The Cooper Union Student Eco Initiative is looking for designers across the world who have an opinion on the current trend of green design.  They are collecting responses from professionals, students, and the population at large to incorporate into their first public work. The initiative hopes to use the construction of Cooper Union’s new academic building as a vehicle to stimulate a public conversation about sustainable construction and green design in the context of New York City and beyond.

The group began as an opportunity for students of the Cooper Union to actively engage with the construction of our new academic building. Architecture, Engineering, and Art students were given monthly tours of the site, and various contractors and consultants were brought in to lecture about their work. Throughout this time, and even before, the point most often made was how ‘green’ the new building was going to be. Many of Cooper Union’s students were critical of the motives behind this moniker. While they are certainly in favor of sustainable practices, the group felt it necessary to consider the overall implications and facets of designing ‘green.’

The students were approached last spring by Cooper to create a poster campaign that extolled the values of green design; the posters were to be displayed on the construction fence surrounding their new building, to spread this message to its workers, the school’s students, and the passerby. Students felt this represented an opportunity not to advertise but to engage those around them in a productive dialogue. It is the initiative’s hope that the presence of a public voice will transcend New York’s ubiquitous street posters and present an opportunity for all of us to reconsider our notions of what ‘green’ really is. By rejecting the typical billboard model and presenting an array of disparate opinions, the students aim to engage as many minds as possible, using the public’s words as the foundation of their work.

Images of the new building’s site

The design of the Cooper Union Student Eco Initiative consists of square vinyl stickers, and a background to which they will be adhered.  Each sticker is to contain a quote, collected from a statement about green building. The sources will come from variety of backgrounds including design professionals, students, the city’s youth, and local residents.  The stickers will be color coded to reflect the background of the person from whom that statement was taken. In an event (to be held this October), students and community members will gather to apply these stickers to the fence surrounding the new building in progress.

If you are interested in making your opinion heard, fill out the prompt bellow by cutting and pasting the questions into a reply email to :

The U.S. Green Building Council defines ‘green buildings’ as structures that work “to significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and on the building occupants, green building design and construction practices address: sustainable site planning, safeguarding water and water efficiency, energy efficiency, conservation of materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.”

1. Please describe your initial reaction to the term ‘Green Design’.
2. What are your personal ideas of ‘green’ or ecologically minded design?
3. Are you at all skeptical about the aims of “green development” or the designation ‘green’?
4. Do you think there are ways in which ecologically minded design can impact fields other than construction? If so, how?
5. Do you think there should be a set of binding rules for new developments (regarding their environmental impact)? If so, what should they be?
6. Will green practices in the United States be enough to solve ecological problems, or is the help of other nations also required?

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