creating new types of needs and, in a way, manufacturing desire (Forty, 1986). Drawing on this, the overarching aim of this thesis is the investigation of the ways design, through a suggested programme, can afford alternative types of meaningful experiences in contrast to the prevailing consumer culture. The empirical work reported in the thesis stems from several research projects looking into the matter of energy use in relation to design. In addition, two of the projects have been carried out in the author’s own design practice. Some concepts are explored more in-depth—involving events such as field studies, situated interviews, workshops, prototype building, design interventions in the form of domestication probes, and contextual studies ranging from a few weeks up to a year—while other concepts exist only as sketches or photo montages. The diversity of these concepts, the design experiments, helps span a design space becoming a new provisional design programme. The idea for this programme has evolved from observations and reflections made throughout the experiments presented in the thesis. The general results are the suggested approach of Storyforming, which focuses on the design of artefacts supporting daily narratives that can be used to create engagement, meaning, and alternative values applicable to the discourse of sustainable behaviour. Specific contributions are the selection of design experiments. In the thesis, the experiments have first been examined from the perspective of stories and forming as a basis for the new programme formulation. Through this articulation of the programme, the experiments are revisited through three leitmotifs, part of the provisional programme focusing on different properties related to the aspect of forming. From the perspective of the user, these themes—seeing and accessing designs, exploring and expressing complexity, and sharing experiences and negotiating use—are finally elaborated on in relation to other theoretical concepts as well as their implications for future research. / <p>QC 20140825</p>