The core content of the course is a hybrid lecture/seminar format that will focus on an overview of emerging critical theory and technology in the areas of environmental and energy systems. The deliverable will be a design research project, with a ‘conference poster’ and a ten page essay with references. 

The goal of the research project is support the design studio project and considers an aspect of the studio project that gets pushed in a highly developed and experimental direction towards new methods of metabolizing energy, water, air or living systems through the building envelope. It can either run parallel to the studio or be integrated into the design project, depending on the goals of the students and their discussions with the studio critic. In exceptional cases, it may be appropriate to use another design project as the case study for the research. 

Based on their declared area of interest, each student will be paired with a PhD student or Post Doctoral Associate, who is an expert in the chosen field of inquiry. They will meet with their research partner on a bi-weekly basis. Through the research, we will reconsider fundamentally novel ways of redirecting energy and water flows, towards the fulfillment of various social mandates to transform the relationship between the built environment and extended ecosystems.