Join o2NYC as we begin a learning group whose goal is to understand Life Cycle Assessment, and to develop our skills as design professionals to provide the systems thinking approach and holistic understanding that LCA provides.

As a concept, a product lifecycle makes intuitive sense. Designers conceive of a product or service, and source materials that are mined from the earth, refined, manufactured, packaged, marketed, sold, used, and then either retired in landfill, or in a better world, recycled back into the system. Cradle to cradle, here we come. In practice, knowing the full impact of a product's impact on the environment be the first thing we do as designers when developing a new product idea. A comprehensive approach that takes in all phases of a product lifecycle is the best framework for letting us know which action to take in redesigning for green - which approach is the most environmentally friendly.

Yet as a practice, life cycle assessment is both daunting and complicated, but this may be a case of LCA reflecting the complexities of how we make things today. Let us know if you are interested in joining or are a practicing LCA expert willing to share our knowledge.

Overview:

In 2003, o2NYC hosted Assignment: Green, an exhibit and symposium on green design education in New York City, at the Municipal Art Society. The curated exhibit, held from March 13 - April 29, 2003, covered New York area college level student work and spanned several design fields including architecture, planning, interior design, product/industrial design, fashion, and graphics/communication design as well as related business and policy fields.

The purpose of the event was to both illustrate the current state of green design education and to promote a more aggressive greening of design education. Design schools are beginning to realize that ecological design innovation is an essential ingredient in useful, desirable and responsible design; one that is soon to become intrinsic to all design curricula and corporate design strategies.

As New York area design schools continue to focus more closely on sustainability and methods for eco-design, they will produce a pool of ecologically oriented graduates, and in turn, make the city a world leader for eco-design research, manufacturing and education. When these graduates begin working in NYC companies, they will influence and strengthen those companies’ green aspects, creating a green design business “hotbed.” So the larger purpose of Assignment: Green is to sharpen the focus of design
programs that can, in turn, make the city a world center for ecodesign research, manufacturing and education.

On April 2, 2003, o2NYC hosted the Assignment: Green roundtable forum, facilitated by Metropolis Magazine editor-in-chief, Susan Szenasy, to convene students, educators and department heads from New York's design schools along with local business leaders to debate and envision the future of green design education.

Exhibit Design:

Assignment: Green's exhibit was constructed largely of sustainable and re-used materials. Used cardboard tubes were salvaged from Mecho Shade. Xorel fabric panels from Carnegie were re-utilized from another exhibit, and illuminated with energy fluorescent tubes. Homasote boards were locally produced from 100% recycled newspapers. Other materials included hemp fabric, hemp twine and white glue.

Participating Schools:

CCNY -- Graduate Program in Urban Design

Columbia University -- School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

Cooper Union -- Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Art

Fashion Institute of Technology -- Fashion Design, Home Products, Development and Marketing

Fordham University -- Environmental Studies

Parsons School of Design -- School of Architecture, Interior Design and Lighting, Department of Product Design, Department of Fashion Design, Center for New Design


Pratt Institute -- Industrial Design, Undergraduate Architecture, Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, Fashion Design

FIT/Parsons/Pratt Fashion Apprenticeships

o2NYC gratefully acknowledges the support of: Municipal Art Society, Keyspan, Herman Miller, Knoll Materials and services by: Hixon Design Consultants Red Rooster Group, J Ottman Consulting, Inc., Modern World Design, Square Indigo, National MicroRentals, Hewlett-Packard Company

The Municipal Art Society gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of: The H. Van Ameringen Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

Exhibit Committee: David Bergman, Erika Doering, Eva Hanhardt, Martha Kellerhals, John Napolitano, and Lisa Smith.