Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and our surrounding community is a living lab for sustainability! These photos are from a tour of key sustainable building sites in the area led by professor Mark Taylor this April, as part of FAA 330 Making Sustainable Design. The field trip included stops at the Solar Decathalon House in Rantoul, the Gabel Home at the Energy Farm, and the Miscanthus Lab Facility at the University of Illinois.


About this core course: All Sustainable Design majors take FAA 330, which introduces techniques and tools for representing and realizing sustainable design at multiple scales. The class includes hands-on assignments, tutorials, workshops, and field trips.


Students visited the Solar Decathalon House in Rantoul, IL, a home designed to optimize energy efficiency alongside comfort and livability.  



The Gabel House, nearby, is an earlier iteration and learning prototype for advancing ongoing research in sustainable residential design.  



The tour concluded at the Miscanthus Lab Facility, a research and demonstration space exploring alternative bio-based building materials. The lab features experimental wall assemblies, including miscanthus, hemp-based materials, and conventional insulation. The facility connects material research to real-world applications, highlighting how agricultural byproducts can shape the future of sustainable construction. ...

BSSD is hiring a gallery assistant! Application Deadline 5:00 pm June 29! Undergraduate and Graduate Students are Encouraged to Apply for this Student Hourly Position.


8-10 hours per week, $16-19 per hour, hybrid location



To apply, email your materials to Karin Hodgin Jones, Director, Sustainable Design Program khodgin2@illinois.edu with the subject line Gallery Assistant Application

Include the following materials: Resume; Cover Letter describing your interest and qualifications; and Work Samples (photography, design, video, writing, or related work) as a single PDF or link

The Sustainable Design Program seeks an undergraduate / graduate student hourly Gallery Assistant to work with program staff in support of exhibitions, events, communications, and gallery operations for the Sustainable Design Gallery. Located in the Architecture Building, the Sustainable Design Gallery is the University’s first exhibition space dedicated to sustainable design, presenting exhibitions and public programs featuring students, faculty, researchers, visiting designers, and campus partners. This position provides hands-on experience in exhibition production, arts administration, photography, marketing, and event planning.

Responsibilities:
- Assist with exhibition installation and deinstallation
- Support receptions, lectures, workshops, and special events
- Prepare exhibition and promotional material
- Photograph and document exhibitions and events
- Maintain physical and digital archives

Support outreach, submissions, and research activities
- Assist with social media and communications

Required Qualifications:
- Strong organizational skills and reliability
- Availability to assist with gallery events
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively
- Excellent communication skills
- Timely and professional email communication
- Willingness to learn and take direction
- Access to a computer
- Photography experience
- Ability to perform light physical tasks, including lifting 20 pounds and using a ladder

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience with Registered Student Organizations or community groups
- Familiarity with Google Docs and Sheets
- Graphic Design skills u ...

Our alumni go on to do incredible work and we couldn’t be prouder! This week we’re featuring Sasha Vry, who you may have seen recently in the Chicago Tribune! Sasha graduated this spring and now works with FARMZERO, a vertical farming company in Chicago that grows food in vacant office buildings. 



Sasha Vry: “Since graduating, I have had the opportunity to work with a bunch of passionate people to spearhead the conversion of vacant office buildings into vertical gardens. Through hydroponics, we nurture a seed into a plant, and a plant into food for consumers. I am constantly learning from my environment, and FARMZER0 is where I bridge what I have learned from Sustainable Design into reality. For my capstone project, I researched how plants cannot only communicate with other plants but also interact with humans. Like my project, my desire is to become a vessel of information about the world of plants and to create connections to our environment. With all their intricacies, plants thrive around other plants, just as humans need connection to reach their highest form of self, and I hope to bridge the educational wealth around what keeps us alive and in community.”

@farmzerochicago
@chicagotribune ...

Congratulations to our graduates, the BSSD class of 2026! 🎓🎉🙌 ...

🌱 As we close out the semester, we are highlighting Charley Marchis, another student supported by a Fall 2025 BSSD Opportunity Scholarship!

Charley used the Opportunity Scholarship to prepare for an take the LEED Green Associate exam.

🌱 CM: “The BSSD Opportunity Scholarship supported my academic and professional development by covering the cost of registering for the LEED Green Associate exam. Preparing for this exam has deepened my understanding of sustainable building principles and helped me connect coursework in sustainable design with real-world industry standards. The credential aligns closely with my academic interests and career goals in sustainability and the built environment.”

Congrats, Charley! ...

It was great to see so many of you at last week’s opening of the 2026 BSSD Capstone Exhibition. If you missed the reception, the work remains on view in the Sustainable Design Gallery on the second floor of the Architecture Building through September 6! Free and open to the public. 

At the opening, Director Karin Hodgin Jones shared remarks on the creativity, tenacity, and care of BSSD students reflected through their projects:


“It has been my honor to work with you over the four years that I have led the BSSD program, and to grow with you as this program has grown and changed. I’m so pleased to see your work hanging in the new Sustainable Design Gallery for the entire community to see.



At this moment—a full step into the middle of the 21st century—you are confronting, interrogating, and constructing new forms and types of work. Some of your paths emerge from, and tackle, decades-old problems that have reached their most urgent need for attention. Some of you are recognizing newly emergent matters that require urgent care.



You are the visionary leaders who can think across scales, across disciplines, and between communities to imagine true solutions for our collective future. I may be a bit biased, but I am firmly of the belief that your work is essential for visioning and implementing creative and viable solutions to this moment in history. I hope you all believe that about yourselves, too.” ...