Henry the Fifth, as characterized by William Shakespeare, is the quintessential heroic leader – bold, manly, inspiring, strong, passionate, ready to bravely battle against all odds, ready to lead all of those that believe — heart and soul — in what he proclaims to be right and true. Phew. That sort of leader is great in movies (and plays), but is not fit for purpose in the boardrooms, meeting rooms, or classrooms of the 21st century.
The Reputation Economy
Suddenly Bucky is everywhere. The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, a show at the Whitney, books evaluating his work, and an overview in Wired. What is going on?
The time is ripe for his ideas. Sustainable design was a new concept when he started in the 1930’s, and even by the 1970’s it was part of the creative edge rather than the mainstream. Bucky famously said that he worked 50 years ahead of his time. In that way he didn’t experience a reaction against changing the present.
Design Rules for Sustainability
Curt McNamara is an experienced engineer, biomimicry educator and Buckminster Fuller scholar. We recently caught up with him to discuss his career as well as his fully online course devoted to the subject of Bucky Fuller’s work called, Geometry of Thinking. The course begins May 29 and registration is open. This is a 10-week course that is a core part of MCAD’s Sustainable Design Online Program.
SDO: What spurred you to become a sustainable designer?
In high school I read a lot of science fiction so was familiar with possible futures. I was really struck by a confluence of forces: Bucky Fuller’s Success For All Humanity; the 1st Earth Day, and the vision of the Whole Earth Catalog and Review.
Creative Leadership
Denise DeLuca is an experienced biomimicry educator who devotes much of her time to challenging the way professionals think and act as leaders, from business executives to designers. We recently caught up with her to discuss her unique career as well as her fully online course devoted to the subject of Creative Leadership. The course begins May 29 and registration is open. This is a 10-week course that is a core part of MCAD’s Sustainable Design Online Program.
SDO: What spurred you to become a sustainable designer?
I’m not a ‘sustainable designer’, per se, but am trained as an engineer and work in the area of biomimetics, radical innovation, and ecological thinking. I was spurred to find a way to combine my engineering and problem-solving skills with my passion for nature and creativity to pro-actively to help move our human world to a more positive, beautiful, sustainable place.
Saving the World with Improv
Michelle Holliday posted a blog recently entitled, Using Improv to Save the World, which was inspired by a workshop presented by Belina Raffy. Holliday does a nice job of explaining how, well, you can use improv to save the world.
More specifically, Holliday notes that, “We never really know what’s coming at us next …,” yet the mechanistic worldview of most conventional businesses is based on the assumption that “we can predict and control everything.” This has never really been true, of course, but in our rapidly changing and increasingly volatile world, it is a dangerous assumption.
Nature survives not via “predict and control” but rather by “sense and respond.” Always moving towards adaptable positive outcomes rather than pre-determined fixed objectives.
Street Nature Score
For decades, people believed that the concrete jungles of dense cities were unsustainable, because they feel so divorced from nature. But they were wrong. Density is efficient. However, it isn’t necessarily fun. More livable neighborhoods have both nature and high density, not only providing streets where people can walk, but where people want to walk. Many urban planners and property owners know this intuitively, but who determines how much nature is good, or how different sites compare?
Zygote Quarterly
I am delighted to announce and promote a visually stunning and information-packed publication devoted exclusively to the nexus of science and design as they meet in the sphere of biomimicry. It’s called the Zygote Quarterly.
This new digital magazine is the brainchild of three long-time colleagues who are talented biomimicry educators (all are Biomimicry Education Fellows) and inspirational mentors: Marjan Eggermont, Norbert Hoeller, and Tom McKeag. (This post was created as an excerpt from the first issue of Zygote Quarterly’s Editorial written by Marjan, Norbert, and Tom, who are co-editors of the ZQ.)
Sweet Internship
As my family and friends can attest, I enjoy chocolate. In fact, it could be said that I am a “snob” when it comes to chocolate. I have long established opinions about the most superb varieties and brands and confidence that I was consuming the finest. That is, until I met Mindo Chocolate Makers.
Mindo is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker located in Dexter, Michigan. They purchase cacao beans for their sublime chocolate directly from small farmers in Ecuador, where Mindo has facilities to ferment and dry the beans. The cacao is then shipped to Michigan where they process it (roast, grind to nibs and winnow) and make it into chocolate, cocoa butter and cocoa powder. My research on the company found them a sustainable and ethical business with values-based management, which was simply lagniappe, as they had me at “chocolate.”
Be a Winner
Calling all sustainable graphic designers in the Mid-West!
Showcase and celebrate your sustainable design work in the upcoming 2012 AIGA Minnesota and the Green Leaf Award that recognizes design leadership in environmental responsibility and sustainable design. The entry deadline is Friday, March 30th, so enter now. By entering student work or professional work in the design show, you can enter to win the sustainable Green Leaf Award at no extra cost.
Red Carpet, Green Dress
I didn’t get to see the Oscars or watch the red carpet parade of gowns but I was waiting in anticipation for Oscar night for one reason and one reason only. I couldn’t wait to see the winning gown of the Red Carpet Green Dress competition, a contest launched in 2009 for an award-winning “green” gown that would be made from entirely sustainable fabrics. This global dress design contest was the brainchild of Suzy Cameron, actress and wife of Titanic and Avatar director, James Cameron, who saw the Academy Awards as the best opportunity to promote sustainable fashion. For this closet Project Runway fan, the Oscars are now a night to anticipate.
Snail-Inspired Green Building
I recently had the honor of participating as one of 12 judges for the 2011 Biomimicry Student Design Challenge that was hosted by the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute (formerly The Biomimicry Institute). The Student Design Challenge was launched in September 2011 and was open to students from around the world who worked together on collaborative, local teams to develop a nature-inspired design concept. Fifty student teams from across 14 US states and 10 countries (Canada, India, Iran, Norway, Sweden, Latvia, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Turkey) submitted concepts to the challenge and it was our job as judges to assess and select the top candidates for the $5,000 prize provided by the Merck Family Fund and Autodesk.
Even before I opened my eyes I knew I was screwed. Opening them only confirmed it.
The guy I was traveling with had drugged and robbed me of everything I had. I was in a dangerous city in a foreign country, didn’t speak the language and now with no passport, travel visa or money. And of course, he left me with the hotel bill for the room we had been sharing for almost a week.
The next two weeks were rough.
NYFW GreenShow Stopper
Last week, London-based eco-fashion blogger, Rebecca Butler of Designer Insider published an interview with MCAD’s very own Sustainable Design Online program alumnus, Susan Crow. Here’s our chance to shine a light on the incredible work Susan is doing in the field of eco-luxury fashion and to hear about her first chance to show her work at New York’s Fashion Week (NYFW). Keep leading the way, Susan! read more…
Check out these sustainability films at MCAD this spring semester.
WHERE: Auditorium (room 150) at MCAD Campus [2501 Stevens Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55404]
WHEN: 7 p.m
COST: FREE!
April 18
