A postgraduate course currently under development for 2013/2014 in collaboration with Plymouth University School of Architecture Design and the Environment.
“We need ecological design centres in every region of the world to mid-wife the transition and serve as repositories of know-how and know why . . . Schumacher, the Dartington Estate, and Totnes could fill the role of flagship in that movement” (David Orr, 2011)
The process and practice of Ecological Design and Regeneration, aims to recalibrate what humans do in a world that exists as a biophysical system. At the village, town and city level it is a framework that reconnects the urban and rural resource flows, revolutionises how we provide food, shelter, energy, livelihoods, and education, and closes the loop on ‘waste’. Alongside the strengths of place and culture, ecological design is fundamental to a locally thriving, resilient and post fossil-carbon economy. As a focus for academic attention, it is an emerging inter-disciplinary field where well placed educational institutions, such as Schumacher College and Plymouth University, can research and foster design intelligence.
Expected Launch: September 2013
For 20 years, Schumacher College has been pioneering radical new thinking in design for sustainability attracting inspirational teachers from around the globe including:
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Plymouth University’s School of Architecture Design and the Environment has built a reputation over the last 25 years for expertise in sustainable design and construction and more recently on issues of ethical regeneration and planning.
“If mainstream architectural pedagogy and practice remains fixed on unrealistic projections of perpetual economic growth and cultural supremacy, it should expect revolt from its more progressive corners… In Plymouth [they] want to educate Architects who know exactly how buildings designed by them work, [they] want to educate Architects who know how these buildings can become weapons in the fight for a better world.” (DOMUS magazine 2011)
Imagine a programme that elaborates our ecological literacy, draws out a design and regeneration process for our communities and neighbourhoods, and comprehends how this process and practice can promote local livelihoods, underpin the new economy and change how we educate.
Please complete this short questionnaire http://surveys.verticalresponse.com/a/show/167103/af4260dde2/0 and help us to develop our ideas for a programme that will bring together the strategic and practical learning for those wanting to re-align society for the ecological age.
If you are interested in finding out more about this course please contact: Jon Rae: j.rae@dartington.org
