2013-2014 IwB Curriculum Handbook

THE REGIONAL ECOLOGIES PROJECT

INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES YEAR 1: GATEWAY CITIES 2013-2014 CURRICULUM HANDBOOK

Interdisciplinary Design Strategy at the Institute without Boundaries is a post-graduate program within the School of Design at George Brown College. www.institutewithoutboundaries.com | www.worldhouse.ca

DIRECTOR Luigi Ferrara 416-415-5000 Ext.: 2165 lferrara@georgebrown.ca

ACADEMIC COORDINATOR Christopher Pandolfi

STUDENT SERVICES & FINANCIAL AID: 200 King Street East, lower level

STU-VIEW ACCOUNT & HELP LINE: http://stuview.georgebrown.ca/ to re-set password: 416 415-2000, press 1 – 3 then 4

Lori Endes 416-415-5000 Ext.: 2029 lendes@georgebrown.ca

No part of this work may be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher–except for a brief quotation (not to exceed 200 words) in a review or professional work.

SECURITY

NOTE TO STUDENTS

COMMUNICATIONS OUTREACH

416 415-5000 ext 2773

STUDIO HOURS:

Academic Departments at GBC will not retain historical copies of the program outlines. We urge you to retain this Program Outline for your future reference.

Weekdays: 7:30 am to midnight Weekends: 7:30 am to midnight Holidays: closed

IMPORTANT DATES AND POLICIES

MAILING ADDRESS:

EQUITY STATEMENT

Institute without Boundaries School of Design George Brown College P.O. Box 1015, Station B Toronto, Ontario Canada M5T 2T9

ADDRESS FOR VISITORS & COURIERS: Institute without Boundaries School of Design George Brown College Ground Floor, West entrance 230 Richmond Street East Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1P4

Copyright © 2012 George Brown College

Visit http://www.georgebrown.ca/current_students/ for important policies, dates, services and tools for all students at George Brown College.

George Brown College values the talents and contributions of its students, staff and community partners and seeks to create a welcoming environment where equity, diversity and safety of all groups are fundamental. Language or activities which are inconsistent with this philosophy violate the College policy on the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment and will not be tolerated.

The commitment and cooperation of all students and staff are required to maintain this environment. Information and assistance are available through your Director, Student Affairs, the Student Association or the Human Rights Advisor.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES Students should obtain a copy of the Student Handbook and refer to it for additional information regarding the grading system, withdrawals, exemptions, class assignments, missed tests and exams, supplemental privileges, and academic dishonesty. Students are required to apply themselves diligently to the course of study, and to prepare class and homework assignments as given. Regular attendance is strongly advised. Past student performance shows a strong relationship between regular attendance and success.

“�

Design: a fundamental human capacity that enables us to share by externalizing the internal; making material the immaterial; generating reality by transforming resources for human purposes.

Design Strategy: the bias or direction; understanding where you need to go next, and what you need to do to get there; the ways and means of reaching your destination, your goal. _ Luigi Ferrara, Director, Institute without Boundaries and the Centre for Arts and Design, George Brown College

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Institute without Boundaries

Important Dates

04 - 07

16-17

Vision, Mission, Values & Objectives

The Regional Ecologies Project

08

20

10 Challenges for Design

Research & the Regional Approach in Context

09

21

2013/14 Teaching Organizational Chart

Regional Ecologies: 5 Years, 5 Typologies

10-11

22

2013/14 IwB Organizational Chart

Gateway Cities Project 2013/14

12

23

Meet Your Class of 2013/14

Three Gateway Cities

13-15

24-25

Gateway Cities 2013/14 Partners & Advisors

Essential Employment Skills

26

50-51

Curriculum

Program Outcomes

28-29

52-56

Fall 2013

Roles & Responsibilities

30-31

57

Fall Semester: Curriculum at a Glance

Grading & Evaluation

32

58

Course Descriptions

George Brown College Policies

33-40

59

Educational Approach & Outcomes

Resources & Reading List

42-48

60-65

WEL COME

E!

In the fall of 2013, the Institute without Boundaries will launch the five-year Regional Ecologies research project. This initiative aims to understand the complex networks and interconnected systems of innovation that define regions, and to design intelligent and balanced solutions that will foster prosperity, livability and resiliency.

The first year of the Regional Ecologies Project is Gateway Cities, a project that looks at Toronto, New York, and Chicago as ‘gateways’ to their respective regions, and at the corridors that connect these urban centres. IwB will re-imagine future development, resilience, and competitiveness among and between these cities.

The Gateway Cities Project promises to provide many incredible opportunities and challenges. You will work with other talented individuals. You’ll meet fellow students who come from diverse professional, academic, and cultural backgrounds. You will be supported by 30-40 committed part-time IwB faculty who also maintain professional practices in fields such as Architecture, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Politics, Development, Curation, etc. As the project unfolds, you will meet community members, guest lecturers and many others who will contribute to your unique educational experience. This will include over 100 expert advisors, as well as students from numerous post-secondary programs at George Brown College, local Toronto schools, partner schools in New York and Chicago, as well as international design programs in the IwB network.

You can expect to work long hours finishing projects; give numerous presentations to faculty and client representatives; engage in charrettes with students from other programs at George Brown College and from other College and University programs in the region; produce professional-quality exhibitions, proposals, books and videos; and most importantly, learn an incredible amount about design, teamwork and yourself.

This document presents an overview of the project you’ll be undertaking and covers some of the details of how the 2013/14 academic year will unfold. This includes important dates and deadlines, the curriculum structure, background information about some of the people who will be guiding you through this process, a list of suggested reading and an overview of the methodologies and values that guide everything the IwB does.

It is going to be an incredible year and we can’t wait to see what you will accomplish!

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INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES 2013/14

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THE INSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

“�

The IwB is a place where creative minds come together and learn how to solve problems. _ Carmen Paz, Alumni from World House Project Year 1 Institute without Boundaries

Founded in 2003, the Institute without Boundaries (IwB) is a Toronto-based studio that works toward collaborative design practice with the objectives of social, ecological and economic innovation through design research and strategy.

At the Institute, we see the designer as a problem solver with the ability to effect positive change for humanity.

We are a place where students, teachers, industry and community experts come together not only as creators and designers, but also as ambassadors of hope. We imagine how to live, learn, work, and play together as a global community and seek alternative development patterns and a viable path to a bright future.

The Institute without Boundaries has three components: a post-graduate education program that teaches design collaboration to professionals from diverse backgrounds; a research division that furthers the pursuit of knowledge related to topics arising from the curriculum; and a commercial division that offers professional design consultation services to clients. The Institute without Boundaries is situated within the School of Design at George Brown College.

IwB offers a nine-month intensive post-graduate certificate in Interdisciplinary Design Strategy through the George Brown College School of Design. Students and faculty from diverse professional and academic backgrounds collaborate with a partner organization to understand and tackle a real-world challenge. Guided by the demands of the partner project, students learn skills, conduct research, create comprehensive proposals and present their work.

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2003 – 2005: MASSIVE CHANGE Massive Change: The Future of Global Design was the Institute’s first project, commissioned by the Vancouver Art Gallery, and led by Bruce Mau Design. In the IwB’s inaugural year, six students worked in the Bruce Mau Design Studio researching, writing and designing the Massive Change exhibition, website, radio show and book.

These highly successful products sparked a discourse on the potential of design to leverage positive change for the future.

In 2004, eight new students carried the project to fruition.

Massive Change premiered at the Vancouver Art Gallery with a 20,000 square foot exhibition. The following year, Phaidon published the Massive Change book, and the student-designed Massive Change product line was launched by Umbra. In 2005, graduates of the Institute collaborated with the School of Design at George Brown College to build the Massive Change in Action website for the Virtual Museum of Canada. The Massive Change exhibit also travelled to the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto and the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art

2006 – 2009: WORLD HOUSE PROJECT In 2006, the Institute entered its second phase with a three-year initiative, the World House Project, which built upon the research and energy of Massive Change. The World House Project confronted the necessary evolution of shelter for coming generations by developing housing systems based on principles of sustainability, accessibility, technological responsiveness and ecological balance.

In the first year, IwB developed a “System Patterns in Housing” Timeline (or “The World House Timeline”) that identified twelve systems, from construction to identity, and significant trends throughout history and cultures.

The team examined the underlying philosophy, principles, and conceptual prototypes for next generation accessory living units to infill urban and suburban areas. The Institute also began a tradition of active participation in community innovation and socially responsible design through charrettes. The first World House Interdesign conference brought together 154 participants from around the world to explore and develop solutions for challenges related to housing and water for clients such as Downsview Park,

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Waterfront Toronto, the Town of Port Perry, and the Mount Dennis community.

By the end of the first year of the World House Project, an IwB student and native Costa Rican, Giorgiana Penon, uncovered an opportunity in her homeland. Giorgiana, who had previously worked for the government of Costa Rica, knew of a proposed grant that would allow poor, working families to secure funds to build homes. The government needed to identify what type of housing could be built for a grant of $7,500 USD that would also respond to the cultural and environmental climate of the region and its people. In the summer of 2007, the Director and faculty of the IwB travelled to Costa Rica to explore a possible partnership. This initiative became the second World House Project: a proposal for rural renewal in the developing Guanacaste region on behalf of the Costa Rican Ministries of Culture and Housing. The partners selected Matapalo, a typical town in western Guanacaste, for a case study. A former agricultural centre, the town was being overtaken by tourism development, driving living costs up and displacing locals.

In Year 3, the focus of the Institute shifted back to North America. IwB partnered with Habitat for Humanity Canada and Evergreen to “renovate” a street in Toronto and to re-imagine a city without sprawl, a city that balances nature and people, income and access. The team researched, designed, and communicated a collaboration model for Habitat for Humanity and Evergreen that balances three ideals: greening, inclusivity and capacity building.

2009 – 2013: CITY SYSTEMS PROJECT From 2009 – 2013, the IwB applied its systems thinking approach to cities. The City Systems Project examined the city from the micro to the macro scale while proposing new ways to live and work in a sustainable and resilient manner. As the City Systems Project has scaled up – from house to neighbourhood to city-wide services - so has the complexity of the systems being examined.

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In year 1 of City Systems, IwB partnered with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation and examined the case study site Flemingdon Park. Students examined how this large-scale social housing site, built during the fifties and sixties, could be rejuvenated to respond to a world that may no longer be powered by fossil fuels and driven by automobiles. The result was a proposal title “Universally Local.”

In year 2 of City Systems, the Institute attempted to understand how to build more resilient cities. The team’s focus was on resolving the challenges facing Lota, a municipality in Chile. Lota was brought to the IwB’s attention by the Latin American Canadian Art Projects (LACAP), a Toronto arts organization, which partnered with the city after the February 2010 earthquake. The complex and difficult problems facing this municipality were an ideal case study for the IwB’s interdisciplinary approach to whole systems design and social innovation.

The revitalization plan for the community of Lota, titled “People Change Places”, responds to planning and design challenges outlined by the elected municipal government of Lota. Lota’s most important asset, its human capital, was identified as the catalyst for this plan and for the future of the city. The recommendations were based on the citizens’ vision as understood through field research conducted by the IwB and its affiliates in Lota.

In year 3 of City Systems, IwB focused on challenges facing the edge city of Markham, a car-centric suburban community at the edge of Toronto, as it continues to experience rapid population growth. The resulting project, called COLAB, includes a proposal for a new kind of neighbourhood: a model sustainable community supported by a 3-way partnership between municipality, local businesses and residents.

In year 4 of City Systems, the partner was the city of Dublin, Ireland. The team examined the various systems that make up the city and proposed new and innovative sustainable urban practices that build on the city’s existing planning practices. Dublin, like other cities worldwide, is

re-imagining how it provides services to its citizens, and how it responds to increasingly complex issues with fewer resources. Two interdisciplinary teams of post-graduate students in Dublin and in Toronto worked together to tackle this challenge and propose new ways that the City of Dublin can continue to evolve into an open, flexible, creative city.

2013 - 2014: GATEWAY CITIES AND REGIONAL ECOLOGIES In the fall of 2013, the IwB will launch Regional Ecologies, a five-year research project about the complex networks and interconnected systems of innovation that define regions.

The Regional Ecologies Project expands on City Systems to consider urbanization as a regional phenomenon. Unlike cities, which tend to be well-defined entities with legal boundaries and a strong sense of place, city-regions are more nebulous, usually made up of a core city surrounded by suburbs, neighboring communities and hinterland all contained within a continuous urban area. The first year will focus on Gateway Cities, looking at Toronto, New York, and Chicago as ‘gateways’ to their respective regions, and at the regional corridors that connect them.

