Design, Architecture and the Biosphere Research Institute
CPDs, training and consultation
“Design is a powerful conduit for change. As the messages, artefacts and experiences we create pass through the hands, minds, and hearts of people, we have an opportunity to weave sustainability into the broader fabric of culture and to shift consumption and lifestyle aspirations to a more sustainable basis for living.”
The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).
The great 20th century designer Victor Papenek warned that “There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a very few of them … Today, industrial design has put mass murder on a mass production basis”. Design represents the portal between the imagination and the planet, where, for better or for worse, the birth, life, death and afterlife of designed products and buildings impact on our chances of survival. It is that important. Thus a sustainable future requires sustainable design. But what does this mean and how can designers become the powerhouses for change? At the Biosphere Research Institute, we focus on contextualizing design within the Biosphere, wherein designs resonate with their environmental context and are dynamic and process-driven, rather than structural and static.
NOTE: With the exception of our residential courses, which are taught within internationally renowned areas of natural beauty and ecological significance, we prefer to teach online for environmental reasons. This is also much more cost-efficient for you as you don't need to pay for the tutor's accommodation and transport. Also, online delivery is virus-proof, in these uncertain times.
Our training programmes focus on two key areas:
1. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provision
The Biosphere Research Institute overs cutting-edge training from key researchers in the field of sustainable design. For large or small design companies or individuals, we everything from ecological ethics through to natural design principles, where we examine how nature designs and monitors itself, what makes it resilient and what key principles underpin its design success.
Our director has written two key books, Sustainable Economics (Routledge, 2017) and Artificial Intelligence and the Environmental Crisis (Routledge, 2020), which lay out a radical new agenda for designers and architects, challenging practitioners to place process ahead of structure and place resonant design ahead of isolationist design. We run courses from 2 hours to ten days, online or, where pandemics permit, face-to-face. For a truly immersive experience, why not book a residential field course, set in some of the most stunning natural environments in Scotland and designed specifically around your company's needs?
We offer a wide range of courses, and we can design material specifically for you. Some examples of recent CPDs and residential courses are detailed here.
2-hour CPD sessions (online or on site)
Lessons from nature
Spread across six 2-hour sessions (could be run weekly or monthly) we explore six unique ecosystems (rainforest, montane, coral reef, deep ocean, desert and oceanic island) and explore how these can transform the design process.
A Brief history of ecological design
Tracing the relationship between humans, design and the environment over four 2-hour sessions, the roots and development of sustainable design are explored and then you develop your own school of ecological design which are discussed in the fifth session. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed , with detailed feedback.
Bio-integration and design.
Five 2-hour sessions exploring how nature is organized (cell, organism, population, ecosystem and biosphere), the underlying design principles that underpin this, and the relevance of this contextualization for the design process.
Examples of half-day (4 hour) and full day courses (online or on site)
Systems theory and design
This course seeks to develop an understanding of what systems theory means and why it is important in design. You will become familiar with the four key characteristics of complex systems (emergence, non-linearity, self-organization and feedback), and how these can revolutionize your design process. You will explore what this means for any design challenge and apply the lessons to your own project. We explore the concept of unintended consequences and discuss how to manage these within a design brief. Finally, we introduce the intermediate disturbance hypothesis as an important tool for any designer.
Sub-optimality and design
In every system, the solution space for any one component must be sub-optimal for the entire system to function successfully. This has huge implications for design. In this course we explore why the squirrel must forget where they hid some of their nuts, and why a nut app would be disastrous, applying these concepts to the design process.
Ecological design ethics
We explore the relationship between philosophy, ethics and decision-making in design. An overview of the leading ethical schools of thought is followed by an assessment of the role of the ethical framework in terms of decision-making, particularly in complex situations requiring trade-offs (an average day in any designer's life). We examine ethical stress, accountability and cultural perspectives, exploring situation ethics and ecological ethics, contextualized within every-day design challenges.
A typical residential course
4-day Ecological Design Course based on the shores of Loch Rannoch, Perthshire, Scotland.
Accommodation: Bunrannoch House, Kinloch Rannoch or similar, depending on group size and availability.
Transport: preferably by train (Rannoch Station served from Glasgow Queen Street).
Food: All team members (including instructors) prepare and cook the meals.
Day 1: Arrival; orientation; icebreakers; team-building challenge; group project work; expert-guided foraging excursion. Evening: foraged feast using your wild ingredients. Gaelic music/open stage evening.
Day 2: Early bird visit to the Black Wood of Rannoch: active learning from the natural design of this ancient remnant of Caledonian Forest, exploring symbiosis, dynamics and feedback; the Ethical Dilemma Game; group project work; whisky tasting.
Day 3: Rannoch Moor: design on the edge. Active learning from one of the great British wildernesses, exploring resilience, resistance and supply chains; group project work; course banquet.
Day 4: Group projects; project presentations; debrief; departure.
2. Project consultation
whether on specific projects or across your organization more generally, any serious design practice should have the input of an ecologist, giving insights into the sustainability and impact of the design from a natural perspective, while exploring the design process involved and bio-inspiration from nature. These services are not a luxury add-on but a fundamental part of any truly responsible design project that wants to co-exist within the natural world. Our consultation service allows you to access our expertise across the length of your contract with us.
Courses and costings
More details on courses and costings available here.
Contact us now to discuss how we can tailor-make your perfect training programme.
