Ecological Design and Ecological Systems Theory _ Schumacher College

9/10/2014 Ecological Design and Ecological Systems Theory | Schumacher College

http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/courses/ecological-design-regeneration 1/4

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We need ecological design centres in every

region of the w orld to mid-w ife the transition

and serve as repositories of know -how and

know w hy . . . Schumacher, the Dartington

Estate, and Totnes could fill the role of

flagship in that movement David Orr

I believe that Schumacher College is

uniquely qualified to redefine w hat Ecological

Design in the 21st century ought to be

Terry Irwin, Professor and Head of

School of Design, Carnegie Mellon

University

Good design needs to be built upon an

understanding of ecology and society w ithin

w hich design takes place. The ecosystems

approach, at the heart of the new Masters in

Ecological Design at Schumacher College,

places this insight as the starting point for the

design of all systems. Such a

transformational approach is urgently

needed.

Tom Butterworth, Senior A dvisor for

Green Infrastructure, Natural England.

Ecological Design Thinking

MA, PG Diploma (full and part-time) and PG Certificate programme approved and

awarded through Plymouth University.

We accept applications year-round for our postgraduate programmes.

For a world that is facing unprecedented challenges we need radical approaches to the way we

think about and apply our designs to the systems around us.

This ground-breaking new postgraduate programme from Schumacher College explores how

Ecological Design Thinking be used to create healthy systems and the conditions in which we

can all live well.

This programme has been developed with the School of Architecture, Design and Environment

at Plymouth University, with input from the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University.

It offers a new framework for the ecological design of systems that is fit for the many challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century.

Application, Admissions and Fees >>

MA Ecological Design Thinking >>

Postgraduate Diploma in Ecological Design Thinking >>

Postgraduate Certificate in Ecological Design Thinking >>

MA and PG Diploma part-time options >>

Part-time programme details >>

For more information about this programme please email [email protected]

Ecological Design Thinking

This postgraduate programme in Ecological Design Thinking will help to create a global network of design

educators and practitioners able to respond to the pressing economic, social and ecological challenges of our

times.

It will enable students to play an active role in the creation and transformation of human systems as we meet the

challenge of a transition to low carbon, high well-being and resilient world. Never has there been a more important

time for a new approach to design.

The programme is rooted in an exploration of ecosystem dynamics, trends and behaviour, and socio-cultural

systems and dynamics. It will focus on the design of the built environment and the connected ecological and social

systems and services, but students will also be encouraged to apply lessons from nature to the design of all of our

systems political, economic, educational and sociocultural.

Together in a collective enquiry, we will explore how transdiscplinary, collaborative teams can solve complex problems, and how using approaches from nature to shape

all of our relationships might help us to create healthy, durable, resilient, just, and prosperous communities.

Students will experiment with new ways of working first in studio where they will apply the principles of Ecological Design, and then through a series of short

placements with partner organisations. They will be introduced to facilitation and participation techniques, and will be involved in the co-production of both the design,

and the full lifecycle of projects.

There will be a particular focus in the studio sessions on the design of settlements and the connected ecological and social systems and services. Taught elements will

include input from leaders in the fields of ecological design, ecology, climate change, new economics and social change from around the world.

This programme is the fourth postgraduate programme to be developed at Schumacher College and will contribute to and enhance the ongoing collaborative inquiry into

sustainable living with faculty and students within the learning community.

Why Schumacher College?

Since 1991, Schumacher College has been pioneering radical new thinking in ecological design for sustainable living, attracting the leading teachers, practitioners and

activists from across the globe.

Schumacher College believes in a radical and rigorous approach to learning that develops the whole person through intellect, emotion, ethics and practice. We value

trans-disciplinary approaches, different ways of knowing and creative forms of expression.

Reflective enquiry, participatory learning methods, learning journals and personal development planning are among the tools we use in our small-group learning model.



Reflective enquiry, participatory learning methods, learning journals and personal development planning are among the tools we use in our small-group learning model.

In the last 20 twenty years we have inspired and supported thousands of organisations and individuals from many different countries in their quest to achieve a more

sustainable and equitable world. We have achieved this through the quality of our unique postgraduate programmes and internationally renowned short courses which

together create a rich and diverse learning community that extends across the globe.

Who is this course for?

We are delighted to receive your application whether you are coming directly from an undergraduate degree, taking time-out to study mid-career or wanting an

opportunity to develop your understanding of a practice that is of huge importance to all of our futures. You do not necessarily need a first degree in design to apply for

this course, we also encourage applications from community practitioners and activists as well as planners, architects and those working in policy. We will ask for a

portfolio in support of your application which can be a design portfolio, or a portfolio of project work.

We are looking for enthusiastic agents of change who are ready to co-design new approaches to the way we live that are socially just and ecologically sustainable. We

are looking for those prepared to take risks and stand on the cutting-edge of new practice in this area.

Schumacher College welcomes students from all over the world in its diverse mix of cultural experience and age that allows for rich peer to peer learning.

Studying at Schumacher College

What you will learn?

