SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS

PUFY_ 1100_2312_F

Spring 2025

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Anything we extract from the earth must ultimately go back into it. This course aims to create an emotional and intellectual connection with the lifeforms and environments which bear the burden of our choices. How can designers, artists and critical thinkers create and engage with objects, materials and systems in ways that are socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable? This course will begin to address this question through creative practice and scientificinquiry that shifts‘sustainability’ as an idea to away of thinking, making, and doing.

Sustainable Systems is organized around four major themes: Climate Change, Materials, Energy, and Water. Throughout the semester, we will examine these environmental issues as complex and   interrelated topics. Understanding them will enable us to address current social and justice issues in new ways. In this course you will study real conditions that are both local and global. Class activities will combine field trips, lectures, discussion, studio-based workshops, and lab experiments. Fieldwork and research from these activities will be developed into creative works that explore diversity, adaptability, and resilience in the face of ever-changing conditions.

Climate Change

Our current geological age, Anthropocene, is characterized by the Earth’sclimate changing at a rate faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization. It is scientifically proven that human activities have caused this climatic unbalance.

We are intertwined with the Earth’s natural systems, and climate change has already had a   wide range of social and economic impacts around the globe. What are the components of these natural systems? What are the feedback loops that connect each component? As designers and strategic thinkers, how do you design a resilient system for the Anthropocene age.

Materials

Our current industries and global consumption patterns are shortsighted and people- centric. They are designed as linear systems following the take-make-waste paradigm. This model assumes infinite resources. Yet, in reality, our resources are limited to our home: the Earth. Anything we extract from it must ultimately go back in.

To change this unsustainable extractive model, we need a paradigm shift. How can we design waste out of asystem? How can we design keeping materials in use? How can we design systems with positive feedback loops to regenerate natural systems?

Energy

Energy cannot be created or destroyed; instead,it transforms from one form to another.   Everything— animate or inanimate, natural or artificial —is a component of a larger energy system. All systems can be ultimately traced back to our main source of energy: the sun.

Not all energies are the same; some are low quality, such as heat energy, while others are high quality, such as electrical energy. Nevertheless, different types of energy are spent and wasted along each step of the extraction, production, and consumption processes. Therefore, each object is a storehouse of both material and energy.

In this class, you will learn about different energy types and systems. Why are some energy types considered renewable and others not? How can you design strategies to best match  the quality of the energy used? What are the design methods that best orchestrate energy flows?

Water

Water covers approximately 70% of the Earth's surface. With its incredible properties, water forms glaciers and oceans, and it acts as an atmospheric gas we can breathe. The Earth’s water cycle systems are essential for the survival of all lifeforms on Earth. Along the way, these complex systems create and sustain unique ecosystems.

This class maps out water systems and the impact of changing climate. You will learn the importance of designing for equitable water-supply distribution as well as issues surrounding water use, pollution, and waste patterns. How do you design a resilient and adaptive system that promotes well-being for all lifeforms? How do you design waste out of a water system?

SHARED CAPACITIES

This course satisfies the following shared capacities:

Workincomplexsystems

Flexibilityandresiliency

Ethicalreasoning

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the successful completion of this course, students will be able, at an introductory level, to:

Understandecologicalsystemscoveredandexplorethemthroughcreativepractice.

Beawareofthesocialandethicalissuesrelatedtosustainability.

Identifyandmaprelationshipswithinandbetweensystems.

Conductscientificinquirybasedonquestionsraisedduringfieldtrips,sciencemodule experiments,andlectures.

Useanaloganddigitaltoolsforscientificmethodsofanalysis,andtodevelop2D, 3D, 4D creativeworkoutcomes.

Translateinterdisciplinaryscientificknowledgeintocreativeandsustainableresponsesto ecologicalchallenges.

Evaluateandreflectontheircreativeworkinrelationshiptogoalsandvaluesthatarepart oflargersystems.

Archiveanddocumentworkinareflectivemannerforthe Learning Portfolio.Thiswill includewritingclearlyaboutworkinbothformalandinformalways, including:research, process,evaluation,analysisandreflection.

CURRICULAR JUSTICE

Acknowledgement Statement:

Weacknowledgefirstandforemostthatour NewYorkCitycampusissitedontheunceded territoryofthe LenapeTribe, andthat Manhattanderivesfromtheoriginal Lenni Lenape nameforthisland,Mannahatta. Werespectthehistoryofthissite, andwearegratefultobe thecurrentinhabitantsofthisplace.

