The Course:
SRS480: Designing a Sustainable Future

Adrienne Schwarte doesn’t want seniors to graduate from Maryville College without understanding the impact their decisions will have on the environment.

Maybe it’s an odd concern of someone whose research lies outside the natural science and social science fields. But Schwarte, assistant professor of art, believes her education and experience helps shed a different – but still very practical – light on how humans can sustain life on the planet Earth.

“While in graduate school, I had an opportunity to work as a research assistant for an interior design professor. She was focusing on sustainability, and it was at that point when I realized that the environmental issue was also a design issue,” the professor explained. “I realized that creative people have an impact on the materials that are used in products, the way they’re packaged and sold, how long they last, and the way they’re discarded.

“Everything from cell phones to furniture is designed by someone, and the choices that go into those products have a large impact on the rest of society,” she continued. “I also realized then that creative people could be a part of the solution.”

Schwarte knew that a course on sustainable design could be offered as a senior seminar (SRS480) because it could easily be shaped to meet the educational objectives of the course as outlined in the College catalog: “Thematic in nature,” “drawing on global perspectives” and “providing students with the skills and opportunity to integrate across at least two of the three modes of inquiry: scientific, artistic and humanistic.”

But she also knew that the timing was ideal. Only seniors – just months away from graduation – can enroll in SRS480 courses.

“These are students who very soon will be making major decisions. They’ll be buying new cars, purchasing houses or finding places to rent, making decisions on how to decorate their homes. They’ll be determining how much energy they’ll use every day,” Schwarte explained. “So this [course] seemed like the perfect time to present students with these ideas of sustainable design.”

According to the course description, Designing a Sustainable Future “identifies and examines the importance, prevalence and relevance of sustainable design in today’s global society focusing on the fields of interior design, graphic design, technology, architecture, agriculture, product design, urban planning and lifestyles across the globe.”

While studying sustainable architecture, students learn about hybrid homes (constructed of straw bale and adobe), discuss renewable resources, hear from architects working within the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System and tour a LEED-certified building.

A tour of a nearby organic farm concludes a unit on sustainable agriculture, which also includes information sharing about the local Farmer’s Market and a study and discussion of Maryville’s Tomato Head, where organic farming has become a business ethic for the popular eatery.

Schwarte said that before this unit, many of her students have never given much thought about the origins of their meat, produce or dairy products.

“Most students come from urban or suburban communities, so a lot of them have never gardened, never been on a farm, and they’re so accustomed to convenience, they just haven’t thought much about where their food comes from,” she explained.

Students visit a zero-emissions home and hear from designs professionals about materials such as sustainable carpet samples during the unit on graphic and interior design; they meet with automobile specialists to view and discuss hybrid technology when the course turns to transportation’s role in sustainability. The final unit tackles Green Economics and global implications of sustainable design.

Looking internationally, Schwarte asks her students to focus on three countries:  England, which is ahead of the curve (compared to the U.S.) in terms of sustainable design; Costa Rica, which is grappling with issues surrounding eco-tourism; and China, whose carbon emissions will soon exceed the U.S. and where greater awareness of sustainable design is needed.

Looking closer to home, students, assigned to groups of three, work on a campus sustainability project throughout the semester. This year, the projects range from studies of the designs of new buildings and construction occurring on campus to the possibility of meeting students’ textbook needs with e- (electronic) books.

Going paperless is something students get used to in this SRS480 course. Many of Schwarte’s assignments are posted to the on-campus BlackBoard electronic system. She also requires students to keep an online journal/blog.

“Also, the blogs are instantaneous,” she explained. “I want students to receive feedback from others, to spend time thinking about the issues and getting involved in the content.”

One of Schwarte’s final assignments is having students write their own sustainability ethics.

“I hope that students make a shift in their philosophical thought process,” she said. “There are lots of solutions out there; you just have to do the research. But it’s an important step to take. Actually, it’s integral for survival.”