IwB will re-imagine future development to foster prosperity, livability and resiliency at a regional scale.

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VISION, MISSION, VALUES & OBJECTIVES VISION

MISSION

Collaborative design practice for a better world.

Fostering collaboration between disciplines to create innovative local solutions to 21st century global challenges.

VALUES Students, faculty, mentors and advisors share a commitment to collaborate, conceptualize, create, test and share. These are informed by the following values:

OBJECTIVES •

Promote a design methodology based on co-creation.

• • • • • •

•

Promote design-based education and foster an understanding of design as a capacity-building tool.

•

Develop leading-edge projects that can serve as curriculum challenges for students, faculty, industrymentors, and international groups.

•

Conduct these projects with the Institute acting as a catalyst for the participation of schools and professionals from around the world.

•

Create and exhibit design solutions in a provocative manner that engages the public.

•

Support the evolution, growth and success of the students, alumni and mentors of the Institute to enhance their influence and visibility.

•

Explore, in the long-term, the following 10 challenges for design.

Innovation Respect Openness Compassion Diversity Curiosity

• • • • • •

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Collaboration Honesty Diligence Fairness Integrity Creativity

10 CHALLENGES FOR DESIGN The following 10 challenges for design were identified by Luigi Ferrara for the International Design Alliance (IDA), made up of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) and International Council of Graphic Design Associations (ICOGRADA).

01.

Respond to the needs of our world’s aging population so that this group of people can continue to contribute to society and lead healthy, engaging and vital lives.

06.

Feed the planet equitably while maintaining and enhancing soil quality and respecting the dignity of all species.

07.

02.

Provide coordinated assistance and reconstruction in cases of emergency, natural disaster, severe weather and man-made disasters.

Bring access, knowledge and understanding to people everywhere so that there is powerful and positive communication between nations.

08.

03.

Develop shelter for all people that balances the utilization of resources and the distribution of opportunity between the developed and developing world.

Imagine and develop clothing that extends our life and health while providing beauty, identity and personal selfexpression.

09.

04.

Create a new means of sustainable transportation for goods and services, that is either physical or virtual and that does not damage the environment.

05.

Design a world economic system that respects and rewards volunteer, social and community work.

10.

Create systems that regenerate, conserve and optimize the use of soil, water and air, thus maintaining the resources required to sustain life.

Preserve and enhance diverse identities and cultures while maintaining social cohesion and allowing for global migration flows.

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2013/14 TEACHING ORGANIZATIONAL CHART INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS Monica Contreras

ORIENTATION Michelle Hotchin Chris Pandolfi

COMMUNICATIONS MODULE Lauren Wickware Kristina Ljubanovic

DESIGN THEORY & PHILOSOPHY Elise Hodson

SYSTEMS & SERVICES Andrea DiMarco Suzanne Stein

SKILLS WORKSHOP Evelyne Au-Navioz Juan Camacho

FALL CHARRETTE Andrea DiMarco Luigi Ferrara Elise Hodson Michelle Hotchin Chris Pandolfi

MAJOR PROJECT COMMUNICATION Paul DeFreitas Elise Hodson Susan Speigel

INTEGRATED DESIGN THINKING Monica Contreras

SMALL ATELIER Xavier Masse Miles Keller

MEDIUM ATELIER Monica Contreras Chris Pandolfi

LARGE ATELIER Paul DeFreitas Warren Price

SPRING CHARRETTE Arlene Etchen Mark Guslits Michelle Hotchin Jamie James Mark Salerno

FIELD EDUCATION PROJECT & FIELD EDUCATION PREP. Lori Endes Connie Wansbrough

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PRODUCT MODULE Juan Camacho Miles Keller

THINK / MAKE Andrea DiMarco Lauren Wickware

MAJOR PROJECT Paul DeFreitas Susan Speigel

FALL CAPSTONE

ENVIRONMENT MODULE Susan Lewin Mark Guslits Alrene Etchen Mark Salerno

ATLAS, EXHIBITION & WEB

ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT INTERVIEWS

WINTER CAPSTONE

THINK / MAKE Xavier Masse Warren Price

CHICAGO CHARRETTE Mark Guslits Michelle Hotchin Luigi Ferrara Chris Pandolfi Paul Zanettos

SYNTHESIS Paul DeFreitas Wendy Gold

ATLAS BOOK

ACADEMIC ADVISEMENT INTERVIEWS

SPRING CAPSTONE

CLIENT PROJECT Andrea DiMarco Luigi Ferrara Chris Pandolfi

REPORT

EXHIBIT

DIGITAL

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2013/14 IWB ORGANIZATIONAL CHART DIRECTOR Luigi Ferrara

PAC COMMITTEE

ACADEMIC OPERATIONS MANAGER Trent Scherer

PARTNERSHIP & EVENTS MANAGER Alice Lee

ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET COORDINATOR Gary Hanrahan

IWB ADMISSIONS SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR Lori Endes

CHARRETTE COORDINATOR Michelle Hotchin

ACADEMIC COORDINATOR Chris Pandolfi

CORE TEACHING STAFF Monica Contreras Paul DeFreitas Elise Hodson Susan Speigel

SKILLS TEAM Evelyne Au-Navioz Juan Camacho

ONLINE COURSE DEVELOPMENT Rob Giusti

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RESEARCH & CURATORIAL COORDINATOR Elise Hodson

EXHIBITS TEAM Evelyne Au-Navioz Juan Camacho Sisley Leung

WEB & CURRICULUM COORDINATOR Magda Sabat

TORONTO LIAISON Lucia Piccinni

FINAL PROJECT COORDINATOR Andrea DiMarco

WEB TEAM Evelyne Au-Navioz

CHICAGO LIAISON Paul Zanettos

PROJECT TEAM TBD

NEW YORK LIAISON Elise Hodson Magda Sabat

MEET YOUR CLASS OF 2013/14 KATIE ANDERCHUCK Katie is an ebullient personality with a love for personal challenges. She grew up in Toronto, Ontario where she formed unrelenting opinions about the urban environment.

Katie studied at McGill University where she earned her B.A. in Sociology and Urban Systems. Currently, she is interested in equitable access to urban space and how this affects human health.

Katie notices all things big and small which has affectionately earned her the nickname Pixel Lady. She hopes this proclivity towards observation helps her make informed decisions. Broadly, she has studied topics like urban health geography, civic design, medical geography, and sustainable design. Recently, she participated in IDEO’s human centered design workshop, in partnership with ACUMEN, where she helped explore barriers to youth engagement in social enterprise.

When not in grips with urbanity, Katie likes to fulfill her obsession with interiors by redesigning every room in her parent’s house. She also loves rock climbing, sailing, watching documentaries, and shopping on a budget.

FRANCESCA ANDERSON Francesca – or Franny, to many– was born and raised in Bangor, Maine. She has happily made Canada her home since 2006, when she hopped over the border to begin her undergraduate degree in Anthropology at McGill University.

Focusing on the many facets of cultural and medical anthropology, she was most interested in social navigations of death, birth, life, disease, and the corporeal experience of culture. She hopes to put her studies in anthropology to good use at the IwB this year.

Francesca is lucky to have strong ties to her Italian heritage, and makes efforts to travel to visit family in Venice (and Maine!) as much as possible. She speaks Italian, Spanish, a bit of French after her time in Montreal, and learned German during an exchange year on the CongressBundestag Scholarship. On a typical day, you might see

her behind or in front of a camera, reading somewhere with exceptional lighting, singing in a choir or the shower, cooking, or crocheting.

PEGAH AZMOODEH Pegah graduated with distinction from Tehran University in Financial Management. After moving to Canada in 2007 she went on to complete a Masters in Economics at Concordia University in Montreal where she specialized in finance. She has a passion for art and design and has shown her work in various art galleries and venues. She worked for for Global Financial Services in Montreal and moved to Toronto on Jan 2012. Her strong interest in design has led her to the IwB and is excited about the challenges this program will bring.

ANDREA HERRERA BETANCOURT Andrea was born and raised in Mexico City where she studied Architecture. She completed the fourth year of her graduate studies in Paris, France, focusing in urban planning through workshops and travel in and outside Europe, particularly as part of a university funded monthlong program in India to research the challenges faced by the rapidly growing urban area of Mumbai.

To develop her architectural thesis project, she spent three months living in a rural community in the mountain range of Oaxaca, Mexico, participating in the design and construction of an operational and sustainable fruit collection and jam production facility.

The thesis identified the project’s step-by-step development process and concluded with a dwelling prototype and urban planning proposal to ensure the community’s longterm sustainability.

Further to this project she has determined that her calling is to work in a creative environment through the design of improved and sustainable lifestyles. She now resides in Canada to pursue her passion to explore urban environments and strengthen her architecture and design Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 13

skills within the “Gateway Cities” program of the Institute Without Boundaries (IWB).

Enrolling at IWB and making a positive impact on its research projects will be a stepping stone that hopefully will lead to further expanding her experience and vision in the fields of urban planning, architecture and design.

ANDRESSA NASCIMENTO (BECCARO) Andressa was born and raised in Brazil but considers herself as a world’s citizen. Graduated in graphic design and business management, her professional experience counts with more than 12 years involved with design, project management, communication and marketing, working for technology and financial companies and lately, managing her own small business.

Besides being fascinated by arts and design, her intellectual interests are diversified, including philosophy, psychology, history, sociology, politics and technology. Her peculiar curiosity for the human behavior and its implications on the collectivity reflects her belief in education, ethic values and public engagement as key points to a civilized society.

As an assumed dreamer and idealist, Andressa aspires to perform something that perpetuates her contribution to the world, influencing the future generations. She believes that re-thinking about social systems, economic issues, and the environmental impacts is the most effective way of acting for a sustainable world.

DALLAS COTTERELL Dallas was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2013 with a BA degree in Environmental Studies. His academic course work in the Environmental Studies program has allowed him to gain a holistic understanding and awareness for ecological issues within various political, economic and social spheres. He has studied a variety of components of environmental management, such as climate change, sustainable planning, social ecology and environmental impact assessment. Throughout his time at the Institute Without Boundaries, Dallas hopes to bring his undergraduate knowledge and expertise on the vulnerability of the natural environment and implement them within the elements and ideologies of strategic design. In addition, 14 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

he also hopes to exchange new skills and techniques with his peers, who possess individual experiences and specializations in interdisciplinary fields. His main aspirations are focused in urban planning and environmental design.

He believes that his experience at the IwB will provide him with the right set of key skills and abilities to help contribute and encourage sustainable living and development.

In his spare time, Dallas likes to keep fit and active through rigorous weight lifting and Muay Thai kick boxing exercises.

He also has a love for all genres of music, travelling, trying new foods and watching cartoons.

ROBERT IACOCCA In late 2012, Rob backpacked through South America.

This left him with a strong passion for travelling. He is a University of Guelph (honours) graduate in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy. With these degrees Rob has gained a valuable skill; he can read minds. Rob worked his way through school as a bartender, which proved to be a very valuable position financially and at social gatherings.

Rob has always been inspired by true creativity and is a firm believer that we are responsible for the wellbeing of the planet. Through his work he hopes to combine these passions.

MEL KAPOGINES Growing up in rural Ontario, Melanie always had a love for creating, tinkering, and problem solving. After completing her Bachelor of Science at the University of Waterloo, she worked for a number of years at Research In Motion where she had the opportunity to travel all over the US, to Asia, and South America. It was during that time that Melanie attended a Human-Centered Design course, finding that it woke the snoozing creative beast and left her curious to know more about design. Since leaving the corporate world, she’s been fortunate enough to spend time exploring interests like glass blowing, organic farming, working with a startup, photography, preserving, and learning Spanish.

Melanie will be returning to Ontario after spending the past four years living in a truly surprising and inspiring city, Pittsburgh.

THERESA KIENITZ Theresa recently graduated from George Brown College’s School of Design. Her area of study was graphic design

with a major focus in advertising. Her advertising interests revolve around social awareness and a greater understanding of complex information. She moved to Toronto four years ago and finds the different cultures that make up Toronto fascinating and beautiful. She has participated in two charrettes with the IWB once of which took her to Dublin. In her spare time Theresa enjoys pointillism, reading and playing around with her three puppies.

MICHLYNE MCCLOSKEY Michi grew up in rural Ontario ski-country and has since moved to Toronto pursue an education, career and life surrounded by diverse culture and dynamic urban systems.

