Plant Therapy: A personal manifesto to a healthy environment by Grace Turcich (BFA 20)
Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design
The College of Fine and Applied Arts recognized a unique opportunity to draw on the expertise from across the college to create a new degree program: the Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design. Incorporating the disciplines of design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning, this undergraduate major will focus on the places, things, systems, and policies needed to help solve problems in a sustainable society. Through a combination of existing and newly developed classes, students will experience an innovative, interdisciplinary, and unique course of study that will prepare them to enter jobs in the public or private sector guiding institutions and society to greater sustainability or continue their educational pursuits in a variety of graduate programs.
Why a Degree in Sustainable Design?
- Rigorous broad-based education in design with a focus on building sustainable communities through intentional design of environmentally sensitive products, buildings, landscapes, and cities
- Draws on disciplines of design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban and regional planning
- Focuses on the places, things, systems, and policies needed to help solve problems in a sustainable society
- Â Prepares you for the future in a sustainable world where ideas from many disciplines will be necessary to solve complex problems
- After graduation
- Enter jobs in design firms, planning agencies, industry, nonprofits, and public policy institutes
- Continue preparation in a variety of graduate or professional programs such as landscape architecture, architecture, industrial design, graphic design, urban design, and urban planning or accelerated graduate design programs at Illinois
Study sustainable design at Illinois, a 2022 Gold STARS campus for sustainability performance awarded by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Opportunities and Events for Sustainable Design Majors
Join Sustainable Design and related organizations in these ongoing events and activities, virtually and in person! As the faculty committee learns of relevant opportunities related to the major, they will be listed here. RSOs can email sustaindesign@illinois.edu to have their events included.
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It’s been a great semester for the Sustainable Design Program! 💚 From guest lectures to socials, we had a blast! Thank you to all who have attended our events this fall. We’re looking forward to more exciting things coming up in the spring!
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The Fall Semester may be coming to a close, but we still have a few important academic updates for BSSD students! Read on for more information.
12/19: Winter Term Add/Drop Deadline
This is the last day to add a winter term course to your schedule, or to drop a winter term course with a 100% refund.
12/20: First Day of Winter Session Instruction
Make sure to check your course meeting details before this date!
12/21: Winter Break Begins
For those who are not enrolled in winter term courses, Winter Break will officially begin on 12/21! Rest up and have a great break! Classes will resume for the Spring Semester on Tuesday, January 21.
12/24: Final Grades Posted
Final Grades for the Fall 2024 semester will be available to view via Student Self-Service or myillini.
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Congratulations to BSSD students for completing another impactful semester! Hardworking Sustainable Design students produced amazing work in architecture, design, fashion, and many more courses in the BSSD curriculum. Here are some of the core and elective courses students took this fall 2024 semester:Â
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Students in ARCH 171 were introduced to the principles of architectural composition, building physical models, sketching, and drafting.Â
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In FAA 230, students read about sustainability and resilient design. These readings presented diverse perspectives and approaches to sustainability principles, encouraging students to understand and critique different meanings of sustainability over time and geography.Â
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ARTS 321 provided tools to develop a sustainable fashion collection. Students had hands-on and digital experience learning the fundamentals of a circular fashion economy and fashion branding. This year, the class participated in the Nextile: Soy in Textile Design Challenge. BSSD student Isabella Fisher’s team achieved outstanding success in the Nextile School Level Challenge, the team will receive a small scholarship and will now participate in the National level Competition for their soy-leather alternative designs!
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Students in ARTD 326 explored environmental origins, theory, and practice of product design. Students developed amazing products using mycelium as one of the projects in the course!Â
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BSSD Seniors in FAA 430 developed their research topics and honed valuable research skills in preparation for FAA 431 where they will bring their research to fruition!
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ARTD 451 examines the complex design problems in ethics. Students in the Sustainable Design section worked in teams to create a solar punk redesign of Prairie Fruits Farm and presented their ArcGIS Story Maps to Lauren and Jeff, owners of @prairiefruitsfarm.
Take a look at our previous post to read about ARCH 321: Environment, Architecure, Global Health (a core course in the BSSD curriculum) taught by Dr. Julie Zook. This course surveys research at the intersection of the built environment and public health.
Keep up the great work BSSD students!
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What a great day to celebrate our awesome professors who teach courses in the Sustainable Design curriculum! Today we are celebrating Associate Professor Dr. Julie Zook from the School of Architecture. Read on to hear about how she brings sustainability concepts into her work:
What class(es) do you teach in the Sustainable Design curriculum?
"I teach Architecture 321, Environment, Architecture, and Global Health as part of the Sustainable Design curriculum."
Can you tell us a bit about this class?
"I love teaching Environment, Architecture, and Global Health because it gives me a chance to reflect with students about fundamentals of why we design the world the way we do, the specific conditions we run up on that constrain us, and how we might approach design questions in a more broad-minded and integrated way. We change disciplinary hats four times over the course of the semester, which is what it takes to do justice to the topics of the course."
How is sustainability integrated into your practice/research?
"My academic training is in uncovering social, behavioral, and aesthetic dimensions of spatial systems, and this expertise is what shows in my practice and research record. A limited amount of my research has addressed sustainability indirectly, like how to design street networks to encourage walking or how to identify hospital morphologies that are amenable to expansion or reuse. For me, sustainability is most active in my teaching in studios, lectures, and seminars. From where I sit, it is students who push faculty and institutions to focus on sustainability more. Keep pushing; it’s working."
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Stop by the BLOC Gallery in the Art and Design Building starting TODAY to support students in ARTS 321 (Sustainable Fashion Development and Branding). This exhibition will showcase their sustainable collection designs, zero-waste and upcycled wearables, and eco-textile creations.
ARTS 321 counts as an elective for Sustainable Design majors! Keep checking back to see when it will be offered next!
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We're on the final stretch of the semester! Join us during Reading Day for our sticker cutting party. We will be at the Architecture Building Room 102a on December 12, 2:30-5 PM to cut out all your amazing BSSD stickers! This is a good opportunity to be with fellow BSSD students and get feedback on your portfolio from Karin Hodgin Jones. There will be snacks.
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