Infosession | Upcoming Travel Programs and Semester Studies

In this design studio, we will study the ecological and urban phenomena surrounding the problems of Urban Heat Island Effect in Naples and how both natural environmental systems and underutilized made-made infrastructural systems might be employed to solve the burgeoning problems its urban centers will face under the stresses of global climate change. We will look extensively at how hot earth further compounds the problem of UHIE and how it poses exceptional challenges within the hazards of hydrothermal and hydro-magmatic activity so common to everyday life in consideration of the unique environmental, historical, and cultural context the bay of Naples presents.

At RISD, the biodesign studies that we have undertaken have supported our strategic plan: by introducing our students to new, collaborative ways of making and knowing; by engaging sustainability through a variety of means that can help decarbonize and detoxify our communities; and, by pursuing accessible projects, resources, and opportunities that can contribute positively to diverse peoples, and our planet. But RISD is not a hub for the study and practice of biodesign.

This immersive interdisciplinary Wintersession Travel Course based on the island of Hawai’i gave students the opportunity to explore the historical and current connections between art, conservation, and local and Indigenous environmental practices.