ENVS4006 · Environmental Studies

Place-making for a Net-Zero Future: Sustainable Architecture and Landscape Design

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Since the rise of steam power in the nineteenth century, the American way of life has been premised upon ever-increasing consumption of fossil fuels in all aspects of our economy, from agriculture and manufacturing, trade and transportation, to communications and computing. In this course, we focus on a single aspect of this carbon-reliant economy, one that centrally and intimately shapes our patterns of life, our energy use, and our expectations of comfort. Focusing on architecture and landscape design, we review the dominant patterns of building and dwelling from before and during the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. We then examine a substantial series of alternative, sustainable strategies for constructing our shelters and their surrounding landscapes.