4.556 J / MAS.551 J Design Workshop: Design without Boundaries:
Designing the Connected Sustainable Home
Instructors:
William J. Mitchell, Federico Casalegno (MEL, Design Lab), Pattie Maes (Media Lab)
Course Collaborators:
Orkan Telhan, Juhong Park
Prereq: Permission of instructors required
Classes: Thursdays 10am - 1pm
G (Spring)
First Class meeting: Thursday, Feb 5th, 10:00am, MIT Design Lab
Conference Room, NE18, 4th floor
Class description:
Among architects and designers, the notion of critical radical
sustainability is an emerging notion. Most efforts in this area focus
on the use of sustainable building materials and green energy. We are
taking a broader approach; we call it the “Connected Sustainable Home.”
Our idea is of a home that is not only built with sustainable
materials and that uses green energy, but also takes full advantage of
all the digital world has to offer to create a building that can
respond to its environment and to the needs of its inhabitants more
intelligently. It employs the latest in what we know about artificial
intelligence, as well as advanced robotics, to improve the quality of
life for those who live in the home. And, going even further, it is a
home that by its very existence and the way it “works” optimizes human
behavior and thus promotes social sustainability.
This class will provide opportunities to pursue real-world design
projects that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries, apply
advanced technologies and address significant social issues concerning
the design of the “Connected Sustainable Home”.
We will be particularly focusing on:
- Robotic Architecture
- Home as Personal Trainer
- Green Energy Systems
The goal of the course will be not only be to generate exciting new
ideas and technologies that could have a major impact the design of
Connected Suitable Homes, but also to implement specific design
proposals and created prototypes during the term, suitable for
potential further development. This will be a very hands-on workshop
and a variety of projects will be offered to students that will work
in multidisciplinary teams. During the first class we will present the
workshop and select students.
The research for the Connected Sustainable Home is conducted in
collaboration with Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) in Trento. There
will be bi-weekly meetings where students and researches at FBK will
remotely exchange research updates. Students will travel to Trento,
Italy for mid-semester review and meet with their research
collaborators at FBK.
Grading:
First Design Prototype 25%
Second Design 25%
Final Project Prototype 50%
Contact: Federico Casalegno, federico@media.mit.edu