She graduated from Ryerson University’s Urban and Regional Planning program where she was first introduced to collaborative group-based studio. She is especially interested in innovative design of the public realm, planning for age-friendly communities and health promotion. After graduation, Michi spent a year travelling and working abroad before returning to work with a project management firm in downtown Toronto. She is eager to dive into the IwB program and sink her hands in design!

MAZIAR MOHIT Maziar is an interior designer living in Toronto. He started his higher education in the field of metallurgy engineering in his home country of Iran. While in school he realized his passion for the world of design, and to pursue this passion, he transferred to American University In Dubai. There he completed his bachelors of fine arts in the field of interior design. Maziar started his career in one of the leading furniture manufacturers in the Middle East as a designer.

After a few years, he decided it was time for a change of scenery and moved to Toronto where he carried on his studies in the subject of North American residential design.

experiences in travel, design and presentation to the next level at the Institute Without Boundaries. Helaena looks forward to establishing a comprehensive base in working and studying with individuals from a variety of disciplines, on a project whose final outcome will make a difference to a global audience.

DEVIN SAGER Devin is a visual communicator, illustrator, typophile, lateral thinker, furniture enthusiast, and lover of the arts with deep roots in Sudbury, Ontario. His formal education from Cambrian College is complimented by the occasional informal discussion in the hall or in the bar. These discussions helped shape his thoughts on design. Devin expresses great interest in all aspects of design while perpetually searching for efficiency and simplicity through communication and form. He is passionate about exploring new forms of lateral and collaborative thinking and environmental designs conducive to idea sharing. Looking to inspire and be inspired.

KATE WATANABE A Toronto native with a background in visual art, Kate received her diploma in Industrial Design from OCAD University. She has spent the last decade immersed in domestic endeavours, creating functional and fun environments in which to raise her two children, aged 9 and 5. From taking apart a broken toy to investigating how design impacts our built world and those who inhabit it, Kate is continually questioning what makes things “work well” and why, sometimes, design fails. In her spare time she enjoys cooking for her friends, who appreciate her talents in the kitchen, and her children, who don’t.

HELAENA PARKES Helaena is a recent graduate from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Media. As Project Coordinator of her final year art exhibition, Helaena discovered her passion for curation and her natural project management effectiveness. She believes that presentation is critical and ideas must be carefully curated in order to be fully understood and appreciated. She is enthused to take her Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 15

IMPORTANT DATES *Note: the most current list of important dates and essential college information please visit: http://www.georgebrown.ca/registernow

FALL 2013

DESCRIPTION

August 26 – 30

Orientation.

September 2

Labour Day - College closed.

September 3

Fall semester starts.

September 9

Last day to add a course to your schedule.

Last day to transfer programs or sections within a program.

September 16

Last day to withdraw from an entire program with a partial refund.

You may withdraw from your program on-line via STU-VIEW.

October 3

Last day to opt out from the Student Health Insurance Plan for the Fall 2013 term.

October 10

Last day to apply for family dependent coverage under Student Health insurance Plan for the Fall 2013 term.

October 14

Thanksgiving - College closed.

October 17 – 18

New York, MAS City Summit.

October 19 – 21

New York, Charrette.

October 21 – 25

Intercession.

October 28 – November 3

Advisement meetings.

November 4

Second installment fees for September 2013 intake students are due.

OSAP Applicants - September 2013 - intake - deferred fees are due.

November 11

Last day to apply for a discounted student GO Transit pass for the Fall Semester

November 18

Web registration for January 2014 starts

December 16 – 20

Advisement meetings.

December 20

IwB Fall Semester ends

December 24 at noon - January 1

College closed for holiday break.

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WINTER 2014

DESCRIPTION

January 6

Winter Semester 2014 begins.

January 17

Last day to withdraw from an entire program with a partial refund.

February (dates TBC)

Toronto Charrette

February 17

Statutory Holiday - (Family Day) College Closed.

February 24 – 28

Intercession.

March 10 – 16

Advisement meetings.

WINTER 2014

DESCRIPTION

March 17

Last day to apply for a discounted student GO Transit pass for the Winter term.

March/ April (dates TBC)

Chicago Charrette

April 14 – 20

Advisement meetings.

April 18

Good Friday – College Closed.

May 19

Victoria Day – College Closed.

May 28

Deadline for students to RSVP to attend Convocation (in June 2014).

June 9 – 13

Convocation Ceremonies (www.georgebrown.ca/convocation for more information).

early/ mid June (dates TBC)

Year-end exhibition opens.

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THE REGIONAL ECOLOGIES PROJECT

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THE REGIONAL ECOLOGIES PROJECT PROJECT OVERVIEW The wealth of nations is built upon successful city regions.

Within these regions are urban centres tightly connected through cultural, economic and social bonds.

There is lack of understanding of the networks that tie together cities and regions. The IwB’s approach considers regions as a whole with the goal of understanding the systems of nature, culture, industry, infrastructure, governance, communication, and finance that support and link regions locally and globally.

In the fall of 2013, the Institute without Boundaries will launch a five-year Regional Ecologies research project to: •

•

Understand the complex networks and interconnected systems of innovation that define our regions Design intelligent and balanced solutions that will foster prosperous, livable and resilient regions

Design thinking and systems analysis will be central to the project along with the examination of regions through both technological and environmental perspectives. With this project, the IwB will develop new design methods that close the gap between intelligent systems and sustainable thinking. Combining these perspectives creates a synthetic, ecological and smart design process that integrates natural and human systems.

20 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

A REGIONAL APPROACH A regional perspective can spur the following both within and between cities: •

more coordinated and more sustainable transportation

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more efficient border crossings and migration

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better energy grid coordination

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extended supply chains

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more connected and adaptive trade and manufacturing

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cultural and social programs that better support regional populations

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more strategic use of natural resources

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policies that leverage environmental leadership

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a more liveable lifestyle and a prosperous economy

RESEARCH & THE REGIONAL APPROACH IN CONTEXT The world’s fifty largest city regions, on average, have twice as many people living outside the core city than in it (e.g. more people live in the Toronto region’s 905 area code than in the City of Toronto’s 416 area code). To fully understand and explore the challenges and opportunities of urbanization we need to work within a regional context.

Working at the regional level, however, adds layers of complexity. Large regions can have nation-sized economies that are made up of all scales from local to global. They embody a large variety of land usages from city-core to countryside, and have multi-jurisdictional, overlapping governance. Furthermore, regions are unconstrained by political borders, crossing provincial/state or even national borders, and their dynamic boundaries follow the growth of the region.

Regional Ecologies focuses on the interaction of a region’s ecosystems (both natural and human-made) in order to design solutions that make those regions prosperous, livable, sustainable and resilient. Ultimately, the challenge and opportunity lies in discerning the different scales of interconnectedness that bind a region and make it a true entity.

“”

An ecological or systems-approach avoids the practice of breaking problems down into neat boxes in isolation from the rest of the system. Solutions achieved through compartmentalized approaches ignore their effects on other systems and scales and can lead to today’s solutions becoming tomorrow’s problems (e.g., auto-designed land use and sprawl, carbon-energy and climate change).

Compartmentalized approaches to problem solving miss solutions that may reside in other systems or overlook the linkages that form boundaries to creating simple solutions to regional problems - leading to a region continually lurching from problem to solution to problem. For example, a region that truly wishes to design a sustainable and diverse regional transportation network must understand the local, regional and global flows of movement along with the interconnectedness of transportation, housing, economy and land use.

Fundamentally, the city-region is neither the problem nor the solution, it is simply where the world lives. The complexity and diversity of the regional form is what makes a region resilient. The Regional Ecologies project hopes to better understand this complexity and propose relevant design solutions.

In the new century of the metropolis most of us in the world will be urban and most of us can and must be planners, architects and designers. __ Tom Angotti, The New Century of the Metropolis Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 21

REGIONAL ECOLOGIES: 5 YEARS, 5 TYPOLOGIES A regional approach involves considering regions as a whole with the goal of obtaining new resiliency through greater cooperation, regional planning and governance. The Regional Ecologies project will take into account a wide variety of stakeholders, from small towns to big cities, and the systems of nature, culture, industry, infrastructure, governance and finance that support and connect them locally and globally. This project will identify opportunities for sustainable economic, social and environmental growth through existing and potential new relationships and networks.

YEARLY BREAKDOWN The Regional Ecologies Project will span five years and will be broken down into five different cityregion types, listed below. Importantly, these categories are not exclusive, they are research themes from which to build a greater understanding of city-regions.

2013-2014

Gateway Cities are at the heart of city-regions. They are leaders in economic, cultural, and political processes.

‘Global’ or ‘world’ gateway cities are beginning to bypass nation states as the key centres of global and regional socioeconomic power.

2014-2015

Interstitial Zones can be regions that have lost their primacy to global cities due to changes in trade flows, declining industries or geographic shifts in production. They can also be gateways for large, thinly-populated natural regions, zones of low-growth with the potential to redefine their role in a globalized economy.

2015-2016

Divided Places are regions characterized by sharp and immediate differences in wealth, infrastructure, density, etc., where virtual and physical segmentation creates stark social, economic and political inequality.

22 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

2016-2017

Symbiotic Cities are independent cities that are economically codependent with a neighbouring city or region, usually separated by a natural or jurisdictional border. Their symbiotic relationship means that they are part of a bigger system that strongly binds the two cities and their regions.

2017-2018

Continuous Corridors are regions with large and contiguous cities connected by high-speed rail, frequent flights, free trade zones, etc., creating continuous corridors of connectivity. These city clusters operate closely on multiple levels allowing people to live and work across places and cultures.

GATEWAY CITIES PROJECT 2013/14 OVERVIEW Year 01 of the Regional Ecologies project will look at Gateway Cities by studying Toronto, New York and Chicago as ‘gateways’ to their respective regions. Just as cities compete and cooperate globally, so do regions. What is good for New York may be good for Toronto or Chicago and vice versa - as economic or cultural activities that are attracted to one region can spill over to the other. Toronto, New York and Chicago are key territorial gateways in terms of borders, transportation, energy and agriculture and key network gateways in terms of finance, manufacturing and culture. These three cities are embedded in global networks and economies that are dependent upon markets that go beyond their local and national parameters.

Furthermore, this super-region of interconnected economies surrounding the Great Lakes and the US Northeast, on its own, would be the world’s second largest economy smaller only than the economy of the rest of the US. The three primary global cities anchoring this super-region are Chicago, Toronto and New York. These cities serve as global gateways for their larger city-regions and have nation-sized economies – New York’s regional economy is larger than the national economy of Mexico - and all three cities are on GFC’s 2011 list of the nine key global financial centres (London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Chicago, Zurich, Toronto and Frankfurt).

The Chicago and New York regions cover truly massive areas (roughly 30,000 km2 each) and cross multiple state borders. The Toronto region is contained within its province and is a quarter the size of each of the other regions.

Surprisingly, the Toronto region has a higher population density than either the Chicago or New York regions.

All three lack appropriate regional governance structures that can speak for the needs of the entire city-region.

Tackling region-scale issues is encumbered by the huge number of jurisdictions that can be involved. For example, the New York region is governed by 800 city and town boards.

PROJECT AIMS Census data and mapping by urban research centres are contributing to the understanding of Gateway Cities, but much is left to be learned about how these cities operate as gateways within their regional contexts and further how these three cities are connected. More research is needed at the city-region scale, research that develops and maps new relationships across established boundaries. The Gateway Cities 2013-2014 project aims to: •

understand and define the layers of these regional systems in terms of energy, housing, transportation and public spaces

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examine the networks between the three cities, mapping the connections from a regional perspective

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propose an ecology of innovation for these regional systems

PROJECT DELIVERABLES The Gateway Cities Project will investigate future development, resilience and competitiveness within regions and between cities by delivering a model for a smart region.

Though final project deliverables will depend on the work conducted by the students and the agreements reached with project partners, deliverables of the Gateway Cities project will include: •

network plans for multi-use greenways

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alternative regional energy plans

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connected regional transportation plans

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regional identity and culture plans

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THREE GATEWAY CITIES

TORONTO REGION Population: 6 M Size: 7,124 km2 (population density: 850/km2) GDP: $286 Billion (equivalent to Malaysia) The Toronto region, known as the Greater Toronto Area, is a key global, national and regional gateway. It contributes roughly 20& of Canada’s GDP. An equivalent-sized GDP contribution in the US would require combining its three largest regional economies (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago together equal 17.4% of US GDP). The Toronto region is the fastest growing city-region in the Great Lakes-US Northeast super-region and is one of the fastest growing city-regions in the OECD. Toronto’s population is highly diverse and it has the largest proportion of immigrant residents (46%) of any OECD city-region.