Weacknowledgethattheexistingcanonofart&designeducationinthe United States representsadisproportionatenumberofwhitemaleartists,designers,thinkersand writers. Whitepatriarchalsupremacyhasgreatlyimpacted Eurocentrichistorybooks, influencingwhathistoryhasdeemedimportantenoughforinclusion. Byfirst acknowledgingtheinherentbiasinacanonthatdiminishestheGlobal Majority,weactively critiqueandchallengethiscanonwithacurriculumthatismorebalanced,morejust, more fittingtoourcontemporaryworld. Ourcurriculumelevatesexcludedstoriesand overlookedworksthathaveshapedart, designandculture. Weunderstandthenegative impactthatinvisibilityhasineducation, andweunderstandthepositiveimpactthat representationhasineducation. Wewantourcurriculumtobendtowardsthearcofjustice. Wecommittocreatingsyllabiinwhichourstudentbodyseesthemselvesjustly representedandsupported. Weunderstandthatdeepstructuralchangecannotbe achievedovernight, butthateachsmallstepintherightdirectioniscrucialforgrowth.

Weacknowledgethattheseeffortstowardscurricularjusticearenotenoughinandof themselves, butthatthequalityoflifeforallstudentsandfacultyofallidentities,genders andracesisimportant. Discrimination, harassment, racialaggressions(microaggressions) arenotaccepted. Togetherweworktocultivateasafespaceforourcommunity,whereall membersfeelthattheybelong.

*This Statementiswrittenby Beau Bree Rhee, editedby Diane Dwyerand MayaSamatin Summer, 2021.

Wecommit …

Wecommittocreatinganemotionally, mentally, andphysicallysafespaceforeveryonein theclassroom.

Wecommittoupliftingeachotherandhavingeveryone’svoicebeheard.

Wecommittopracticingpatiencewithoneanother.

Wecommittodeepandactivelistening.

Wecommittonotmakingassumptionsaboutoneanother.

Wecommittorespectingoneanotherandourdifferences.

Wecommittobuildingcommunityandcaringforoneanother.

Wecommittosharingandcirculatingourcollectiveknowledgesothatwecanallgrow.

Wecommittoopenandtransparentcommunication, addressingproblemswhentheyarise.

Wecommittopausingandallowingthespaceforsilence.

Wecommittofeeling, sensing, andspeakingfromtheheart.

Wecommittoholdingspaceforoneanother.

Wecommittohonoringeachother’stimeasasacredresource.

LEARNING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

It is my intention to help foster a culture of care among my students. While I have worked to do this throughout previous semesters, this goal has become heightened due to the ongoing pandemic. This means that I will use my best judgment and creative thinking capacities to come up with solutions to the challenges that impact my students. If you have a concern or an issue that is impacting your learning experience, I invite you to share it with meso we can work together on finding possible solutions. This semester Iamasking my students to review the University’s Commitment to Caring for Our Community statement and be prepared to share their own perspective on how we might build on this for our own community agreements within our course.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

In order to create a classroom environment that supports a free exchange of ideas and respectful engagement with others, the following principles will guide our work:

Allclassparticipantsareexpectedtointeractinawaythatencouragesadiversityof viewpoints.

Constructivedisagreementsharpensthinking, deepensunderstanding, andrevealsnovel insights.

Youwillnotagreewithallideasexpressedbutyouareexpectedtocriticallyconsider alternativepointsofview.

TRIGGER WARNING

Our classroom provides an open space for the critical and civil exchange of ideas. If readings and other content in this course include topics that some students may find offensive and/or traumatizing, I’ll aim to warn students about potentially disturbing content and I ask all students to help to create an atmosphere of mutual respect and sensitivity.

ASSESSABLE TASKS

Assessable Tasks are activities, assignments, projects that satisfy the course's learning outcomes.

Outdoor Immersion & Field Journal

One time per week spend 10 minutes outside or observing nature/the outdoors. Choosing one of the four course topics – Climate Change, Energy, Materials, Water -- record your

thoughts, impressions, feelings, etc., of this topic in a journal of some kind, either by hand or digitally. Your responses can take any form.: writing, photography, drawing/sketching,

voice memos, dance/movement, etc. The content does not need to be directly related to   this class. The Field Journal is meant to operate as a means through which you may collect data and observations, but also for you to build your own space of reflection. We will

discuss many Sustainable Systems in this class that pertain to the environment, methods, or institutions. This weekly assignment is meant to highlight the importance of also

practicing ways of balancing and reflecting upon our approaches of sustaining ourselves

creatively and emotionally as individuals. The final entry will be focused on an action you

can take moving forward building from the insights chronicled throughout the semester.

Your entries will be uploaded to Canvas each week. If composed by hand, pictures or scans maybe submitted.

