Global Changemakers Professional Development Series
Design Thinking & The Art of Sustainability
for the Workplace & the Built Environment
Ken Hickson is introducing a new Education for Sustainability course, which aims to equip participants with the necessary knowledge and skill sets in Design Thinking and The Art of Sustainability to organise and apply to workplace situations and built environment projects.
Presented in the Global Changemakers Professional Development Series by Sustain Ability Showcase Asia (SASA) and Kowabunga! Global, the Advanced Certificate Course is action-oriented and places greater importance on collaboration and team-work.
As Chairman of SASA and author of "The Race for Sustainability", Course Leader Ken Hickson points out that the built environment accounts for 40% of global emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG), "so we need to learn how to improve our buildings, to be more efficient, comfortable, safer, cleaner and healthier places for us to work and live in."
He says the new course in the Sustainability Series looks at the work of the Green Buildings and the Resilient Cities movements regionally, globally and in Singapore, as well as incorporates ideas and projects from around the world.
The course highlights real-life case studies, while drawing attention to leading thinkers, architects and designers in the field, including:
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Tai Lee Siang, Head of Architecture and Sustainable Design at Singapore University of Technology & Design SUTD), former Chairman of the World Green Building Council and author of "Cities of Love" ;
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Janis Birkeland, author of "Design for Sustainability" and currently Honorary Professorial Fellow, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne;
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Sacha Kagan, author of "Art and Sustainability" and "Let artists shape a resilient city", based on a paper he gave in Singapore at i Light Marna Bay in 2014;
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Jason Pomeroy, an award-winning architect, academic, author and TV presenter, who relocated from London to Singapore in 2008. He is the Founder of sustainable urbanism, architecture, design and research firm, Pomeroy Studio.
Participants will also become acquainted with Gregory Cornelius's Protiotype Design Science, which addresses global issues like climate change and the housing crisis, taking into account the Whole Life Carbon (WLC) approach and adopting scientific analyses by IES, which was included as a digital exhibit at the London Design Festival in 2021.
The course also showcases the work of two Singapore "institutions" in the build environment sector, which have influenced projects locally, regionally and globally:
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WOHA, founded by Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell in 1994, focuses on integrated architectural and urban solutions to tackle the problems of the 21st century, such as climate change, population growth and rapidly increasing urbanisation, with some of their best work seen in Singapore for the Pan Pacific Hotel Group;
Like other courses in the series, this one takes into account climate change impacts and all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with population growth and out of control urban development.
"We also focus on what I see as the four key sustainability factors - environment, energy, economy and ethics - which are fundamental to the built environment and the workplace", Mr Hickson said.
He also believes that it is essential these days for businesses and all organisations to prioritise sustainability in all aspects of their operations.
"By taking this course, all participants - whatever their background or previous experience - will gain sufficient knowledge and skills to be equipped to take the lead in their workplaces, by adopting and putting into practice Design Thinking towards a more sustainable built environment", Mr Hickson insists.
Classes for the Advanced Certificate in Design Thinking on Sustainability in the Workplace are conducted in person on two consecutive Saturdays:
Date: 18 March 2023 and 25 March 2023
Time: 9am to 5pm
Kowabunga! Global Training Centre
Woods Square Tower 2, 6 Woodlands Square, #09-03,
Singapore 737737
Registrations can still be accepted for this current course, where fees are set at S$350 per person. Intending participants can click on the course application form and sign up here.
Kowabunga! Global and SASA agree that this course - along with others in the series - lends itself to be offered to a much wider selection of people in business and the community, so it can be adapted and presented to suit different corporate needs or organisational situations.