Its economy is also highly diverse and its key economic sectors include: financial services, life sciences, ICT, manufacturing, food and beverage, and creative industries.

It is a key global banking, insurance and finance center.

Toronto’s TMX group is the world’s seventh largest stock exchange and is the prime global center of mining equity (more than half of the world’s publicly traded mining companies are listed in Toronto). Two of the largest 10 global life insurers are located in Toronto.

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NEW YORK REGION Population: 22.2 M Size: 30,670 km2 (population density: 724/km2) GDP: $1.2 Trillion (larger than Mexico) The New York region, known as the Tri-state area, includes, ironically, parts of four states (NY, NJ, CT, PA). It is at the top echelon of the world’s most important global cityregions along with London and Tokyo and is, without a doubt, the prime US economic and cultural gateway. New York is a global banking, finance, media and business center and is home to the world’s two largest stock exchanges (NYSE/Euronext and NASDAQ/ OMX). Its three international airports form a key hub for international and domestic passengers.

CHICAGO REGION Population: 9.7 M Size: 28,120 km2 (population density: 509/km2) GDP: $525 Billion (equivalent to Sweden) The Chicago region, known as Chicagoland, includes parts of three states (IL, WI, IN) and is a key global and regional gateway (US Midwest). The Chicago region is North America’s prime transportation and logistics hub (half of US rail freight passes through the region) and its airports are a key domestic passenger and freight hub. Chicago is also a global finance center and is home to the world’s largest futures exchange (CME). Along with Los Angeles and Toronto, it is one of the three major agricultural/food hubs in North America.

The region’s industrial mix includes manufacturing, logistics and knowledge-intensive activities. Employment in the manufacturing sector has been declining, but still ranks above the national average. As a result, the region still classifies as an industrial centre, not a knowledge hub.

Despite this, the three sectors that comprise knowledgeintensive services – financial, professional and educational -- are surging. The Chicago region is well-known for being the freight crossroad of the US, the largest inter modal container handler in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s fifth-biggest inter modal container handler. (source: OECD)

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GATEWAY CITIES 2013/14 PARTNERS & ADVISORS The IwB is partnering with a public, not for profit, and private organization in each of the three gateway cities. This multi-partnership framework will: allow the IwB to thoroughly connect and explore regional systems in and between the chosen gateway cities; provide the IwB with access to vital research and data about each region; and create synergies between the three gateway cityregions that could spark further region-wide projects. Partners will participate in a variety of ways, from sitting on advisory committees, to sharing information, providing feedback on proposals, making presentations, hosting events and undertaking research and design projects in collaboration with IwB faculty and students.

REGIONAL ECOLOGIES COMMITTEE: 5 YEAR STRATEGY

GATEWAY CITIES COMMITTEE: 2013-2014 PROJECT

CHICAGO PARTNERS

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TORONTO PARTNERS

NEW YORK PARTNERS

__

CURRICULUM

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CURRICULUM CURRICULUM STRUCTURE The nine-month IwB school year is based on three overlapping segments: project preparation, project development, and project communication. While the first semester introduces students to a variety of design disciplines, tactics, skills, and tools, it also serves to familiarize the students with the partner and context. By winter break, students have conducted site research, met with partners, and prepared a research document and proposal outline for the “major project.” In the second semester, the course schedule includes more studio time to develop the proposal. The spring involves more focused activities, such as charrettes and ateliers, that serve to create specific design elements of the larger project. By the end of the second semester, students switch modes to synthesize, package, and present their year’s work for the public and partner, often in the form of an exhibition, book, and presentation. At the end of the school year, students switch modes again in a field placement course that applies IwB tools, methods and research to longer-term faculty-led projects in a professional environment.

The IwB curriculum is delivered in a studio environment where students work on real projects as an integral part of the program. Faculty, mentors, and guest experts teach courses, provide feedback, and collaborate directly with the students. Students’ learning is structured through classes, lectures, seminars, and field trips. Assignments and projects involve both individual and group work and emphasize interdisciplinary design development and strategy. Students learn about design history, theories and issues that contextualize the Institute’s mandate and the Regional Ecologies Project. Throughout the academic year, students will also be encouraged to attend local seminars, conferences, and events pertinent to the major project.

The curriculum includes a variety of course and assignment formats, including charrettes that span several days, modules that are several weeks long, and more traditional classes that meet weekly over a semester. Every year, course content is tailored to the partner’s needs and to ensure that the courses are synchronized. A product28 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

design class in the morning might feed into a seminar on budgeting in the afternoon. A guest lecture by the director on systems thinking helps to establish a systems diagram that allows the students to approach the major project more holistically. Because the curriculum is continually updated, good communication between faculty, administration, students, and partners is required to maintain synergy and adapt to changing circumstances.

The overlap and cyclical nature of the curriculum reinforce learning and build momentum throughout the year. For example, students start preparing for their final exhibition in the spring by creating a small exhibit at the school in the fall, followed by a larger exhibit at the end of the school year which may travel to other locations. This type of iterative learning is fundamental to the IwB approach. The school year is structured around a continually repeating cycle of explore, design, test, evaluate and repeat.

REGIONAL ECOLOGIES YEAR 1: GATEWAY CITIES 2013 -2014 In the Gateway Cities Project, the nine-month school year is broken into two semesters: Fall, from September to December 2013, and Winter, from January to the first week of June 2014.

The Major Project Courses are taught by a core group of faculty in both semesters. These courses provide the framework for the research, development and communication of the Gateway Cities project and integrate the different applied projects undertaken in the Design Modules and Ateliers. At the end of the Major Project courses, students will complete a publication that integrates the design research, processes and proposals developed by the students from September to April.

Core Courses run throughout the year and deliver the philosophical, tactical and strategic learning that underpin the curriculum of the IwB.

Design Modules and Ateliers are intensive studio courses that bring together students with industry professionals to undertake projects in different design disciplines. These modules last three weeks and relate directly to the Major Project. The emphasis in these projects is the development of individual design skills and the creation of design propositions that are integrated into the Major Project. The Design Skills Workshop is held weekly and focuses on developing specific skills and knowledge of tools and software.

Charrettes constitute a key part of the IwB’s teaching methods. Over the course of the year, classes stop three times in order to focus on charrettes that take place in different locations, with different challenges and new interdisciplinary teams of local and international students advised by members of the public, government and industry. Charrettes push the students’ skills development while teaching students how to lead and collaborate in interdisciplinary teams. They also develop the Major Project further in short periods of time.

After the students complete all courses and the Major Project publication in April, they shift to Field Placement.

Over the last seven weeks of the school year, students join a faculty-led team to integrate elements of the Major Project with faculty work on Regional Ecologies projects.

Based on a professional design studio model, students support faculty and together, create a final public exhibition and report for partners. In this way, students are able to develop their skills in a different professional setting and start envisioning how they will transfer IwB learnings outside of the school environment.

Throughout the school year, government, industry and educational partners support research and design projects. This includes financial and in-kind support, participation in events, providing expert guidance, and partnering on the development of projects. Project partners regularly add to the Major Project as the year moves forward.

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2013 FALL SCH

FALL 2013

ORIENTATION WEEK

DESIGN PROJECTS

26 - 1

communication

system and services

MAJOR PROJECT

DESIGN PROCESS 011001000110010101110011011010010110011101101110001000000110100101110011 101101110011101000010000001110000011001010111001001110011011100000110100 000110010100100000011011110111010001101000011001010111001000100000011011 110011101000010000001101001011100110010000001101101011011110111001001100 DESIGN ISSUES

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DESIGN SKILLS

2-8

August

30 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

9 - 15

16 - 22

September

23 - 29

30 - 6

7 - 13

14 - 20

October

21 - 27

product

environment

EXHIBIT

DESIGN PROCESS

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28 - 3

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4 - 10

11 - 17

November

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18 - 24

25 - 1

2-8

...

9 - 15

EXHIBITION OPENING

HEDULE

16 - 23

December

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FALL SEMESTER: CURRICULUM AT A GLANCE The semester begins with a five-day orientation. From September to December, four intensive design projects take place, each lasting three weeks: Communications, Systems & Services, Product, and Environment. Four semester-long courses run concurrently: Integrated Design Process; Design Skills Workshop; Major Project: Preparation; and Design Issues, History & Theory. In addition to study at the Toronto studio, students will travel to New York for a conference and charrette.

***NOTE: The Winter Semester breakdown will be distributed at a later date.

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COURSE DESCRIPTIONS FALL SEMESTER

Orientation August 26 – 30, 2013 Instructors: Chris Pandolfi, Michelle Hotchin & Guest Lecturers Orientation introduces students to IwB methods, team building and collaborative work. Each day begins with a guest lecture about IwB philosophies, tools and ways of working. The afternoons are dedicated to a charrette that builds communication skills, team collaboration and leadership. Soft skills exercises like effective listening, strong presentation style, and time management are taught and practiced. The orientation workshops are intertwined with opportunities for students, faculty and staff to get to know each other and learn about each team member’s educational and work backgrounds.

DESN 4003 Design Project: Communication September 4 – September 20 Instructors: Lauren Wickware & Kristina Ljubanovic Course description: This course provides an introduction to the basics of graphic communication and branding: research, graphic design, copy writing, brand development, critiques, and workflow. Students will propose and design a communication project that supports the project either by communicating project details to the general public or by creating a communication proposal that furthers the Major Project (e.g. tools that enhance communication between partners and the public through greater transparency, social media, and other innovative practices). Students will be expected to communicate to the different parties involved throughout the design process (instructors, studio team, suppliers and clients). Deliverables will be tailored to the abilities of each student, with built-in challenges to expand student understanding of producing a project from idea to final product.

Project description: Students will create an integrated brand architecture and communication strategy for the region and three gateway cities of Toronto, Chicago, and New York. This brand will be expressed through a project such as a regional signage program for highways, a tourism campaign or a trans-media advertising campaign. Creating a brand will encourage students to take a big picture view of the region, to debate what makes it unique and how best to convey the region’s identity and aspirations. This project will help to set the tone for how the Major Project is presented throughout the school year.

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DESN 4006 Design Project: Systems & Services September 23 – October 11 Instructors: Andrea DiMarco & Suzanne Stein Course description: This course teaches students a systems design approach to solving “wicked problems” (problems that are inherently complex and difficult to define). This includes researching and identifying relevant systems, from physical infrastructure to intangible systems like culture. Students will be assigned a service design problem, and they will be required to research and map the systems, actors and experiences involved in using and delivering the service.

In order to approach the problem holistically, students will apply and evaluate the IwB World House and City Systems Matrices. The course concludes with student proposals for new design solutions. In addition to lectures and desk critiques by the instructors, students will benefit from expert guest speakers and studio time to work on their designs and presentations.

Project description: This project will introduce students to how major airport gateways grow and coexist with their surrounding cityregions. Located in Mississauga, the Pearson International Airport is the primary gateway for Toronto and the Southern Ontario region. It is a major hub and the first point of contact for many visitors – the start of a network connecting users with the rest of the Greater Toronto Area, the Golden Horseshoe and the province.

Working with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, this project will assess the neighbourhood surrounding the airport, and seek to understand the built environment, communities and activities that define it. Students will assess the relationship between the airport and this neighbourhood by investigating elements such as shared services, amenities and infrastructure, focusing in particular on three user groups: airport employees, and employees and residents of the surrounding area. Students will 34 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

develop personas and user scenarios for these target groups. They will propose new and existing services that further connect and enhance the neighbourhood and interactions with the airport.

DESN 4004 Design Project: Product October 28 – November 15 Instructors: Miles Keller & Juan Camacho Course description: This module will provide an introductory understanding of Product Design and the disciplines and techniques that influence the product development cycle. Students will research and develop a tangible product concept suitable for the goals of the Major Project. Past products have included: park benches, street garbage cans, and components of public recreational areas. The course will include in-class lectures, discussions, and learning exercises around design research, concept creation, design development, and design presentations. Technical skills such as sketching, mind-mapping, model-making, material selection, manufacturing processes, and design presentation techniques will be introduced and practiced as the student develops their product. A final presentation to faculty and guest professionals will ask students to participate in a formal critique of their product concepts.

Students will be expected to present and support their product concept in a professional manner.

