So how do you teach this? As an example, Morrish refers to a class taught by Alfred Zollinger in which interior design students are asked to find a discarded chair, reclaim it, examine it, and imagine the chair’s original environment and use. The final step is to create a series of rooms inspired by the chair. “By slowly working your way backward like this, you learn that what you make is part of a chain in the supply system,” says Morrish. “You start focusing on where the object belongs, rather than just saying, 'Let’s design a room and put some furniture in it!'” He adds, “To study how we live and work is a basis for understanding how we’re going to make our environment more sustainable. It’s really critical. You can’t design a new city without it.”