“Design is a powerful conduit for change. As the messages, artefacts and experiences we create pass through the hands, minds, and hearts of people, we have an opportunity to weave sustainability into the broader fabric of culture and to shift consumption and lifestyle aspirations to a more sustainable basis for living.”
The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA).
The great 20th century designer Victor Papenek warned that “There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a very few of them … Today, industrial design has put mass murder on a mass production basis”. Design represents the portal between the imagination and the planet, where, for better or for worse, the birth, life, death and afterlife of designed products and buildings impact on our chances of survival. It is that important. Thus a sustainable future requires sustainable design. But what does this mean and how can designers become the powerhouses for change? At the Biosphere Research Institute, we focus on contextualizing design within the Biosphere, wherein designs resonate with their environmental context and are dynamic and process-driven, rather than structural and static.
NOTE: With the exception of our residential courses, which are taught within internationally renowned areas of natural beauty and ecological significance, we prefer to teach online for environmental reasons. This is also much more cost-efficient for you as you don't need to pay for the tutor's accommodation and transport. Also, online delivery is virus-proof, in these uncertain times.
Our training programmes focus on two key areas:
1. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provision
The Biosphere Research Institute overs cutting-edge training from key researchers in the field of sustainable design. For large or small design companies or individuals, we everything from ecological ethics through to natural design principles, where we examine how nature designs and monitors itself, what makes it resilient and what key principles underpin its design success.
Our director has written two key books, Sustainable Economics (Routledge, 2017) and Artificial Intelligence and the Environmental Crisis (Routledge, 2020), which lay out a radical new agenda for designers and architects, challenging practitioners to place process ahead of structure and place resonant design ahead of isolationist design. We run courses from 2 hours to ten days, online or, where pandemics permit, face-to-face. For a truly immersive experience, why not book a residential field course, set in some of the most stunning natural environments in Scotland and designed specifically around your company's needs?
We offer a wide range of courses, and we can design material specifically for you. Some examples of recent CPDs and residential courses are detailed here.
2-hour CPD sessions (online or on site)
Lessons from nature
Spread across six 2-hour sessions (could be run weekly or monthly) we explore six unique ecosystems (rainforest, montane, coral reef, deep ocean, desert and oceanic island) and explore how these can transform the design process.
A Brief history of ecological design
Tracing the relationship between humans, design and the environment over four 2-hour sessions, the roots and development of sustainable design are explored and then you develop your own school of ecological design which are discussed in the fifth session. Course includes the submission of work which will be assessed , with detailed feedback.
Bio-integration and design.
Five 2-hour sessions exploring how nature is organized (cell, organism, population, ecosystem and biosphere), the underlying design principles that underpin this, and the relevance of this contextualization for the design process.
Examples of half-day (4 hour) and full day courses (online or on site)
Systems theory and design
This course seeks to develop an understanding of what systems theory means and why it is important in design. You will become familiar with the four key characteristics of complex systems (emergence, non-linearity, self-organization and feedback), and how these can revolutionize your design process. You will explore what this means for any design challenge and apply the lessons to your own project. We explore the concept of unintended consequences and discuss how to manage these within a design brief. Finally, we introduce the intermediate disturbance hypothesis as an important tool for any designer.
Sub-optimality and design
In every system, the solution space for any one component must be sub-optimal for the entire system to function successfully. This has huge implications for design. In this course we explore why the squirrel must forget where they hid some of their nuts, and why a nut app would be disastrous, applying these concepts to the design process.
Ecological design ethics
We explore the relationship between philosophy, ethics and decision-making in design. An overview of the leading ethical schools of thought is followed by an assessment of the role of the ethical framework in terms of decision-making, particularly in complex situations requiring trade-offs (an average day in any designer's life). We examine ethical stress, accountability and cultural perspectives, exploring situation ethics and ecological ethics, contextualized within every-day design challenges.
A typical residential course
4-day Ecological Design Course based on the shores of Loch Rannoch, Perthshire, Scotland.
Accommodation: Bunrannoch House, Kinloch Rannoch or similar, depending on group size and availability.
Transport: preferably by train (Rannoch Station served from Glasgow Queen Street).
Food: All team members (including instructors) prepare and cook the meals.
Day 1: Arrival; orientation; icebreakers; team-building challenge; group project work; expert-guided foraging excursion. Evening: foraged feast using your wild ingredients. Gaelic music/open stage evening.
Day 2: Early bird visit to the Black Wood of Rannoch: active learning from the natural design of this ancient remnant of Caledonian Forest, exploring symbiosis, dynamics and feedback; the Ethical Dilemma Game; group project work; whisky tasting.
Day 3: Rannoch Moor: design on the edge. Active learning from one of the great British wildernesses, exploring resilience, resistance and supply chains; group project work; course banquet.
Day 4: Group projects; project presentations; debrief; departure.
2. Project consultation
whether on specific projects or across your organization more generally, any serious design practice should have the input of an ecologist, giving insights into the sustainability and impact of the design from a natural perspective, while exploring the design process involved and bio-inspiration from nature. These services are not a luxury add-on but a fundamental part of any truly responsible design project that wants to co-exist within the natural world. Our consultation service allows you to access our expertise across the length of your contract with us.
Courses and costings
More details on courses and costings available here.
Contact us now to discuss how we can tailor-make your perfect training programme.