We Have Met the Future and It Is Green - Sustainable Design: The Science of Sustainability and Green Engineering - page 305

foundation of awareness and enhanced knowledge by encouraging the students
to be innovative in seeking integrated and systematically focused solutions.
The introductory course in green engineering and sustainable design at Duke
University consists of five project teams, each assigned to one of the following
topics in sustainability which parallel the LEED program outlined earlier:
1. Sustainable sites
2. Water efficiency
3. Energy and atmosphere
4. Materials and resources
5. Indoor environmental policy
Over the course of the semester, each student conducts in-depth research on
a particular topic by completing three projects with teammates assigned to the
same topic.
Studio I: Survey of the Literature
Objective: Students are asked to become the class experts in their specific topic by
surveying related sustainability literature.
Requirements: Teams must survey a minimum of 15 articles or journal publications
(five per member) that relate to their topic. These articles should cover the major
issues in each topic, as well as proposed solutions and benefits from these solutions,
and recent innovations in sustainability.
Deliverables: Required from students are a list of each group's sources, with a
brief synopses explaining the relevance to the topic, and a 10- to 15-minute class
presentation to their classmates, providing an overview of their findings.
Studio II: Application of Sustainability Principles and Concepts
Objectives : As a group, students analyze a selected building on campus for elements
related to their topic. Each group presents its findings to the class to create a
comprehensive and concrete picture of sustainability issues for a single system.
Requirements : Using information from the students' literature surveys, the
students are asked to examine the building and to identify at least three examples
of sustainability issues related to their topic. For each example they identify (1)
the problem or design shortcoming, (2) the way it is currently addressed in the