Project description: This project addresses personal, public and freight transportation at the neighbourhood level and how it connects to regional networks. Students will investigate smart vehicles and the infrastructure required for those vehicles to move people and packages between homes, businesses, mass transit and shipping hubs including airports, subway and train stations. By reconsidering systems of car ownership and exploring innovative approaches to public transit, students will propose

transportation modes and services that, if replicated across the region, could increase efficiency, reduce congestion, costs and environmental impact. Students will consider factors such as on-demand transportation, the sharing economy and information technology. Focus will be placed on exploring ‘the last mile’ of transportation infrastructure in low-density areas, referring to the final leg of transportation that delivers and connects customers to the network.

from the individual to a communal use, to address regional population needs. Students will be encouraged to examine a range of precedent projects in Toronto, New York, and Chicago that mix residential and work (live work, studios) uses via intelligent building solutions.

DESN 4007 Design Issues, History and Theory September 12 – December 19 Instructor: Elise Hodson & Guest Lecturers DESN 4005 Design Project: Environment November 18 – December 6 Instructors: Susan Lewin & Mark Guslits Course description: Students are introduced to the design of environments through a real-world project. Different scenarios for inhabitation and the potential for changing usage over time will be explored. Cultural context and site specificity will call for design approaches that are sensitive to the history and sociopolitical atmosphere of the site selected.

The design will be set within the context of the Major Project. The environment design project will be used as a platform to explore design conceptualization through rapid and systematic iteration of design concepts. Students will develop skills in design planning, strategy, development, visualization, and communicating design results.

Students will learn how to approach conflicting needs in environmental design and develop strategies that serve commercial and public uses.

Project description: This project seeks to take advantage of existing buildings by creating affordable, flexible units, which are quickly implementable, and can address the needs of a diverse range of users and uses. Using a specific site in Toronto, students will design scalable, net zero, live-work parasite units that sit on top of, or beside, existing buildings in the already dense city-core. The objective will be to learn about intelligent and flexible housing units that could be scaled

Course description: This course will increase awareness and critical discourse among students about contemporary design issues and theories. It will situate the mandate of the Institute without Boundaries within larger international and historical contexts. To encourage interdisciplinary thinking, speakers from a variety of backgrounds will present on topics related to IwB philosophies and the Major Project. Students will participate in roundtable discussions and conduct research related to their personal interests and the Major Project.

Students will develop analytical skills to critically examine primary sources in varying media, and will employ research, writing and presentation skills.

Project description: Faculty lectures will introduce and contextualize IwB approaches such as design thinking, and principles of universal, sustainable, intelligent, balanced and resilient design. Guest lecturers from a variety of disciplines will introduce students to theory and case studies relevant to the Major Project such as issues of globalization, regionalism and network theory. Included in course hours, students will attend evening lectures at the School of Design from planners, designers and engineers at Arup.

Throughout the semester, students will be expected to: do assigned readings; prepare talking points for in-class discussion and debate; write one response to a guest speaker; propose a guest speaker; and trace key ideas in literature and centres of research related to the Major Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 35

Project. By the end of the semester, students will write and present a short research paper linking course themes to the Major Project, to be published in the Atlas.

DESN 4008 Integrated Design Process September 3 – December 17, 2013 Instructor: Monica Contreras Course description: The course structure divides essential design process components into class segments, with two main approaches: 1) theoretical design approaches and development, and 2) core practical skills and professional knowledge base. Each class, students will progress to a new aspect of the design process. Part 1 of the course looks at research methods, theoretical discourse, design exploration, concept development and synthesis of design concepts. It introduces students to conceptualization, visualization and integrated design approaches that use triple-bottom line sustainable practices, as well as design evaluation focused on human-centred principles, human interaction, and experience design. Part 2 looks at key project management proficiencies: financial analysis, managing real estate, auditing, property development, and evaluating social and economic returns. Students will be exposed to and expected to navigate a fastpaced, studio-style design setting, learning professional methodologies by participating in short assignments, working individually as well as within a group. The course requires students to develop tools that explore innovative thinking and brainstorming, and put them into practice in a professional environment.

DESN 4009 CHARRETTE I October 19 - 21, New York Instructors: Andrea DiMarco, Luigi Ferrara, Elise Hodson, Michelle Hotchin, Chris Pandolfi Course description: This course allows students to explore design issues and develop solutions in a team environment through the 36 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

design charrette process. This is an intensive, collaborative process that brings together students from different disciplines with design professionals to develop innovative solutions for complex issues. Over a few short days of brainstorming, discussion and expert consultation, teams will create a broad range of ideas around the central theme, and eventually focus on a single best concept to present to their peers and a panel of experts. Students will learn the basics of how charrettes function and gain new teamwork skills to apply in the Winter Charrette course.

Charrette description: The Institute without Boundaries will partner with the Parsons DESIS LAB for a multi-day charrette that will investigate new models for municipal and regional public innovation units. The charrette will take place in New York City. Teams of IwB and Parsons students, staff and faculty, as well as Toronto and New York City design professionals will invent and design a fictional agency that has the capacity to intervene in local and regional problems making a more resilient New York City and Tri-state region. The charrette will stress resilience in the city-region, where local solutions could become templates for scalable solutions to regional problems.

DESN 4010 Major Project: Preparation September 4 – December 20 Instructors: Susan Speigel, Paul DeFreitas, Chris Pandolfi Course description: This course introduces students to the Major Project and the needs identified by project partners. Students will assess and focus research questions, develop and carry out a research plan. Students will learn and practice a variety of design research skills, engage with the community they will be designing for, and work with industry representatives. Students will apply IwB tools and methodologies, as well as design skills learned in other courses, in preparation for the Winter course, Major Project: Development. Students will meet regularly with faculty and will present their ideas and approaches to partners, faculty and external advisors. By the end of the semester, students

will create and communicate a research document, project objectives and a working plan for the Major Project to be carried out in the Winter semester.

Project description: As the first class to tackle the Regional Ecologies project, the 2013-14 students will begin a mapping and research project with the goal of creating a regional atlas that documents stakeholders, resources and networks. This will not only provide geographical context, but will also give students and faculty insight into the complexity of the region, its history, current strengths and weaknesses, and future challenges and opportunities. At the same time, students will become familiar with issues facing cityregions, and urban and regional development more broadly.

Students will compare other significant regions around the world to understand what makes the city-region unique and what challenges it shares with other regional ecologies.

This exercise will result in a comprehensive atlas that will take the form of a public exhibition and website. These deliverables will form the basis for the Major Project in the second semester.

Design Skills Workshop September 3 – December 17 Instructors: Evelyne Au-Navioz, Juan Camacho, Chris Pandolfi Course description: The Design Skills Workshop teaches students necessary skills in order to complete the Major Project and contribute effectively to team projects. This course ensures that all students learn and are evaluated on a minimum set of design skills regardless of prior education and experience.

Students will learn how to use key software including the Adobe suite, SketchUp and AutoCAD, as well as hands-on skills like model making. Students will have the opportunity and support to practice design skills in the workshop. It is expected that students will take the initiative to expand their skills and also act as mentors to their peers in situations where they have more expertise.

WINTER SEMESTER The course delves into a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, stressing design research methods such as: design and systems thinking, observation research, mapping skills, research synthesis and analysis, brainstorming, design iteration and evaluation, and communication of design ideas. Exercises and lectures throughout the course are structured to allow students to practice their research skills against various project scenarios.

At the end of the first semester, students will create a small exhibition in the School of Design public display cases.

These exhibits will convey project developments from the first semester, highlighting the regional atlas project, and the concept of gateway cities within the context of Toronto, New York, and Chicago. At the end of January, these exhibits will be showcased to the public at an open house during Toronto’s design week, coinciding with the Interior Design Show and as part of the Toronto Design Offsite Festival.

DESN 4021 MAJOR PROJECT: DEVELOPMENT January - April Instructors: Susan Speigel, Christopher Pandolfi, Paul DeFreitas Course description: Building on DESN 4010 Major Project Preparation, students develop the design solutions envisioned in the first semester. Based on research, skills, tools and techniques learned in the first semester, students work together as a team to propose and execute a design project that combines environmental, product, communication, systems and services design techniques. Drawing from their personal experience and expertise to contribute to the larger team initiative, students will produce reports, schematic designs, budgets and implementation plans using a holistic, interdisciplinary and systems-based approach. The course includes lectures, seminars, studio work, presentations and critiques. In January and February, the course integrates an atelier model that examines Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 37

problems at various scales and further develops the projects from the first semester. Two ‘think and make’ units push students to produce final design deliverables for the Major Project. The course culminates in a two-week integration period that brings together all of the content for the student publication.

Project Description: Building on research conducted for the atlas project in the first semester, students will seek to define the term ‘gateway city,’ to understand its role within regional ecologies, and to propose how gateway cities can become more resilient. Toronto will be the focus of this project, with additional emphasis on New York and Chicago.

Incorporating research and design work from the first semester, the class will highlight regional systems of transportation, energy and housing, and how they connect to the gateway city. Just as the atlas will be modified by future groups of students, the gateway city framework developed in the winter semester will form the basis for the following years’ students to overlay other systems like water, food, health, etc.

Atelier Small: Net Zero Building January 6 - 17 Instructors: Xavier Masse and Miles Keller Project description: The scalable and flexible mixed-use unit from semester 1 will be redesigned as an entire net zero building in response to three site conditions typical of Toronto, Chicago and New York. Conceived of as a modular building system, the project should be replicable and tie into regional energy networks. Students will look at examples of smart campusstyle housing and work-live spaces. Atelier Small gives students a chance to redesign and reconsider concepts from the fall course Design Project: Environmental Design.

38 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Atelier Medium: Mobility Hub January 20 - 31 Instructors: Monica Contreras and Christopher Pandolfi Project description: Students will design a prototype mobility hub that accounts for regional transportation needs and new live/work patterns in both urban and suburban centres of gateway cities. This atelier considers how the smart vehicles from semester 1 can feed into larger transportation networks through multi modal hubs that allow commuters and goods to move with ease between local and regional transit and shipping providers. Students will also consider how to streamline and minimize travel for services such as shopping, while concentrating development around the hub and providing new public amenities.

Atelier Large: Corridors February 3 - 14 Instructors: Paul DeFreitas and Warren Price Project description: The large atelier will build on the airport project from semester 1 and consider how people, money, goods, information and nature move between the three gateway cities. Thinking about the connections between Toronto, New York and Chicago as corridors, students will be encouraged to think about how these three cities could benefit from and create value by developing more efficient forms for sharing, moving and communicating.

For example, how would the three airports benefit from investing in high-speed rail corridors? How could the regional energy grid benefit from consolidated energy corridors? How could natural resources be better shared and protected by recognizing regional green corridors that cross state boundaries? What opportunities exist when these corridors intersect?

Think Make 1 & 2 March 3 – 28 Instructors: Andrea DiMarco, Lauren Wickware, Xavier Masse, Warren Price Project description: In consultation with faculty, students will select the most important projects from semesters 1 and 2 to develop more fully as detailed design proposals. This will take a variety of forms as appropriate, such as: maps, architectural and urban development plans, product design drawings and prototypes, user scenarios and systems diagrams, videos, animations, web sites, marketing campaigns, budgets and implementation plans.

DESN 4022 Major Project: Communications January - April Instructors: Elise Hodson, Christopher Pandolfi, Lauren Wickware and guest speakers Course description: Students will collaborate to package and market their work from DESN 4021 Major Project Development for public distribution. Formats may include exhibitions, publications, web sites and conferences. Under the direction of faculty, students will be responsible for compiling, editing, designing and producing materials that are appropriate for target audiences outside of the educational setting and in accordance with the needs of the industry partners. In this way, the original research, tools and design work accomplished by the IwB faculty and students is disseminated broadly. The course asks students to find innovative, effective and efficient strategies for dissemination and marketing of their work.

Project description: Project work will be packaged for communication to the public. The course will result in a book detailing the proposal and highlighting the relationship with the Regional Ecologies project. Students will also assemble materials that may be integrated in a public exhibition developed with faculty and shown at the School of Design in June, as well

as other related formats as appropriate such as videos, web sites, etc. The final two weeks of this course will be coordinated with Major Project Development to consolidate all final deliverables.

DESN 4025 Integrated Design Process January - April Instructor: Monica Contreras Course Description: Building on DESN 4008 Integrated Design Process, this course will explore and apply practical and creative techniques for achieving social and environmental innovation through interdisciplinarity, collaborative design in greater depth. Each class will cover a different aspect of the complete design process including: generating ideas, pitching a concept, developing a project according to stakeholder interests and finally, managing the project’s implementation. Course discussions and in-class assignments will support the Major Project work for the year.

