Stefani Bardin

This class provides foundational understanding of the scientific and social issues related to the design of resilient urban futures. It provides ways of understanding our shifting ecological landscapes and the need to engage in design that addresses the conditions of the time we are living in now – the Anthropocene – the epoch when human beings began to problematically impact global climate and ecosystems.

Following the methodology of “The Temporary Expert,” students will combine traditional research and analysis with hands-on experimental project development. We will use the scientific method as an investigative and evaluative tool for these design interventions by learning to test and measure a variety of different kinds of data and then creating projects to evaluate, share and even perform this information.

Students will learn to pinpoint and begin to understand the increasingly mercurial geological conditions of our planet supplemented by field trips to bio-labs, workshops with scientists and visits from artists working within the scientific world. Weekly work consists of readings, interviews, writing, daily artistic practice and systems thinking exercises.