Learning Portfolio

The Learning Portfolio is a tool that will create connections between all years of study. It is   meant to be a place of reflection across all courses. While the portfolio is being introduced through the Integrative Studio and Seminar it is important to manifest learning in this class. Use the Learning Portfolio to act as a place for considering the path taken to get to a final

idea and image. Document process and enter posts that tell the story of a project and the   steps that led up to its completion. This is a place to exhibit the process that paves the way for final work.

Weekly readings, screenings, and Canvas responses

Prompts for written responses to readings, films, and other materials assigned in this class will be posted on Canvas and will operate as primers for in class discussion.

Field Trips

We will takeout-of-classroom Field Trips twice during the semester. Attendance and

engagement during these outings is part of the participation aspect of this class, and will be followed by written reflections to be submitted on Canvas.

Guest Lecturers

Once or twice during the semester we will have guest speakers visit via Zoom in class to   speak to us about their work. Their presentations will be followed by aQ&A period where you will have the opportunity to ask them specific questions about their practices.

Attendance and participation during these lectures is part of the participation aspect of this class.

Activism Design Project

Design a piece of activism art about a cause you care about using the methods and

techniques discussed around developing this form. in class. Beyond the visual component of this project, also devise a mission and program of where, when and how these posters

would be installed. Prepare this work or an in-class Studio Critique with your coursemates.

Mid-Term Project Waste Self Portrait Project

For at least a week before the mid-term, you will be expected to observe the waste you

produce as an individual. Notice what food you are eating and keep a record of the trash and recycling you accumulate. Document your findings and make a self-portrait using your

waste as a material or point of inspiration. What is your relationship to and impression of the waste you generate as an individual in one week? This can exist in the form. of

photographs, drawings, using items from compost to make natural dyes or pigments,   writing, or performance. You will prepare a presentation of your project for an in-class Studio Critique.

Bio-Materials Labs - Natural Dyes

Asynchronously you will perform. one Bio-Material lab as a homework assignment with

Natural Dyes. For these, you will document step by step your methodical and conceptual approach to working with the materials used. After in class demos and instruction, you

demonstrate how to work effectively with both processes, but also how to use them

towards your conceptual aims. Materials for these labs will be purchased by students, and you may team up with another coursemate to save on cost.

Final Project

Make something you feel the world needs. Your project and research should:

Craftanargumentaroundwhyyoubelievewhatyouaremakingandproposing shouldexist

Selectarolemodelwhoworksinasimilarfieldwhohasinspiredyourprojectand direction

Identifywhatsystemsareatplay

Presentcurrentdataonthematerialsandfieldinwhichyourfinalworkpertainsto

Asmuchaspossible,yourworkshoulduserecycled/recyclable/carbonfriendly materials. Yourin-classpresentationsshouldincludeinformationonwhatthese materialsare,wheretheycomefrom,andwhytheyaresustainablechoices.

Documentyourresearchandmakingprocesswithwrittenreflectionsandimages

Youmaymakesomethingphysically, orproposeaprojectorbusinessplan. Ifyou arechoosingtodevelopandplan,itshouldbecompletewithresearchedlogistics forhowitcanworkinafeasibleandsustainableway, detailoperationsand distributionpolicies, drawings/renderings, abrandingplan, andamissionstatement.

EVALUATION & FINAL GRADE CALCULATION

Students’ ability to meet the course’s learning outcomes will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Evidence of the ability to solve problems, both creative and technical.

Evidence of the understanding of the project assignments and course material. The correct use of materials and formats specified.

Quality of work as evidenced in in-class exercises, final projects, sketchbook exploration and the learning portfolio.

Participation in class and online.

Improvement in technical, creative, and problem solving abilities. Attendance in class and the timely completion of projects.

Our goal as a class is to adapt and engage systems thinking, and to bring the pressing demands of

sustainability and resilience into our individual and collective practices as makers and thinkers. The issues we discuss and explore together extend beyond the spheres of politics, policy, or science.

Not only do they govern what we create and how as artists, designers, and entrepreneurs, but they impact our lives as individuals, community members, and on the whole as a species. Our efforts in  this class will be focused on how our work can raise awareness and make a positive difference in

our human-influenced reality. This course will request your active participation and for you to

share what inspires you, what challenges you, the evolution of your creative process, along with

offering considerate and constructive feedback to your classmates. As a result, participation

comprises the largest single aspect of your grade because it factors into each graded aspect of this course and pertains to your overall engagement in the curriculum. Please refer to the full set of

graded activities listed below, also detailed in full on Canvas for each module and assignment.

Attendance                                                                                               5%

Field Journal                                                                                             5%

Learning Portfolio                                                                                   5%

Weekly Assignments                                                                             10%

Activism Design Project                                                                      10%

Mid-Term Project                                                                                  15%

Bio-Materials Lab                                                                                  20%

Final Project                                                                                           30%

TOTAL                                                                                                      100%