DESN 4024 Design Charrette 02 February (dates tbc), Toronto and March/April (dates tbc), Chicago Course description: DESN 4024 Charrette II requires students to apply the experience they gained in planning and executing DESN 4009 Design Charrette by taking a leadership and planning role. Charrette challenges further developments of the major project.

Toronto - Project description: The international charrette will be held in Toronto in February and will bring together 150-200 professional advisors, faculty and students from schools in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. The charrette will consist of about 20 different teams that will conduct GTHA-specific research and propose solutions for responsive building strategies that will be durable, flexible and energy efficient. The teams will create design solutions that may consider climate, Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 39

energy reliance, changes in use over time (how the building will transform in the long term), occupancy, durability, and flexibility. Responsive solutions could include plans for how to address aging population, the need for family-sized units, better services and amenities, and conversions of older building stock into responsive buildings, etc.

Chicago - Project description: IwB will partner with the City of Chicago (Office of the Mayor) for a multi-day charrette in Chicago that will investigate the themes of river revitalization, urban food production and energy efficiency as part of a proposed green belt for the City of Chicago. Teams of IwB students, IIT students, IwB and IIT staff, faculty, and representatives from the City of Chicago will be brought together for this charrette.

As part of the charrette, representatives from the City of Chicago (to be determined) will identify specific areas within the city that require the most attention in terms of the charrette themes of river revitalization, urban food production and energy efficiency. The challenge will be to design a networked green belt in select locations within the city using the nearly 15,000 vacant lots currently owned by the City of Chicago.

the professional network and variety of projects they are exposed to during the program. A final review panel of industry professionals provides feedback on portfolios and resumes and helps to make valuable connections.

Students are also encouraged to pursue an optional enhanced field placement with one of their identified prospects after graduation.

The second part of the course focuses on a mandatory field placement and allows students to apply IwB tools, methods and research to longer-term projects in a professional environment. Over the final seven weeks of the Winter semester, the IwB is transformed into a design studio where the more formal course structure is replaced by students reporting directly to faculty on facultyled projects for partner clients. Thus, the post-graduate education program merges with the research division and students experience working for professional designers and academics on an authentic task project.

Project description: The five-year Regional Ecologies initiative will include a series of faculty-led research and design projects. Student work for the 2013-14 Gateway Cities project will feed into these longer-term projects. Led by a team of professional designers and academics, students will support the development of design proposals for clients and produce a public exhibition in early June.

Field Education January - June Instructors: Lori Endes, TBD Course description: This course provides professional development through career preparation and field placement, with the goal of helping students make the transition from the IwB studio to employment.

The first part of the course consists of a series of four seminars from January to June that guide students through two processes: identifying prospective employment opportunities and developing portfolios and resumes.

Lectures, in-class working sessions and critiques help students to understand, verbalize, visualize and market the skills they develop at the IwB, as well as maximize 40 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

IwB Year End Early June 2014

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EDUCATIONAL APPROACH & OUTCOMES

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 41

EDUCATIONAL APPROACH & OUTCOMES EDUCATIONAL MODEL The Institute offers a learning experience that equips graduates with the capacity to solve 21st century challenges by focusing the program around real design projects with tangible outcomes.

Students experience the demands of a real project and the intellectual and creative rigour required to undertake it.

The Institute has pioneered a graduate-level curriculum using a design-based model that fosters learning across disciplines, integrating specialized knowledge and breaking down geographic, cultural and social barriers.

Throughout the semester, students engage in a process of research, analysis, conceptualization, proposition, visualization, experimentation, testing, revision and presentation. The Institute also hosts lectures, seminars, workshops and intensive learning sessions from industry leaders. This process combines apprenticeship with classroom and studio-based education, forming a new learning pedagogy that is unique to the Institute.

At the IwB, students will: •

Contribute to a multi-disciplinary studio environment where faculty, mentors and advisors collaborate to conceptualize, visualize, design and learn from each other.

•

Work on real challenges that have the potential for global benefits.

•

Share findings with the public and IwB partners in a meaningful way.

•

Learn through participation in every aspect of a project, assuming a variety of roles.

•

Attend lectures, seminars and workshops from industry leaders that augment overall knowledge and skills.

•

Receive critical feedback, appraisal, direction and support from faculty, peers and mentors on project deliverables to augment the self-evaluation process.

•

Practice a “think and do” research approach, applying secondary, primary and applied research methodologies to the design process.

•

Follow best practices of a professional design studio using design strategy, design briefs, design management and project management tools.

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METHODOLOGIES The IwB is continually refining working processes, and developing tools and frameworks for thinking about and communicating design challenges. The following methodologies inform coursework and projects.

Methodology 01: 01: DESIGN RESEARCH

02: PARTNERED APPLIED LEARNING

03: DESIGN STRATEGY

04: ECOLOGY OF INNOVATION APPROACH

05: SYSTEMS THINKING

06: EVOLUTIONARY DESIGN PARADIGMS

07: CHARRETTING

08: STUDIO PRACTICE

09: INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS

10: DESIGN COMMUNICATION

Design Research Understanding the problem is the first step in any design process. The IwB uses design research to explore the context and establish baseline considerations and objectives for a successful design solution. Both primary and secondary research methods are employed: field research activities include photo documentation, interviewing stakeholders, sketching, mapping, collecting numerical data, observation, and note taking. Desk research activities include traditional methods like literature reviews, market scans, and collecting design precedents, but also extend to the creation of “day in the life” user scenarios, testing design concepts, and conducting community engagement sessions to analyze current patterns to co-create solutions and get feedback about them in the field. The design research process often uncovers key insights that lead directly to the most effective solutions—often these come from community members or stakeholders, but sometimes arise out of simple observation by “outsider eyes.”

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 43

Methodology 02: Partnered Applied Learning Because the IwB program centres on real projects, the curriculum encourages interaction with and feedback from partners, stakeholders, and community members.

Students learn how to listen, gather information, identify user needs and respond appropriately. In the fall semester, students conduct background research by engaging with the community they will be designing for, and they work with representatives from industry and government to learn about the challenges of and opportunities associated with their specific project. In the spring, students propose and execute a design project, resulting in reports, schematic designs, budgets, and implementation plans. This gives students a more thorough understanding of the complexities, constraints and opportunities inherent in real projects with real budgets and deadlines.

Methodology 03: Design Strategy The IwB focuses on integrating design strategy in all projects. The Institute sees design strategy as a coordinated approach using all design formats to reach a client’s goals, and letting the nature of each design strategy evolve to fit particular challenges. The goal is not only to design a solution for an immediate problem but also to propose flexible frameworks and systems that communities can adapt to solve problems in the future.

Methodology 04: Ecology of Innovation Approach IwB uses an ecology of innovation approach to understanding and solving problems. Studying the complexity and interconnectedness of political, social, design, technical, and business innovation reveals that innovation is multi-directional and multi-faceted.

A constellation of factors must align to make true and lasting innovation possible. While social innovation may help us determine how we might want to live differently, technological innovation can build platforms that allow for these new possibilities to operate. Design innovation can contextualize those possibilities into formats we can understand and use, and business innovation can render the formats replicable and propagate them in society.

Finally, political innovation can assist in institutionalizing innovation, creating a pervasive environment of innovation that becomes a background that guides and regulates how we live. As a conceptual method, an ecology of innovation is based on the proposition that all these forces interacting in synergy are required to make social change. The method promotes a culture and attitude of experimentation and considers innovation as inclusive of tools, strategies, and the development of key relationships, recognizing that it is the synergy of these factors that enables social change.

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Methodology 05: Systems Thinking The IwB fosters systems thinking that aims to reveal patterns through observing, modeling and visualizing complex variables and interdependencies. Systems thinking makes tangible the multi-dimensional nature of today’s urban challenges. Students are encouraged to think holistically and to consider the many factors influencing a given challenge. To avoid tackling a problem from a single perspective, a systems “matrix” provides a checklist that helps students to ask new questions and contemplate the intersections of a variety of systems. The Institute has developed two such matrices that are consulted and adapted each year. The World House Matrix organizes the basic elements of housing into twelve systems, covering terrain, climate, economy, and culture.

The City Systems Matrix identifies seven characteristics that combine to create a healthy city: wellness, safety, accessibility, diversity, cohesion, identity, and sustainability.

“Unexpectedly, the fruit flies that I studied in undergrad served as my first foray into design and systems thinking.

As a biologist, my understanding of the world was shaped largely by a deep fascination for the complex, and usually invisible, connections between things—a system of patterns that connects everything around us. I saw these patterns in

cells, organisms, and ecosystems, and most vividly, in the simple yet sophisticated embryo of a fruit fly. In working on the Housing Timeline at IwB, the importance of systems thinking in design began to reveal itself when we went beyond the physical and into the relational. The timeline was, by and large, an exercise in pattern recognition and systems thinking, in that we wanted to demonstrate how unique parts and their relationships can elegantly expose an integrated system and unexpected insights. Through this process, design became a way to understand, interpret, and propose patterns and generate solutions. Similar to biology, design is a tool and methodology that we use to explore and embrace the complexity of our world, while simultaneously making sense of it through the act of creation: design and systems thinking is a method to the madness.”

– Kar Yan Cheung, IwB alumnus (World House Year 1), designer, Bruce Mau Studio

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 45

Methodology 07: Charretting

Methodology 06: Evolutionary Design Paradigms IwB designs projects that evolve in response to the needs of different stakeholders and specific contexts. Rather than create solutions that are appropriate only to one challenge, location, time period or target audience, IwB generates tools, strategies and methodologies that are adaptable by others. Not only are IwB proposals intended to be relevant in other locations and for different audiences, but they are also designed to be flexible, easy to adapt, and responsive to local needs. At the same time, by considering problems as broadly as possible, IwB looks for connections to others who face similar challenges around the globe, and works with others to generate ways of working that can be useful to many. By considering problems from the perspectives of a variety of stakeholders, IwB creates systems that encourage as many people as possible to participate and contribute to the design of both the system and the solution.

46 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

A charrette is an intensive collaborative process that brings together students and professionals from different disciplines. Over a few short days of brainstorming, discussion, and expert consultation, interdisciplinary teams create a broad range of ideas around a central theme and eventually focus in on a single concept. The charrette originated as a design process used by architects, urban planners, and designers to connect community members, developers, and professionals to address complex projects like neighbourhood planning, urban development, and construction projects. Working side by side in a charrette, these groups are able to develop feasible solutions that meet everyone’s needs. IwB students are given leadership roles as team facilitators, making them responsible for ensuring that their team of up to ten students from different programs and schools collaborate and stay on track.

The term charrette is drawn from the late 1800s, where proctors at the École Des Beaux-Arts in Paris would circulate a cart (charrette) to collect drawing submissions as students rushed frantically to finish their work. The IwB charrette process develops a similar momentum, which is key to the success of the event. Charrettes are used at various points throughout the school year. The size varies greatly, ranging from IwB students exploring strategies for the major project, to events of over one hundred students visiting from foreign and local schools who design elements of the major project in detail.

IwB charrettes are differentiated by the following factors: interdisciplinary, co-creation, stakeholder and user engagement and whole systems practices.

Methodology 08: Studio Practice Studio courses mimic professional design studio environments. Industry professionals guide students in three week-long studio projects that combine skill development in different design disciplines with focused individual and group deliverables that contribute to the major project. For example, in Product Design students go through the phases of design research, concept creation, and design development in the context of a case study problem. During the process they learn technical skills, such as sketching, mind mapping, model-making, material selection, manufacturing processes, and presentation techniques. This product studio allows for a humanscale understanding of the daily lives of residents, while the Environment Studio looks at how communities are organized at the level of architecture and urban planning.

Communication and Service Design make up the other two studios. At the end of studios, as in all IwB projects, faculty and guests critique the final concepts.

Methodology 09: Integrated Design Process Students receive training in a variety of practical tools and tactics to implement the major project, from generating ideas and pitching a concept, to developing a project according to stakeholder interests, and, finally, managing the project’s implementation. Students learn about such aspects as triple-bottom-line sustainable practices, project management, financial analysis, and the evaluation of social and economic returns. These tools and tactics push students to develop their design proposals in detail, taking ideas from design concept toward practical and thorough solutions.

“Outcome-based education can provide significant training.

