ABSTRACT
Issues of sustainability are more and more common in the design studio. Paying closer attention to the full cycle of design, including production, construction, maintenance, and resiliency are common focus points for designers. And while systems thinking can be applied to the life cycle of a designed product or building, if we are to encourage the types of paradigm shifts that are advocated by John Thackara, we need to also think about systems beyond the confines of the specific design object or experience being created. Part of that system is living, in the sense that people have the ability to interact, change, and even carry forth the type of behavior and sustainable perspectives that are the only way real change will take root. Once we start thinking about the ecology of design, we realize that, much like the way that a plant or flower germinates, what we design is really just planting a seed–or possibly more so releasing a seed into the wind. Case studies in this chapter focus on changing root cause behaviors of users to address issues of sustainability in practice.
