(This week's post comes from Krista Nutter, LEED AP, MS Arch is a college design educator and administrator at a CIDA-accredited program, a sustainable building consultant, and designer/owner of an award-winning, Energy-Star 5+, passive solar, solar electric, high-performance green home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her home was on the USGBC Cincinnati Green Home tour in 2015. Learn more about at the house blog.)
Introduction:
As an educator of design and architecture, I’m required to look to practicing professionals to get a pulse on industry trends in the design world. Trade publications, conferences, and conventions are also good sources of information, along with accrediting bodies like the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) which provide educators with academic standards extrapolated from industry professionals. However, sometimes to get a sense of where we can improve in the classroom, it’s best to consult students directly. On the topic of sustainable or green home design, there appears to be a wide range of exposure to specific green design concepts, but design students as a whole seem to have an overall understanding of the importance of sustainable design in the built environment. The intent of the interviews was not to collect quantitative data or specific statistics, but rather to get a sense of how a variety of students perceive sustainable design and its importance. I was more interested in students’ qualitative, narrative answers and the impressions that could be drawn from them.