Students in the Biomimickry Salon


Learn to create innovative, sustainable design solutions for the benefit of the planet and all living things!

  • Gain knowledge of sustainable design criteria, processes, practices and materials;
  • Learn to research and analyze information;
  • Generate innovative ideas;
  • Build quantitative and qualitative skill-sets;
  • Learn to design to reduce impact on the planet while meeting the needs of all living things;
  • Build your sustainable design portfolio and prepare a proposal package;
  • Join a network of sustainable design professionals.

Using an inter-disciplinary and collaborative approach, Pratt’s Sustainable Design Certificate program covers sustainable design processes, practices, and materials to address real-world challenges, while highly encouraging research and innovation. The program is based on whole systems thinking, engaging the design process with nature’s processes and designs in the context of societal systems.

Hands-on studio practice combined with lectures, workshops and research, where students develop creative problem-solving skills to design challenges. Integration with the design and sustainability communities at Pratt provides students and alumni rich networking opportunities. Students have access to Pratt’s cutting edge sustainable design resources, such as Pratt’s Center for Sustainable Design Strategies, which houses a sustainable materials research center. The program is for all those engaged in the design industry, design education, or related professions, who seek to enhance their knowledge and skillset in sustainable design.

Students may have the opportunity to have their work displayed on our School’s web gallery or blog DesignTerra, at the teachers’ discretion.

Start the program in the fall, spring, or summer!

Certificate Requirements

This certificate program requires the successful completion of 150 hours of study, corresponding to five core courses.

Core Courses – Pratt Brooklyn

XSI 318  Sustainable Design Foundation – Waivable upon portfolio approval
XSI 319  Sustainable Design Theory & Practice    
XCSI 320  Sustainable Processes and Materials 
XCSI 309  Biomimicry
XCSI 340  BioDesign Lab

NOTE: Also available in the Summer: Two-Week Summer Intensives

XSI 324  Sustainable Design Foundation Intensive (Can replace the XCSI 318 Sustainable Design Foundation Course)
XSI 309  Biomimicry Intensive (Can replace the XCSI 309 Biomimicry Course)
 

Core Courses


SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOUNDATION
XCSI-318

Study the basic principles and design elements of sustainable design thinking. Develop basic design skills; and build on the Bauhaus tradition of understanding design vocabulary, composition, form and materials. Based in a design studio approach, the class will move through a series of hand- and digital, 2D, 3D, and 4D exercises that test and question sustainable technology and performance. Each session combines a historically-based lecture, studio lab and critique of students’ design projects; and includes a basic introduction to the presentation of ideas in different formats.

Note: This course is waivable upon portfolio approval by faculty. Please submit digital portfolio (at least 10 pieces) to prostudy@pratt.edu by 10 business days prior to the class start dates of the certificate courses below.

SECTION 01: MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS | SEPTEMBER 9—OCTOBER 9, 2019 | 6:30–9:30 PM |
INSTRUCTORS:  KAT CHOATE AND DANIEL PENGE
10 SESSIONS | 3 CEUs | $1,325

SUSTAINABLE PROCESSES AND MATERIALS
XCSI-319

From concept creation to final implementation, the decisions that designers make during the design phase contribute to the majority of the environmental and social impact of a product or system. Learning to incorporate sustainable practices at concept inception is a competitive advantage and encourages smart design. The journey from raw material through processing, manufacturing, transportation/ distribution, use and disposal will be explored, using examples of design across scales. Participants will learn about tools and strategies that designers can use to reduce the impact of their designs on the environment.

Prerequisite: XCSI-318 Sustainable Design Foundation—waivable upon portfolio approval.

SECTION 01: WEDNESDAYS | SPRING 2020 | 6:30–9:30 PM
INSTRUCTOR: KAT CHOATE AND DANIEL PENGE
10 SESSIONS | 3 CEUs | $1,325

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN THEORY & PRACTICE
XCSI-320

This course explores design processes in which issues in sustainable design thinking are researched, inputted, edited, and reflected in a simple design project(s) that engages different students from different discipline backgrounds. The goal is to have portfolio piece in sustainability to be able to further a career or educational track. This project is research-based (i.e. written with data based output), as well as design-based.

Prerequisite: XCSI-318 Sustainable Design Foundation—waivable upon portfolio approval.

SECTION 01: SATURDAYS | SPRING 2020 |
INSTRUCTOR:  KAT CHOATE AND DANIEL PENGE
10 SESSIONS | 3 CEUs | $1,325

BIOMIMICRY
XCSI-309  

Generate innovative ideas and forms that perform and give back to the planet and its inhabitants responsibly in space.  Based on the Biomimicry Institute’s 3.8 guidelines, explore all three levels of the biomimicry design process. Learn sustainability principles and practices such as life cycle assessment; discover nature’s time-tested design strategies, functions, and patterns to apply them to human-made designs. Using a holistic approach, learn to integrate biomimicry into your creative process and demonstrate its value to stakeholders.

Prerequisite: XCSI-318 Sustainable Design Foundation—waivable upon portfolio approval.

SECTION 01: SATURDAYS | OCTOBER 5—DECEMBER 14, 2019 | 10 AM–1 PM
INSTRUCTOR: TETSU OHARA
10 SESSIONS | 3 CEUs | $1,325

bioDESIGN lab
XCSI-340

As fields are merging in search of more sustainable and resilient solutions, biodesign is emerging at this transdisciplinary intersection of biology, technology and design. In this hands-on studio course, explore, research and develop bio-inspired design solutions, putting into practice biomimicry thinking, sustainable systems-based methods and designing for and with biomaterials.  Create and present your project with outcomes that include designing systems for human services and interventions, developing new biofabrication processes for materials and/or products, and advancing innovations in circular economies. Final projects will be reviewed by a panel of experts and enable students to build their portfolio.

Prerequisite: XCSI-318 Sustainable Design Foundation—waivable upon portfolio approval.

SECTION 01: 9 SESSIONS ON WEDNESDAYS 6:30—9:30 PM, AND LAST, 10TH SESSION
ON SATURDAY DECEMBER 14, 2019 1:30–4:30 PM | | OCTOBER 16—DECEMBER 14, 2019 | 1:30–4:30 PM
INSTRUCTOR: DANIELLE TROFE
10 SESSIONS | 3 CEUs | $1,325

Registration

Online self-registration opens on July 15, 2019 for the Fall semester.

If you wish to express interest in this program, or if you experience any challenge with self-registration, please contact prostudy@pratt.edu.

Registration Deadline: Five business days before each class starts.

Note: To request that the XCSI-318 Sustainable Design Foundation pre-requisite course be waived by faculty, please submit digital portfolio (at least 10 pieces) to prostudy@pratt.edu by 10 business days prior to the class start date of the certificate course(s) of interest to you.

Early registration is encouraged. After the deadlines, students may still be admitted only if space remains in the selected course or program.

For more information, please contact prostudy@pratt.edu.