Striving for sustainability, from material choice to city construction

Aims

This course aims to:

• develop an awareness of how material production and use can have a large impact on sustainability
• develop skills to better assess material selection and usage in a multi and inter-disciplinary settings involving materials science, engineering, design and architecture
• examine how sustainability challenges and principles apply across diverse industries, including construction and textiles

Course content

This course introduces the challenges and benefits of achieving sustainable design, exploring sustainability across multiple scales and industries – from fashion to urban development. Beginning with the historical emergence of environmental awareness, it explores how the concept of sustainable development has evolved over time and how it is measured using key tools and indicators. The course then examines the limitations of the dominant linear “take–make–dispose” economic model and introduces alternative approaches which seek to align human activities with planetary boundaries.

The course next focuses on materials that strongly shape contemporary society. Through dedicated sessions on plastics and composite materials, their historical development, technical advantages, and widespread applications are explored alongside the significant environmental challenges they pose. Current research into bio-based, recycled, and alternative materials is examined. Building on this materials-based perspective, the course introduces biomimetics as a design approach that looks to nature for inspiration when solving human design challenges. This approach is complemented by life cycle assessment, which evaluates environmental impacts across the entire life of a product or material and informs strategies to minimize them.

These materials and design strategies are then applied to some of the most resource-intensive and polluting industry sectors, construction and textiles. It concludes by expanding to the urban scale, focusing on how cities can become more resilient and comfortable in the face of increasingly extreme climate events.

What to expect on this course

This in-person course will cover a broad range of topics related to material selection and sustainability. Jointly lead by two active researchers, each session will start with a 45-60 minute interactive lecture. Following this, there will be time for questions, hands-on activities and group discussion to allow you to reflect and on what has been covered.

Course sessions

1. Introduction to Sustainable development: The phrase ‘sustainable development’ is regularly used to justify all sorts of products and applications. However, what does this actually mean? In this lecture, we will take a quick journey through the history of environmental issues and the rise of environmental awareness. We will explore how the concept of sustainable development has evolved over time and introduce the key tools used to measure and assess sustainability.

    

2. Challenging the linear economy: The Doughnut Economy, circular economy, and degrowth—these are economic models that challenge our current linear “take-make-dispose” system, which is facing a serious crisis. In this lecture, we will see how these approaches rethink the way we produce, consume, and use resources, helping societies stay within planetary boundaries.

    

3. Life in Plastic, still fantastic?: Plastics, a dirty word in today’s society, started life fairly inconspicuously as a replacement to ivory and tortoiseshell. What followed was a gradual replacement of all manner of products, bringing consumer culture to masses. Today, plastics are everywhere, and with the emergence of additive manufacturing or 3D printing, their place in society might be secured for a little while longer. However, for all their good, plastics also cause substantial harm. Plastics can take hundreds of years to break down, in the process releasing harmful chemicals and microplastics into the ecosystem. In this lecture we will look at the history of plastics, their uses including in modern day life-saving environments, as well as discuss some of the recent scientific advancements into new ‘sustainable’ plastics. 

    

4. Composites, is it better together?: Humans have been using composite materials for thousands of years. Composite use arguably exploded when Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland created Bakelite, combining a plastic resin with natural fibres. The types of fibres used rapidly expanded, moving from natural fibres like wood to glass and carbon. Today composites can be found in all manner of extreme environments where a single material would fail to perform. However, for all their advantages, the combination of two or more materials can make the recyclability of these materials very low. Research into using recycled material or bio-based and natural fibre composites is ongoing, however they can suffer from all sorts of problems. In this lecture we will look at a variety of composite materials and discuss where the future of composite materials might be heading.

    

5. Biomimetics: Learning design from Nature : What could a beetle, mandible or pinecone possibly teach us? Starting with a simple definition of biomimetics, this lecture will explore how extraordinary natural materials and structures have inspired architects, material scientists, and engineers. We will reflect on the importance of the natural world, despite recent computational and material advances, and why we should start taking better care of it!

    

6. Life cycle thinking : In this lecture we focus on the impact of materials and product life cycles (extraction, processing, use, disposal, and so on) on the natural environment. Using specific examples, we consider concepts and analytical approaches to measure the environmental impact, recognising the various challenges along the way.

    

7. One-size-fits-all? What’s a sustainable textile: The textile industry is the world’s third largest polluter. The industry is estimated to cause around 20% of global clean water pollution, and release more than half a million tonnes of microplastic waste to the bottom of the ocean every year. The list of problems from this industry appear endless, constantly changing fashion trends, synthetic materials and greenwashing. What can be done? In this lecture we will look at the textile industry, some of the processes involved in textile production and some of the problems that they cause. We will look at current research into more environmentally friendly alternatives, and why increasing textile recycling might not be all that it promises.

    

8. Greening our buildings: What is a ‘green building’? How can new and existing buildings reduce their environmental impacts while still meeting increasing demands? In this lecture, we will explore the concept of green buildings and net-zero design, starting from the question: what is available on site, and how can it be used? We will examine certifications that aim to measure sustainability—and their limitations—before looking at the future of green buildings, including bio-based materials like timber and strategies that reduce impacts throughout a building’s entire lifespan.

    

9. Resilient cities: Cities are home to more than half of the world’s population, but they face growing challenges from heat, heavy rainfall, and resource consumption. Concrete streets and asphalted surfaces create urban heat islands, while impermeable surfaces worsen flooding and stormwater management. How can we rethink cities to face these challenges? In this lecture we will explore sustainable urban design, including nature-based solutions like green roofs, urban forests, and permeable streets. We will look at how these strategies help cities become more resilient, cooler, and more livable for people.

    

10. Exercise: Using the knowledge learnt on this course, in small groups, you will design a product for a specific use case. You will need to select the right materials not only for performance but also to minimise the environmental impact, creating a truly sustainable product. You will then present your design to the class.

Learning outcomes

As a result of the course, you will gain a greater understanding of the subject and you should be able to:

• demonstrate an awareness of how material production and use can have a large impact on sustainability
• better assess material selection and usage in a multi and inter-disciplinary settings involving materials science, engineering, design and architecture.
• demonstrate an understanding of how sustainability principles and challenges apply across diverse industries, including construction and textiles.

Required reading

There is no required reading for this course. See Course materials for supplementary reading once registered.