design research

Ecological Mind

Category : design research

ENGAGED SUSTAINABLE DESIGN: CREATING MORAL AGENCY
by Louise St. Pierre, Emily Carr University of Art + Design

A beautiful story-weaving of personal experiences, written by Louise, about getting outside of her comfort zones – in relation to 20 years of developing and advancing sustainable design curriculum, of which I have been an astute student. I re-visited the article this morning (in lieu of attending a hatha yoga class at my local studio) and find myself at peace simply contemplating her evolving position on anthropocentric nature of design, and the role spirituality, animism and deep ecology can play in building moral agency in our practice. With these thoughts, I’m very much looking forward to spending two weeks exploring the wild west coast in our home-boat with my family this summer. Slow practice.

Youth City Lab. I think we just collaborated!

Category : design research, teaching

Last weekend I was asked to co-teach the youth city lab with my good friend Laura. Over the course of two days, we explored the Museum of Vancouver, specifically the ReWilding exhibit and lead the students on a long walk around the south shore False Creek where we looked at the intertidal zones and various treatments of the sea wall along the way. We invited students to come up with provocations of their own on how to ReWild a specific site along the seawall.

Quote of the day was when one of the students said – “Ok. I think we just collaborated!”.

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Youth City Lab
March 28 – 29, 2014
Emily Carr University of Art + Design and the Museum of Vancouver

This intensive, invite-only program introduces highly engaged, creative teens to the complex forces affecting our city, tapping into topics of urban design, museum skills, architecture and design.  Working with facilitators from Emily Carr and the MOV, students will go behind-the-scenes at the museum, investigate and develop ideas about city life and visit REWILDING VANCOUVER. A unique opportunity for creative thinking and doing, Youth City Lab culminates with a collaborative project YCL participants will share with friends, family and the public.

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