Introduction to Ecological Design Thinking

Ecology operates across scales and boundaries imposed by social and political systems. However, in the past, large-scale ecological patterns were often overlooked in architecture and spatial planning due to the centralized nature of industrial manufacturing and its labor systems. Recognizing that ecologically conscious practices are crucial for creating socially equitable and materially resilient futures, it's essential to deepen our understanding of design-centric approaches to the built environment through innovative architectural research and its role in environmental stewardship.

This graduate-level seminar provides an overview of scholarly, design, and research-based approaches addressing ecology, technology and climate change in architecture and urban design. In this seminar, students explore and critically assess contemporary sustainability paradigms in the built environment from various disciplinary perspectives, including history, theory, technology, engineering, material science, art and design. The course includes a series of lectures, readings and weekly assignments aimed at fostering an interdisciplinary understanding and impact of contemporary innovations in computing, advanced manufacturing and material circularity across scales of the built environment. The main focus is placed on strategies integrating large-scale ecology into the design of constructed environments.