This course is an intensive research seminar into materials in design, from the structural to the decorative, as viewed through the critical lens of sustainability. Part lecture, part research lab, and part field work, this course gives an overview of the role of materials in the formation and execution of spatial concept. Throughout the semester, relationships between material, performance and use are established and evaluated within a practice of committed sustainability. Traditional, composite, and interactive materials are introduced and discussed. Accompanying this course are field trips to product and material manufacturers and research laboratories as well as a variety of materials libraries. Use of fabrication shops are incorporated into course assignments. The course focuses on issues of materials and sustainability with the goal of developing a sensibility about the way material decisions affect the environment and the performance of interior spaces.

This course is an intensive research seminar into materials in design, from the structural to the decorative, as viewed through the critical lens of sustainability. Part lecture, part research lab, and part field work, this course gives an overview of the role of materials in the formation and execution of spatial concept. Throughout the semester, relationships between material, performance and use are established and evaluated within a practice of committed sustainability. Traditional, composite, and interactive materials are introduced and discussed. Accompanying this course are field trips to product and material manufacturers and research laboratories as well as a variety of materials libraries. Use of fabrication shops are incorporated into course assignments. The course focuses on issues of materials and sustainability with the goal of developing a sensibility about the way material decisions affect the environment and the performance of interior spaces.