The Cape Verde Project: Teaching Ecologically Sensitive and Socially
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University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations August 2014 The aC pe Verde Project: Teaching Ecologically Sensitive and Socially Responsive Design N Jonathan Unaka University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Architecture Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Science and Mathematics Education Commons Recommended Citation Unaka, N Jonathan, "The aC pe Verde Project: Teaching Ecologically Sensitive and Socially Responsive Design" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 572. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/572 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEACHING ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIVE DESIGN THE CAPE VERDE PROJECT by N Jonathan Unaka A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee August, 2014 Abstract TEACHING ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AND SOCIALLY RESPONSIVE DESIGN THE CAPE VERDE PROJECT by N Jonathan Unaka The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, August, 2014 Under the Supervision of Professor D Michael Utzinger This dissertation chronicles an evolving teaching philosophy. It was an attempt to develop a way to teach ecological design in architecture informed by ethical responses to ecological devastation and social injustice. The world faces numerous social and ecological challenges at global scales. Recent Industrialization has brought about improved life expectancies and human comforts, coinciding with expanded civic rights and personal freedom, and increased wealth and opportunities. Unfortunately, industrialization also caused wide-scale pollution, mass extinctions and anthropogenic global climate change. Industrialization also reduced the earth’s capacity to meet human resource demands – demands that are ever increasing due to population growth, urbanization and over-consumption. This dissertation develops an architectural theory based on ethics as a way for designers to engage the aforementioned issues. Architects play a pivotal role in shaping the environment, with the symbolic power and use of buildings, giving architects great sway in shaping social spaces and ecosystems. This important role necessitates in-depth curricula that address these problems. ii Architectural training focuses greatly on aesthetics and technical concerns, often at the expense of other equally important issues, such as ecological damage and social justice. In design education, design problems are often de-contextualized to avoid extraneous complications such as the economy or culture. Much of design education occurs with the study abroad and in the design studio. In the former, a grand tour of canonical buildings introduces architects to the precedents they learn to emulate. The latter is where instructors spend many hours in individual or small group interactions. The study abroad and the design studio provided ideal venues to address many of the current concerns beyond aesthetic and technical issues. These concerns include questions related to community engagement, social justice and the ecological effects of design. However, the complicated nature of these issues makes adequate curricula difficult to fashion. The challenge was to provide a framework for learning that was nimble, with wide-ranging curricula and adequate time for self-discovery. The framework included pedagogical content with contradictory claims and conflicting interests. The curricula were broad but provided attention to detail and deeper place knowledge, employed varied examples, experimentation and field work. iii © Copyright by N Jonathan Unaka August, 2014 All Rights Reserved iv Dedication Dedicated to: my mother, Johanna – the real architect in the family, my father, Madukwem – for loving education, my brothers, Madukwem Jr., Nkemjika and Ogugua – for not causing me too much drama… or trauma my daughter, Briyana – for being herself, my son, Jideobi – may he never lose his bliss, and most of all my wife, Jamie – for patience and loving care… and patience. v Table of Contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... xi List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... xv List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... xvi INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 PART ONE – ETHICS .............................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 1 – State of the World ......................................................................................... 16 Eco-Crises ...................................................................................................................... 21 Global Warming ......................................................................................................... 23 Loss of Bio-diversity ................................................................................................... 31 Population and Consumption .................................................................................... 39 Urbanization .............................................................................................................. 44 Natural Resources: Supply and Use .............................................................................. 48 Energy ........................................................................................................................ 51 Water ......................................................................................................................... 54 Food ........................................................................................................................... 57 Waste ......................................................................................................................... 63 Chapter 2 – Environmental Justice ................................................................................... 68 Ethical use of Resources ................................................................................................ 71 Ethics in History – Ubiquity of Virtues ....................................................................... 76 Ethics in Architecture ................................................................................................ 80 Ethics in Education .................................................................................................... 85 Ecological Ethics ............................................................................................................ 89 Chapter 3 – Sustainable Communities and Design ........................................................... 93 What is Sustainability? .............................................................................................. 94 What is Community? ................................................................................................. 99 Sustainable Ecological Community ............................................................................. 104 Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil ............................................................................................ 107 vi Las Gaviotas, Vichada, Columbia ............................................................................. 112 Walnut Way in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA ........................................................... 116 Limitations to the Sustainable Ecological Community Principles ........................... 117 Ecologically Sensitive Design ....................................................................................... 118 Be Like a Tree ........................................................................................................... 121 Waste Equals Food .................................................................................................. 123 Biological and Technical Cycles ............................................................................... 125 Part One – Notes ............................................................................................................. 129 PART TWO – PEDAGOGY: THE ROLE OF EDUCATION ................................................................ 131 Chapter 4 – The Architect and the Design School .......................................................... 136 The Boyer Report ..................................................................................................... 140 The State of Design Education .................................................................................... 147 The Design Studio .................................................................................................... 149 Outliers .................................................................................................................... 156 Chapter 5 – A Different Framework for Design Education ............................................. 160 Ecological Literacy ......................................................................................................