Hello All,

Discussing further development of interdisciplinary courses on sustainability is certainly a good idea.

(But I guess Google doesn't find everything.)

Since 2002 we have continuously developed the CAED’s largest upper-division interdisciplinary courses, the "Edes" courses in Sustainable Design.

The courses include

Edes.406 “Sustainable Environments: An Interdisciplinary Overview” with 90+ students/year,

Edes.408 "Implementing Sustainable Principles" with 90+ students/year, and

Edes.410: ”Advanced Implementation of Sustainable Principles” with 12-15 students/year.

The courses are taught by 6+/- faculty from the Departments of City & Regional Planning, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture.

Edes.406 “Sustainable Environments: An Interdisciplinary Overview” with 90+ students/year is a "general interdisciplinary introduction."

Edes.408 "Implementing Sustainable Principles," the second course in our Sustainable Environments Minor core series is an activity course that asks interdisciplinary teams of students to devise projects that "think globally, act locally." Our students’ work in  Edes.408 has been exhibited publicly, disseminated in the media (Environmental Building News, television reports, etc.), and externally peer-reviewed and lauded as a good model to emulate (EFS West Sustainability in Higher Education Conference). This work has also led to the realization of numerous important initiatives and organizations on campus and in the community including Empower Poly, the Bio-diesel Club, changes at Cal Poly's food services and more. For example see: http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2005/7/1/AIA-Recognizes-Ecoliteracy-in-Architecture-Schools/

In 2005 our CAED Sustainable Environments Minor and the Edes 406 & 408 courses won the American Institute of Architects (AIA/COTE)  “Ecological Literacy in Architectural Education” national award and grant money.

See: http://calpolynews.calpoly.edu/news_releases/2005/june_05/Edes_award.htm & http://www.aia.org/practicing/groups/kc/AIAS074665

We have been entrepreneurial in developing resources for these courses & collaborating with other colleges for special lectures & events. We have grown this course series to double the size it was in 2002 in order to meet the necessity and demand for interdisciplinary education in sustainability here at Cal Poly.

It has become the “go-to” course series on campus for sustainable design.

From the Cal Poly catalogue:

EDES 406  Sustainable Environments (4) 

Collaboration of interdisciplinary faculty and guest speakers/panelists.

Introduction, illustration and analysis of concepts and principles for

sustainability to be used in all aspects of environmental design. Integration and

application of knowledge of human and natural systems with environmental,

social and economic concerns, from a global-to-local perspective. 4 lectures.

Prerequisite: Fourth year or graduate standing, or consent of instructor. 

EDES 408  Implementing Sustainable Principles (4) 

A primarily project-based course, intended to aid students who wish to

collaborate with the purpose of implementing sustainability principles by

developing tools, process or designs, for community-based projects and

proposals at various scales of planning, architecture and design of the human

environment to address social, environmental and economic issues. 4 lectures.

Prerequisite: EDES 406 or consent of instructor. 

EDES 410  Advanced Implementation of Sustainable Principles (4) 

Advanced continuation of community-based projects defined and initiated in

EDES 408. Ongoing projects, individual and group, address variable scales of

planning, architecture, and environmental design, with required completion at

the end of the course. 2 seminars and supervised work. Prerequisite: EDES 408.

Jonathan Reich