However, it is via skills-based training rooted in realworld problems that students are equipped with tangible skills to become design leaders. The integrated design process at IwB, fortified by the multidisciplinarity of the students, is based on human-centred design thinking and community/ user participation. It is enhanced by project management theory, practice, and framed within a professional foundation in research methods, ethical discussions, and financial analysis. The students repeat the agile design process and apply it to many problems across small, medium, and large scales within an atelier classroom structure. At the same time, students engage in continuous design evaluation using a systems-thinking matrix analysis and triple bottom line methodology to balance social, environmental, and economic benefits in order to push their design beyond just strategy into tactical implementable solutions. It is via a codification of an integrated design process that design proposals can evolve to detailed prototypes and truly engage the student in integrated design thinking.”

– Monica Contreras, IwB faculty, OAA, principal of Conifer Consultants, and director of Digital Futures Implementation at OCAD University

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 47

Methodology 10: Design Communication Through a series of courses, students learn the basics of communication and production using print, digital, and physical media. At various points during the year, students design events, installations, and information pieces that communicate stages of the major project to stakeholders, peers, and the general public. This helps to solidify design ideas, gain feedback from new audiences, generate research, and spread the word about the students’ work.

48 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

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PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 49

ESSENTIAL EMPLOYMENT SKILLS SKILL CATEGORY

Communication

Numeracy

DEFINING SKILLS

ESSENTIAL EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS OUTCOMES

Skill areas to be demonstrated by the graduates:

Graduates will reliably demonstrate the ability to:

• • • • • •

Reading Writing Speaking Listening Presenting Visual Literacy

•

•

Understanding and applying • mathematical concepts and reasoning Analysing and using numerical data Conceptualizing

execute mathematical operations accurately

Analysing Synthesizing Evaluating Decision-making Creative, innovative and entrepreneurial thinking Design Development and Strategy

•

apply a systematic, design thinking approach to solve problems use a variety of thinking skills to anticipate and solve problems use design processes, tools and methods to develop design proposals and strategies

Conducting research Gathering and managing information Selecting and using appropriate tools and technology for a task or a project Computer literacy Internet skills

•

• • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving

• • • • • •

Information Management

• • •

• •

50 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

•

• •

•

communicate clearly, concisely, and correctly in the written, spoken, and visual form that fulfils the purpose and meets the needs of the audience respond to written, spoken, or visual messages in a manner that ensures effective communication

locate, select, organize, and document information using appropriate technology and information systems analyse, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources

SKILL CATEGORY

Interpersonal

DEFINING SKILLS

ESSENTIAL EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS OUTCOMES

Skill areas to be demonstrated by the graduates:

Graduates will reliably demonstrate the ability to:

• • • • • •

•

Team work Relationship management Conflict resolution Leadership Networking Project management

•

•

• •

Personal

• • • •

Managing self Managing change and being flexible and adaptable Engaging in reflective practices Demonstrating personal responsibility

• • •

show respect for the diverse opinions, values, belief systems, and contributions of others interact with others in groups or teams in ways that contribute to effective working relationships and the achievement of goals lead teams of people to meet deadlines and generate solutions in situations where there are many competing views and limited time and resources know when it is appropriate to follow the direction of others and show respect for others’ leadership develop project management strategies and allocate work and resources in order to complete projects and meet deadlines manage the use of time and other resources to complete projects take responsibility for one’s own actions, decisions, and consequences make decisions and conduct oneself in an ethical manner

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 51

PROGRAM OUTCOMES Upon full attendance and completion of all classes and assignments, students should be able to demonstrate the following skills.

02.

Design Planning

SKILLS PRACTISED • Design project management

01.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Plan and design a small exhibition or event • Create fabrication documents • Assist in the fabrication • Launch the event to the public

Understand and apply design research techniques to evolve a design’s effectiveness within its context and environment.

SKILLS PRACTISED • Research and knowledge management • Research knowledge and synthesis • Design for context LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Develop a research plan based on the specific needs of the project, partners, clients and other stakeholders • Develop techniques for collecting, evaluating, and integrating information into a design project • Conduct thorough and effective explorations using qualitative, quantitative, primary and secondary research methods • Perform comparative analysis of leading international examples • Devise creative and logical mechanisms for analyzing and synthesizing information • Evaluate and contextualize research and present it in a visual format • Evolve designs based on new and emerging parameters and criteria • Prepare documentation of a design’s evolution

52 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Create a plan and manage the design, documentation, tendering, fabrication and delivery for a real-world project.

Design Strategy 03.

Understand the context of design evolution to generate and evaluate innovative design scenarios and concepts.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Design theory and taxonomy LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Complete design review exercises • Stretch the limits of these exercises to result in design breakthroughs • Become familiar with the form and culture of community design • Develop an awareness of design trends and their ideological roots • Plan and evaluate scenarios for design • Apply evaluation methodology for designs • Investigate and absorb design history to identify paradigm shifts • Understand genotypes, phenotypes, visible and invisible designs and other forms of design taxonomy • Design solutions that operate at various taxonomic levels

04.

Develop design strategies that follow from identified vision, mission and objectives to position organizations and companies as design leaders.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Design branding and positioning • Strategic design direction LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Apply analytical and conceptual thinking to generate a design strategy • Develop a flexible, renewable and interactive design system • Work to achieve consensus and integrate knowledge from an interdisciplinary team • Build a strategy that is cohesive in environmental, product and communication spheres • Draft a clear, concise, and accurate vision, mission, set of objectives and design brief

05.

Prepare design briefs, propositions and schematics for critique and development.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Design branding and positioning • Strategic design direction • Critique and evaluation LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Sketch and visualize a design concept • Prepare a written design brief based on an ideological position • Describe a design proposition verbally, visually, and in written form • Generate various schematic designs that meet a design brief • Critique and redirect designs based on other possible ideological perspectives

•

•

Discuss and critique various design propositions, referencing their effectiveness and qualities in relation to a design brief Generate multiple schematic designs for preliminary review and critique

06.

Apply branding, communication, positioning and presentation strategies to design options.

SKILLS PRACTISED • Design research • Design strategy • Branding and communication LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Prepare maps of brand values • Author a communication strategy • Develop a positioning statement • Synthesize positioning and brand into a slogan • Prepare a communication plan including a set of campaigns • Launch and execute the deliverables of the communication plan

Design Development 07.

Engage in a process of ideation and creation, leading to the establishment of a design framework (schematic design).

SKILLS PRACTISED • Design ideation • Schematic design • Problem solving

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Generate iterations from basic designs into final design propositions • Evolve schematic designs into detailed resolutions using a range of methodologies • Prepare 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D visualizations of designs • Critique and synthesize designs into clear propositions • Describe the designs imaginatively and numerically • Visualize the design in space and time • Imagine a fabrication and construction scenario for the designs

08.

Engage in a systematic review and evaluation in order to refine the schematic design and move to design development.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Critique and evaluation • Critical reflection • Responsiveness LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Learn how to receive, respond and synthesize critique into the creative development of a project • Use a set of established criteria • Present design project to external reviewers for feedback • Receive, absorb, and reiterate the critique • Revise the design based on analysis of critique

09.

Understand and apply the interactive systems that underpin the World House and City Systems Matrices and develop best practices in system building using creativity, innovation, initiative, resourcefulness, diligence and foresight.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Understanding and application of systems thinking and holistic design • Application and analysis of the World House Matrix and City Systems Matrix

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Develop best practices for each of the systems • Integrate the systems into a holistic design • Ensure the interaction of systems in the whole

10.

Develop and evaluate methodological tools for the design of systems.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Critique and evaluation • Benchmarking • Systems thinking LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Create qualitative and quantitative mechanisms for evaluating systems integration within a design • Apply systems thinking to design projects

11.

Understand and apply IwB values of sustainable, universal, balanced, intelligent and resilient design.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Design theory • Design strategy • Problem solving • Critique and evaluation • Responsible citizenship • Environmental stewardship LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Understand the five values and how they can be applied across design disciplines • Evaluate design projects and processes from the perspectives of the five values • Incorporate the five values in all design decisionmaking • Develop new strategies and criteria for evaluation for the five values

Visualization 12.

Become proficient at sketching, communicating, transforming and visualizing invisible and visible design concepts and data.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Visual communication • Sketching • Technical drawing (plan, elevation, section, perspective, axonometric) • Transferring and incorporating data and infomatics LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Identify the underlying principles governing and generating final designs • Write system rules for the design • Map potential outcomes of the system • Construct diagrams exposing visible manifestations of invisible designs • Visualize design possibilities for the system through storyboarding • Categorize and develop a taxonomy of the system interactions • Reproduce a variety of scenario outcomes of the design in action • Transform and communicate empirical data as a visual message

• •

Create digital and physical models to scale Create an animation of the construction process

Communication 14.

Learn to communicate, present, and demonstrate design results to external reviewers, client groups, the public and the international design community.

SKILLS PRACTISED • Written communication • Oral communication • Visual communication • Digital literacy LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Present skillfully to the public, design professionals and other students from around the world • Present the Regional Ecologies project in public forums including exhibitions and websites • Use alternative formats to convey design projects such as video and digital media • Successfully plan and stage an exhibit in a public forum, selecting and utilizing the appropriate media to communicate the essence of the design • Compile a publication that describes the design, the system that generates it and the potential of the system to be used internationally • Receive, review and absorb critique of the project

13.

Read, plan and oversee the creation of digital and physical models of designs using 2, 3 and 4-D media.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Model building and prototyping (to scale) • Digital animation • Interactive design LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Create technical drawings including sections, elevations, axonometric and perspective views

Professionalism & Entrepreneurship 15.

Understand and manage an Integrated Design Process in a professional design studio SKILLS PRACTICED • Financial management Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 55

• • •

Project management Business modelling Leadership and effective performance in teams

• • •

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Ensure coordination of all consultants’ knowledge into a unified design • Submit final designs within a set time period • Manage and monitor a flow of information and knowledge between team members in a professional and organized manner • Maintain a professional work environment

16.

Understand and manage a collaborative and productive relationship with external partners, clients and stakeholders.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Design research • Client consultation • Proposal development • Presentation LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Communicate with partners in a professional, respectful and effective manner, verbally, visually and in writing • Research partner needs and ensure that projects respond to partner goals • Deliver on partner expectations in a timely manner • Present effective design proposals to partners • Listen and respond to partner feedback • Maintain confidentiality of partner information as necessary

17.

Work effectively in a collaborative, interdisciplinary team to realize innovative design projects.

SKILLS PRACTISED • Team collaboration • Independent thinking • Leadership 56 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Ethical decision-making and conduct Responsible, effective citizenship and environmental stewardship Responsiveness

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Conceive and generate operating principles for new city and regional systems • Develop plans, elevations, sections and 3-D modeling for the system • Demonstrate evolutionary modifications implicit in the system • Demonstrate coordination of all systems in a functioning design • Meet presentation deadlines • Ensure the project is clean, organized, and professional at all levels of presentation

18.

Understand the planning, approval and development process for small, real projects.

SKILLS PRACTICED • Business planning • Municipal development process LEARNING OBJECTIVES • Develop a business plan • Research approvals process • Present pro-forma to industry experts • Investigate code considerations • Investigate authorities having jurisdiction for the project • Create a schedule, budget template, work plan and human resource plan for the project

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES FACULTY RESPONSIBILITIES

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Faculty agrees to:

Students agree to:

•

• • •

•

• • • • • • • •

Share their knowledge in their subject areas and in their related fields of expertise Assist students in the development of their work through guidance, demonstration of tools and by providing relevant precedents Assess students’ progress, provide written and verbal feedback and promptly grade work Provide ongoing directions and guidance on projects Be available for consultation in person and by email Keep course content up-to-date Provide constructive feedback to help push student learning and project ideas Provide clear direction on course expectations and assignments Attend, support and promote student and IwB events Communicate and collaborate with other faculty to team-teach and create meaningful overlaps between classes and projects

• • • • • • • • • •

•

•

• • •

Attend all sessions and complete all assigned work Maintain confidentiality of work as required Respect the diversity of the group and the contributions that it brings Be honest, open and respectful in communication Understand that creation involves a patient search and that anything is possible Be prepared to work diligently and participate actively Be able to lead and to follow in executing projects Be coachable by faculty, mentors, advisors and colleagues Celebrate successes and persist through challenges Share knowledge and learning and learn from others Use constructive criticism and propose alternative solutions for consideration Be accountable to the team and to yourself.

