Design for sustainability I

HUM-397 / 3 credits

Teacher(s): Laperrouza Marc, Mélo Michka Sylvain

Language: English

Remark: Une seule inscription à un cours SHS+MGT autorisée. En cas d'inscriptions multiples elles seront toutes supprimées sans notification.

Summary

This course explores and practices some of the fundamental tools of designing for sustainability with a focus on the sustainability, desirability, and economic viability of solutions.

Content

Design for Sustainability takes the participants through practical concepts, tools and processes to propose design solutions that aim to improve social and/or environmental sustainability.

The course explores approaches at different levels (material, product, product-service system, social innovation, and system transformation). Over two semesters, it covers the framing, ideation and prototyping phases of designing for sustainability.

The fall semester will be tailored towards discovering and defining a problem space through design research. During the spring semester, research will be leveraged to design, develop and prototype a solution.

There will be two workshops (one in fall, one in spring) aimed at working in teams.

Teams will be made up of engineers (EPFL) and industrial designers (ECAL).

Keywords

design process, desirability, viability, sustainability, prototyping, interdisciplinarity

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

None

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

Identify opportunities for ill-defined problems through a structured design process
Apply a sustainability and viability centered design process
Develop a project proposal

Transversal skills

Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines.
Take account of the social and human dimensions of the engineering profession.
Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking

Teaching methods

Mix of mini-lectures and flipped classes
In-class and out-of-class activities
Consultations with lecturers

Expected student activities

Conduct desktop research
Engage with stakeholders
Document insights from your research
Frame a problem from evidence
Work in interdisciplinary teams
Attend weekly consultations with teachers

Assessment methods

Fundamental knowledge quiz (30%, individual)
Project proposal (60%, group)
Note on individual contribution (10%, individual)

Supervision

Office hours	No
Assistant.e.s	No
Forum	No

Resources

Bibliography

Bourg, D., & Papaux, A. (2015). Dictionnaire de la pensée écologique. Paris: Puf.
Ceschin, F., & Gaziulusoy, I. d. (2020). Design for sustainability : a multi-level framework from products to socio-technical systems. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Manzini, E. (2015). Design, when everybody designs : an introduction to design for social innovation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Papanek, V. J. (1972). Design for the real world; human ecology and social change. New York,: Pantheon Books.
Verganti, R. (2016). Overcrowded : designing meaningful products in a world awash with ideas. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
Wizinsky, M. (2022). Design after capitalism : transforming design today for an equitable tomorrow. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.