Nature, Culture and Design

PUAD 3032 | Fall 2011 | Faculty: Jean Gardner

How do designers of the built environment conceive of the 'environment'? The response to this question underpins the approach that designers take to their work. It is, however, a difficult question to answer at the turn of the century, a period that has witnessed a steep rise in the number of definitions of the 'environment', many of them conflicting. A critical source of this multiplicity and conflict is in the idea of nature that lies, often concealed, behind these definitions. We will look at the idea of nature at work in the environmental movement -- how it can be revealed and argued, how it shapes our seeing and reading of the environment, and how it can influence our approach to design. We will look at the works of key persons, movements and organizations in this context.