The implementation of ecological design ideas with the help of waste: Ukraine's experience

PurposeThe purpose of the research is to substantiate the possibilities of the development of ecological design in the process of future designers professional training and the implementation of student projects in practice.Design/methodology/approachThis article offers one of the possible ways to solve the problem of rational use of wastes of natural resources in the projects of design students. In Ukraine, the ecological direction acquires national features and many Ukrainian manufacturers associate this mainly with ecologically clean materials: this is most typical for furniture products and traditional construction made of wood. The proposed technique is an effective tool for analyzing the interaction of environmental and design disciplines at different levels, as well as an effective criterion for evaluating methods of structuring educational material. The introduction of the correlation index makes assessing the effectiveness of the application of environmental knowledge in design possible.FindingsThe analysis of the world ecological design experience makes presenting the Ukrainian experience of environmental design possible, the origins of which date back to the 1920s of the 20th century. In terms of the purpose and methods of education, the authors consider art and industrial schools to be the primary basis of design education in Ukraine. In the 1990s of the 20th century, on the material and technical bases, educational-methodical and staffing with experienced teachers that design departments are formed, which train and graduate certified designers in various specializations. The need for readiness to solve the tasks of environmental education of future designers in the context of end-to-end environmental training is an urgent problem. Relying on ecological concepts makes optimally structuring the educational material possible, taking into account the requirements for both environmental and professional training.Research limitations/implicationsStudies have established that the application of the authors' method of continuous environmental education has a positive effect on the assimilation of environmental knowledge and method's use in professional theory. Increasing the rates of assimilation and application of environmental knowledge by students has a positive effect on the interaction of environmental and professional knowledge.Practical implicationsThe practical significance of the project consists in the implementation of the development of design projects on specific topics, including competitive, diploma and master's theses. The presented examples of designer shaping from wastes are expressive examples to follow in educational design, important for the development of students' creative and ecological thinking. The methodology is tested in several institutions of higher education in Ukraine, and the authors hope that this can spread in other countries, in particular in the training of designers specializing in “Furniture Design.”Social implicationsEcodesign is gradually being established in the general structure of design theory and, accordingly, has the right to an independent role in the formation of new principles of shaping the spatial and object environment of human life.Originality/valueNew approaches require new educational standards, curricula and teaching methods, directed in particular to the development of a systemic interdisciplinary approach.