You will explore the relationship between ecological design thinking and the related disciplines of economics and ecology and their application to design;

The foundation of an ecological world view (ecology, deep ecology, systems thinking, complexity science, Gaia theory) and the application of living systems

principles to the design of systems, objects and places;

How to critique the neoclassical economic model from alternative schools of thought and its application to the design of systems, objects and places;

How to evaluate the relationship between the environment and built form, behaviour, well-being and resource consumption using both research evidence and case

studies;

You will develop personal and group enquiry practices to raise awareness of the interdependent relationship between the individual, society and nature and

between theory, experience and practice;

You will develop and enhance design, communication, facilitation and charrette skills in support of communities of place and interest

You will make use of a range of tools, methods and facilitation practices including co-production as a lifetime approach to project delivery;

You will co-create participatory practices, and theoretical principles for new approaches to the ecological design process that include a range of stakeholders in

the full lifecycle of projects and apply these both in studio, and in short placements on live projects;

You will also carry out an independent design or research project.

Special Features

A design programme rooted in deep ecological understanding and practice and informed by

cutting edge thinking in new economic approaches and social dynamics.

Access to some of the world leading thinkers and practitioner in Design, Gaia Theory,

complexity theory, climate science, systems thinking, new economics and social change.

Short practical placements with a range of partner organisations including the Transition Town

Network, the Atmos project, and the REconomy project.

An immersive, holistic and truly transformational teaching and learning approach within a living

and working community on the edge of the Dartington Estate in Devon.

Where you will go?

This programme aims to create a new generation of designers, entrepreneurs, policy-makers,

researchers, consultants and activists. Graduates will have the skills and knowledge to work for sustainable change in the public and private sectors as well as in civil

society, or to set up their own projects or organisations that will contribute to the transformation of society.

MA course programme



Module One: The Ecological Paradigm: Living Earth and the Anthropocene (20 credits)

Module Two: Social and Political Economy: From system maintenance to system transformation (20 credits)

Module Three: Ecological Design Thinking: Catalysing transformation (20 credits)

Module Four: Ecological Design Thinking in Practice 1: Transforming the story of place (30 credits)

Module Five: Ecological Design Thinking in Practice 2: Transformation in action (30 credits)

Dissertation (60 credits)

Faculty

Professor Seaton Baxter

Professor Seaton Baxter is a leading figure in ecological design and received his OBE for his services to the Scottish environment. Founder of the

Centre for the Study of Natural Design at the University of Dundee he has successfully supervised a wide range of masters and doctoral students

many of whom have gone onto to make significant contributions across the ecological design field. Seaton established his name as a leading

thinker and practitioner on the design of agricultural buildings and facilities for animal welfare, waste management and low carbon systems. He has

a long standing interest in building conservation and rurality.

Dr Simon Bradbury, Plymouth University School of Architecture, Design & Environment

Simon is a Lecturer in Architecture at Plymouth University and on the management group of the Institute of Sustainable Solutions Research. He

runs the Master of Architecture 1st year course, co-ordinates sustainable design across the department.

He has a background in both industry and Government. In Government he worked at the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

(CABE) where he was responsible for the commissioning of research to influence changes in policy on issues including sustainable

masterplanning, housing and the value of good design. He also was instrumental in developing CABEs policy and strategy on housing standards

and has given numerous lectures across the UK on the issue.

He is a registered Architect with over 10 years experience and has worked for internationally recognised Architecture and Urban Design practices.

He was responsible for the design of a number of award winning projects ranging in scale from large masterplanning projects to individual houses for government, third

sector and private clients.

Ruth Potts, development co-ordinator, MA Ecological Design Thinking

Ruth co-ordinated the development of the MA in Ecological Design Thinking at Schumacher College and is part of the teaching team. She is a co-

founder of bread, print & roses, a collective engaged in seditious pamphleteering, radical walking, anarchist baking and transformative education.

Previously, Ruth was Campaign Organiser for the Great Transition at nef (the new economics foundation) where she co-developed a new model of

campaign designed to kick-start the decade -long transition to a new economy and society. She is the co-author of The New Materialism, covered

by the Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times, and a co-author of nefs Clone Town Britain reports. Ruth helped to organise the

Green New Deal Group in 2007 and managed the launch of the Groups First report, A Green New Deal, in July 2008. The concept was

subsequently taken up by UNEP, and influenced policy around the globe.

Ruth is a trustee of the Pioneer Health Foundation, the pioneering holistic model of health that influenced the World Health Organisation. She

brought together and co-hosts eco-feminist collective: the Hoydens, co-created and curated a series of events about the joy and intelligence of craft at the School of

Life: Practitioners Parlour, and more recently helped to devise a series of poetry events celebrating unusual spaces and liminal places: Somewhere in Particular.

Contributors

Other teachers of this programme include Satish Kumar, Stephan Harding, Philip Franses, Jonathan Dawson, Tim Crabtree and Julie Richardson from

Schumacher College, together with visiting experts and practitioners yet to be confirmed.

Application

Click here for details of the Fees & Application Process >>

Start date: January 2015

Partner institutions

School of Architecture, Design and Environment, Plymouth University

The School was formed in 2009 to establish a vibrant multi-and interdisciplinary portfolio of courses and programmes, supported by a culture of research and research-

informed teaching. The School has already won several prestigious international awards, has propagated a vibrant PGR community and receiving a special

commendation for research environment and strategy from the Royal Institute of British Architects (BA Architecture Revalidation 2012).

Associated institutions

School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University



Carnegie Mellons School of Design is one of the oldest and most respected programs in North America, with a rich history in product, communication, and interaction

design. It is one of only a few design schools to offer education across the full spectrum of learning from pre-college to doctoral degrees in a research setting

renowned for its teaching innovations.

Transition Network

The Transition Network supports an international movement to inspire, encourage, connect, support and train communities and organisations to rebuild resilience and

reduce CO2 emissions.

Ecological Design and Ecological Systems Theory _ Schumacher College

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