Respect the value commitments of the program: Respect, innovation, openness, compassion, diversity, curiousity, collaboration, honesty, diligence, fairness, integrity, creativity Respect the time commitments of the program: 37.5 hours of work in studio per week and additional work commitments outside studio time Respect the role commitments of the program: Attend sessions as outlined; participate in work as required; respect fellow students and colleagues’ roles and time; follow professional work protocol Work towards realizing deliverables specified in course outlines, by faculty and as a student team Work towards fulfilling the course outcomes as outlined in this handbook Understand and agree to the Testing and Evaluation procedures as outlined in this handbook

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 57

GRADING & EVALUATION TESTING & ASSIGNMENT POLICY While the Institute does not follow traditional testing methodologies such as quizzes, exams and essays, there are assignments, projects, readings, field trips and other participatory exercises that are required of students. Along with these requirements there are major deliverables for each course that will be evaluated by faculty. These comprehensive projects require diligence, creativity, innovation and resourcefulness to complete and cover the domains of environmental, product, communication and systems design. Students are expected to deliver these projects at a high level and will be graded both individually and as teams in their execution.

Should the student fail to meet the academic benchmark in terms of quality of thought, design and presentation, a process of academic advisement will be initiated to see if the situation can be remedied or if the student needs to withdraw from the program. Students can expect to have at least one personal advisement meeting per semester to review grades, skills development, team contribution and overall performance.

Legitimate illness should be covered by a medical note and will be handled on a case-by-case basis with the Director.

58 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

GRADING PROCESS Faculty will review students’ accomplishments weekly and keep a log of individual, team and group progress. In the Fall and Winter, performance reviews will be conducted with students to identify areas of success, areas needing improvement and strategies for performance improvement.

Student feedback regarding program and faculty will occur during the same periods. At the end of the first semester a “continue / do not continue” interview will be held with students to determine their status within the program. A final grade will be provided to students at year end.

The following standard grade measures reflects George Brown College’s grading policy.

The passing grade for IwB courses is B-.

GRADING SYSTEM A+/A 86-100 A- 80-85 B+ 77-79 B 73-76 B- 70-72 C+ 67-69 C 63-66 C- 60-62 D+ 57-59 D 50-56 F Below 50

GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE POLICIES Recommended List of Policies to Review:

1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY 2. CURRICULUM POLICY 3. DISABILITY POLICY 4. INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL POLICY FOR STUDENTS 5. OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR POLICIES 6. PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT POLICY 7. STUDENT ACCEPTABLE USE (OF TECHNOLOGY) POLICY 8. STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT & DISCIPLINE POLICY 9. RESEARCH POLICIES For a complete list of college policies go to: http://www.georgebrown.ca/about/policies/

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 59

RESOURCES & READING LIST General

Regional Planning

•

•

Mau, Bruce. Massive Change. Phaidon Press, 2004.

The Regional City: Planning for the end of sprawl. Peter Calthrope & William Fulton, 2001 City-Region 2020: Integrated Planning for a Sustainable Environment. Joe Revetz, 2000

Global Regions / Cities

•

•

Service Design

• •

• • • •

The Global Cities Reader. Routledge Urban Reader Series, Neil Brenner and Roger Keil, 2006 World City Network: A Global Urban Analysis. Peter J. Taylor 2003 Canadian Urban Regions: Trajectories of Growth and Change. Thomas Hutton, Larry S. Bourne, Richard Shearmur and Jim Simmons, 2011 The Wealth and Poverty of Regions: Why Cities Matter.

Mario Polese, 2010 Cities in a World Economy (Sociology for a New Century Series). Saskia Sassen, 2011 Global Networks, Linked Cities. Saskia Sassen, 2011 The New Century of the Metropolis: Urban Enclaves and Orientalism. Tom Angotti, 2012

Regional Plans for Reference • • • •

Ranstad, South Holland, Netherlands Places to Grow, Growth Plan, Ontario, Canada https://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php Regional Planning for the New York Region, New York, USA - http://www.rpa.org/ US Megaregions, USA- http://america2050.org/

•

Cities • • • • • • • • • • • •

•

60 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

Andy Polaine, Lavrans Løvlie & Ben Reason. Service Design. From Insight to Implementation. 2013

Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. Beacon Press, 1994.

Calvino, Italo. Invisible Cities. 1972.

Davis, Mike. Planet of Slums. Verso, 2007.

ERA Architects & The University of Toronto. Tower Renewal Opportunities. City of Toronto, 2008.

Hamdi, Nabeel. Small Change: The Art of Practice and the Limits of Planning in Cities. Earthscan, 2004.

Jacobs, Jane. Cities and the Wealth of Nations.

Vintage, 1985.

Jacobs, Jane. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Modern Library, 1993.

Koolhaas and Bruce Mau. S,M,L,XL. Monacelli Press in 1995 in New York and 010 Publishers in Rotterdam Kostoff, Spiro. The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Throughout History. Bulfinch, 1993.

Low, Nicholas. The Green City: Sustainable Homes, Sustainable Suburbs. Routledge, 2005.

Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. MIT Press, 1960.

Mumford, Lewis. The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its Prospects. Harvest Books, 1968.

Mumford, Lewis. The Culture of Cities. Harvest Books, 1970.

•

•

Soderstrom, Mary. The Walkable City: From Haussmann’s Boulevards to Jane Jacobs’ Streets and Beyond. Vehicule, 2009.

Hall, Peter. Cities of Tomorrow: An Intellectual History of Urban Planning and Design in the Twentieth Century.

Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 1988.

Systems • • • •

Doczi, Gyorgy. The Power of Limits. Shambhala, 1981.

Maeda, John. The Laws of Simplicity. MIT Press, August 2006.

Maeda, John. Design by Numbers. MIT Press, August 2001.

Galloway, Andrew, Thacker, Eugene. The Exploit: A Theory of Networks (Electronic Mediations). University of Minnesota Press., 2007

Creativity & Innovation • • •

•

•

•

Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010 Benyus, Janine M. Biomimcry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. William Morrow and Co., 1997.

Bornstein, William. How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. Oxford Press, 2004.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2008.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Harper Perennial, 1997.

Kelley, Tom. The Art of Innovation. Doubleday, New York, 2001.

Housing • •

Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language. Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.

A + T Publishers are a dedicated publishing house that focuses on housing.

• •

• •

Conran, Terence. The Essential House Book, Getting Back to Basics. Crown, 1994.

Friedman, Alice T. Women and the Making of the Modern House, A Social and Architectural History. Yale University Press, 2007 Kahn, Lloyd. Shelter. Shelter Publications Inc. 1973.

Knowles, Ralph. Ritual House: Drawing on Nature’s Rhythms for Architecture and Urban Design. Island Press, 2006.

History • • •

Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History. Touchstone, 2005.

Grafton, Anthony, Rosenberg, Daniel. Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timeline. 2012 Giedion, Siegfried. Mechanization Takes Command.

Oxford University Press, 1948.

Sustainability • • •

•

• • • •

•

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1964.

Club of Rome. Limits of Growth. 1972 Chambers, N. Simmons, C. Wackernagel, M. Sharing Nature’s Interest: Ecological Footprints as an Indicator of Sustainability. Earthscan Publications, 2001.

Daly, Herman and Kenneth Townsend. Valuing the Earth: Economics, Ecology, and Ethics. MIT Press, 1994.

Fuad-Luke, Alastair. ecoDesign: The Sourcebook.

Chronicle Books, 2006.

Hawken, Paul. The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. HarperCollins, 1994.

Hull, R. Bruce. Infinite Nature. University of Chicago, 2006.

Lovins, Amory, Lovins, H. and Hawken. P. Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Revolution. Little & Brown, 1999.

McDonough, William and Braungart, Michael. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. North Point Press, 2002.

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• • • • • •

•

• •

•

Papanek, Victor. The Green Imperative: Natural Design for the Real World. Thames & Hudson, 1971.

Steffen, Alex. World Changing: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century. Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 2006.

Thackara, John. In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World. MIT Press, 2006.

Van der Ryn, Sim and Cowan, Stuart. Ecological Design. Island Press, 1996.

Product Design Charter, Martin, Tischner, Ursula. Sustainable Solutions: Developing Products and Services for the Future.

Greenleaf Publications, 2001.

Lewis, Helen, Gertsakis, John. Design + Environment: A Global Guide to Designing Better Goods. Greenleaf Publications, 2001.

Norman, Donald. The Design of Everyday Things.

1988.

Papanak, Victor. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. Academy Chicago Publishers, 1985.

Vicente, Kim. The Human Factor: Revolutionizing the Way People Live with Technology. Routledge, 2006.

Magazines • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Alternatives Applied Arts Magazine Architectural Review ARCH + Azure Business Week Canadian Architect Canadian Business Canadian Interiors Colors Design Management Review Detail Domus Dwell The Ecologist The Economist Fast Company Foreign Affairs Form

62 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Good Green Source Harvard Design Magazine ID Journal of Sustainable Product Design Macleans Material Connexion Materials Monthly Monocle Monu Metropolis Orion Ottagono Spacing Wallpaper Wired

Blogs / Web • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

ArchDaily BLDG BLOG Core77 Creativity Killed the Recession Design Observer Ecogeek Inhabitat The Torontoist Treehugger Urbanism.org World Changing www.theatlanticcities.com/ www.planetizen.com/ www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/index.html (Globalization and World Cities Research Network) www.brookings.edu/about/projects/global-cities (The Brookings Institution Global Cities Initiative) mapsontheweb.tumblr.com/ www.wired.com/wiredscience/maplab/ infosthetics.com/

Articles •

•

Chase-Dunn, Christopher and Jorgenson, Andrew.

“Settlement Systems: Past and Present”, Institute for Research on World-Systems.

Davis, Juliet, Dean, Corinna, Gassner, Gunter, Hall, Suzanne and Keddie, Jamie. “Volume 1 (2009): Researching the spatial and social life of the city”, citiesLAB, 2009.

Resources & Tools Please see following pages.

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 63

World House Systems This matrix diagram was developed as a tool to approach housing design with whole systems thinking. It has since been adapted for use beyond the design of housing and is particularly effective as an auditing tool during charrattes and other design exercises.

4 FILTERS

4 FACTORS

12 SYSTEMS

4 MODES

4 FILTERS 4 FILTERS 4 FILTERS 4 FILTERS

4 FACTORS 4 FACTORS 4 FACTORS 4 FACTORS

12 SYSTEMS 12 12 SYSTEMS 12 SYSTEMS SYSTEMS

4 MODES 4 MODES 4 MODES 4 MODES

WATER

TERRAIN Nourish

TERRAIN TERRAIN TERRAIN TERRAIN Nourish Nourish Nourish Nourish

WATER WATER WATER WATER FOOD

FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD WASTE

WASTE WASTE WASTE WASTE CONSTRUCTION

CLIMATE Shelter

CLIMATE CLIMATE CLIMATE CLIMATE SUSTAINABLE Shelter Shelter Shelter Shelter UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENT BALANCED SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABLE SUSTAINABLE UNIVERSAL UNIVERSAL UNIVERSAL UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENT INTELLIGENT INTELLIGENT INTELLIGENT BALANCED BALANCED BALANCED BALANCED

ECONOMY Connect

ECONOMY ECONOMY ECONOMY ECONOMY Connect Connect Connect Connect

CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION AIR HANDLING

AIR AIR HANDLING AIR HANDLING AIR HANDLING HANDLING ENERGY

ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY ENERGY FINANCE

FINANCE FINANCE FINANCE FINANCE MOBILITY

MOBILITY MOBILITY MOBILITY MOBILITY COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION SOCIAL

CULTURE EExpress

CULTURE CULTURE CULTURE CULTURE

SOCIAL SOCIAL SOCIAL SOCIAL SPATIAL

EExpress EExpress EExpress EExpress

SPATIAL SPATIAL SPATIAL SPATIAL IDENTITY

64 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book

IDENTITY IDENTITY IDENTITY IDENTITY

SPINE ZONE SPINE SPINE SPINE SPINE GENERATIVE ZONE ZONE ZONE ZONE HUB GENERATIVE GENERATIVE GENERATIVE GENERATIVE HUBHUB HUB HUB

City Systems Matrix Building on the World House Matrix, this is one of a number of iterations on an ever-evolving matrix to explore a design process for communities and cities.

L CIA O S

AIR

CLIMATE & TER RAI N LO CA TI O

EMPLOYMENT

UILT ENVIRO SICAL B NME Y H P NT

CE AN RN VE GO

WA TE R

N

TE AS W

TY IVI T EC N N CO

ENE RGY FO OD

C

ION AT IC UN M M O

Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book 65

ATION FORM & IN

ECONO MY

CU LT U RE

66 Regional Ecologies Curriculum Book