Sustainable design is no longer optional; it's essential. As awareness grows about climate change and environmental degradation, clients increasingly demand spaces that are not only beautiful but also responsible. This course equips you with the knowledge and skills to meet this demand, positioning you as a forward-thinking designer who can create spaces that serve both people and planet.
The Business Case for Sustainable Design
Sustainable design isn't just good ethics; it's good business. Green buildings command premium prices, attract quality tenants, and cost less to operate. Homeowners value spaces that promote health and reduce utility bills. By mastering sustainable design, you open yourself to a growing market segment while contributing to a healthier planet.
Core Principles
This course is built around the fundamental principles of sustainable design. You'll learn to think holistically about the environmental, social, and economic impacts of your design decisions. We cover the entire lifecycle of design choices, from material extraction and manufacturing to use and eventual disposal or recycling.
Course Modules
- Introduction to Sustainable Design - History, principles, and current practices
- Environmental Impact Assessment - Understanding the true cost of design choices
- Sustainable Materials - Renewable, recycled, and low-impact options
- Energy-Efficient Design - Passive strategies and active systems
- Water Conservation - Fixtures, systems, and landscape integration
- Indoor Environmental Quality - Air, light, acoustics, and thermal comfort
- Biophilic Design - Connecting interiors with nature
- Circular Economy - Designing for disassembly and reuse
- Green Building Certifications - LEED, BREEAM, and other standards
- Sustainable Furnishings - Ethical sourcing and production
- Renovation and Adaptive Reuse - The most sustainable building is one that already exists
- Client Education - Communicating sustainability value
Material Focus
One of the most significant environmental impacts of interior design comes from material selection. This course provides comprehensive coverage of sustainable materials, teaching you to evaluate options based on embodied energy, toxicity, durability, recyclability, and aesthetic qualities. You'll learn about innovative new materials as well as traditional sustainable options.
Healthy Interiors
Sustainable design extends beyond environmental concerns to human health. Poor indoor air quality affects concentration, sleep, and long-term health. This course teaches you to design spaces that actively promote occupant wellbeing through careful material selection, ventilation strategies, and biophilic design principles.
Certification and Standards
Understanding green building certifications like LEED opens valuable opportunities. This course demystifies the certification process, showing you how to design projects that meet various sustainability standards. While we don't make you a certified LEED professional, we provide the foundation for pursuing such credentials if desired.
Practical Application
Theory becomes practice through realistic projects. You'll redesign a residential space for improved sustainability, specify materials for a commercial project pursuing green certification, and develop a presentation explaining sustainable choices to a skeptical client. These exercises prepare you for real-world sustainable design challenges.
Course Benefits
- 65+ hours of expert instruction
- Sustainable materials database and resources
- Energy modeling tools introduction
- Case studies of award-winning sustainable projects
- Certification requirements overview
- Supplier and manufacturer directories
- Calculator tools for carbon footprint and lifecycle analysis
- Certificate of completion
- Lifetime access with regular updates
