It remains a truism that phenomenon of sustainability has dominated all fields of human endeavour in recent times. Nonetheless, the question remains: "How do we empower students to embrace and implement the many dimensions of sustainability into their design practices?"
Dear Dennis,
Thank you for asking this important question. I have always opined on many academic discursive forums that the concept of sustainability when upheld in all fields of human endeavor, would bolster every society's development.
Designers and artists must be walked through the principles of sustainability so that their design concepts for companies and organizations would be used perpetually without the need for constant revisions that results in great wastage of resources. For instance, if original, well-thought out logo designs (shape, colour, philosophy etc.) are made for a company with the artist considering all the pros and cons of the company with both the present and future lens, it wouldn't happen that the company would have to re-brand their products and assets (Sustainability).
Artists must also treat their materials well before using them for artistic productions. Wood for sculptural productions must be fashioned from seasoned wood, well treated and finished with sustainability in mind. This reminds me of the concept of 'art for eternity' of the Egyptians.
Again, the use of bio-friendly materials should be encouraged for the production of artistic pieces. The recycling of plastics and other materials that would have resulted in great environmental and water pollution should be encouraged in design and art subjects, courses and programmes of study at all levels.
Taking these steps, we can incorporate the ideals of sustainability in students and practitioners in the fields of Art and Design. Kind regards
The best way is for students to find role models in their lecturers who do exactly what students want or expect: Contributing to an intact, environmentally friendly future of society that is open to future generations. To this end, the curriculum would have to offer special courses.
Dear Dennis,
This is true, that "phenomenon of sustainability has dominated all fields of human endeavour in recent times". However in my opinion term "sustainability" became just an empty slogan in many fields. Became very popular maby even overused. Almost everything is now eco, bio, natural, green and sustainable. The more eco technology you implement in the the project the more sustainable product you will get. But this is not always true. Sometimes producing this technology consumes much more energy than it saves.
I think that to empower students to implement sustainability into their design practises is to start from the basics. To explain them how people used to live before anyone heard about "sustainability". For example how people lived in hot climate without aircondition. How they learned to use "thermal mass" before anyone named this phenomenon. What kind of solutions for shading or cooling the air invented our ancestors through the centuries. Those solutions were usually very simple in construction but reliable and show the real meaning of sustainability. Understanding the simplest solution makes students interested in the more advanced ones.
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