Sustainability Crash Course Coming to Pratt

March 20, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CLINTON HILL — Pratt Institute’s Center for Sustainable Design Studies (CSDS) will present its second annual Sustainability Crash Course as part of Green Week 2012 from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The day-long series of events on Pratt’s Brooklyn campus will include a series of workshops featuring more than 20 experts from Pratt’s sustainable design faculty and elsewhere.

Highlights include:

A presentation by Peter Barna, provost of Pratt Institute; Thomas Hanrahan, dean of Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture; and Myonggi Sul, professor of interior design at Pratt Institute, on the Won Dharma Center, a zero-carbon footprint recreational and spiritual retreat located on 430 acres of forest and meadow in Upstate New York.

A hands-on workshop by Frank Millero, visiting assistant professor of industrial design, and Carolyn Schaeberle, assistant director of Pratt CSDS, on the qualitative and quantitative aspects of life cycle analysis. After presentations by Millero and Schaeberle, participants will examine simple products to discuss and map out the materials and energy needed to produce it.

A presentation by Alice Zinnes, adjunct associate professor of foundation art, on “fracking” (hydraulic fracturing) and how it will affect the lives of New Yorkers. Zinnes will provide background information on the controversial gas drilling practice.

A discussion with industrial design alumni Sahar Ghaheri and Ashley Thorfinnson (dh studio) and Kristina Drury (TYTHEdesign) about their work in the public sector. Both dh studio and TYTHEdesign help non-profits and social ventures address the issues they are passionate about by helping them work better and providing improved service.

Additional presentations include Combat Paper Project: Turning Conflict into Art; Decoding Environmental Science; Eco Fashion: Made in New York City, The Seven Golden Rules of Green Marketing and more.

Pratt Institute’s annual Green Week celebration, which will be held on the Brooklyn campus from March 24 through April 4, will feature gallery exhibits, competitions, talks, films, hands-on activities, and much, much more.

Green Week has something for everyone, whether interested in sustainable materials, transportation options, environmental justice, biking safety or the controversy of fracking. All events are free and open to the public.