Environmental Design

Throwing shade

Joe Arney — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:05:36 +0000

Throwing shade Joe Arney Tue, 04/14/2026 - 10:05

Joe Arney

When you’re thinking about urban infrastructure, the first things that come to mind are probably related to transportation, utilities, communications and public services.

Shade is probably not on that list. But if you’re a mile closer to the sun, as Denver is, it should be, according to an expert in environmental health and urban greenness.

“As the climate changes, many cities have increased their focus on studying sun exposure,” said Sara Tabatabaie, an assistant teaching professor of environmental design. “But they’re doing so mainly from a heat mitigation standpoint, and not necessarily for skin cancer prevention.”

Earlier this year, Tabatabaie received a third grant to continue studying how Denver, and other cities, can engage in sun safety planning and shade design to make the outdoors a less hazardous place for your skin. Worldwide, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer; in Colorado, it is a rising problem, per the National Cancer Institute.

Creating novel guidelines

It’s such a novel consideration for designers and public health officials that Tabatabaie’s work really had to start at the beginning. In the early phases of this project—a partnership between the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Community Engagement, Design and Research Center—she developed an intensive methodology to assess ultraviolet exposure in different urban environments, or typologies. From there, she proposed design guidelines—customized for different public space typologies—to help neighborhoods hit appropriate sun safety thresholds.

“This work incorporates lived experiences of shade and place into real design guidelines,” she said. To do so effectively, she and student researchers from CEDaR completed extensive surveys—audits, observation, environmental modeling and parametric simulation—to establish design guidelines that could improve UV safety for each typology as the sun moves through the sky during the day.

Sara Tabatabaie’s research looks at sun mitigation from the standpoint of UV protection. Other research has mostly focused on heat prevention. Photo by Nathan Thompson.

Project visualizations illustrate the placement of shade structures related to play areas. This one shows shade at Scott Carpenter Park, in �鶹ӰԺ, in the afternoon.

The current phase of the project is translating her evidence-based findings into actionable strategies that can guide policy and transform neighborhoods for sun safety. Tabatabaie hopes that, through this work, CDPHE can craft stronger urban forestry initiatives, improve streetscape requirements and invest in neighborhoods that lack sun protection.

“In this next phase, I’ll be investigating the institutional and political pathways for shade interventions, so we understand how to integrate these findings into urban policies, regulatory codes and planning frameworks,” she said.

She also plans to perform a cost-benefit analysis of shade.

“We want to be able to share the cost of implementing shade against the health benefits that shade offers to residents,” she said. “We know cost will be an important consideration for helping people understand the value of introducing shade into these typologies.”

Jota Samper

In the first phase of the project, the team—Tabatabaie; Jota Samper, associate professor and co-director of CEDaR; and a team of environmental design students—surveyed six different neighborhoods throughout the city to assess shade and sun risk. The orientation of streets, walkability and sidewalk types were shown to directly affect the sun risk index; the survey also revealed neighborhoods with a higher percentage of children provided limited shade—problematic, as children are more susceptible to sun damage than adults.

“What I found fascinating about Sara is that she took tools that are used in other fields”—like Rhino, a versatile 3D modeling tool, and related applications like Grasshopper and Ladybug—“and applied them to her interest in research,” Samper said. “It was amazing to see how she implemented them not just to measure sun exposure, but to show how different modalities of design could have different impacts, and help us visualize and understand that in a more complex way.”

The work may seem simple on its face, but there are a number of quirks that become apparent the more you look at shade. Cover from trees, for instance, is variable on windy days and mostly disappears in the winter. Meanwhile, surfaces designed to reflect sunlight, and protect from heat, may reflect those UV rays back at people.

“Until now, shade thresholds have not been consistently defined across all typologies, which has made it more difficult to design sun-safe places,” Tabatabaie said.

“Community engagement, and using people’s lived experience, is so important in the design process. Because if people don’t believe in the design, they won’t use it.”

Sara Tabatabaie, assistant teaching professor, environmental design

All this is happening against the backdrop of cities embracing the outdoors and encouraging residents to spend time outside by investing in parks, multiuse trails and micromobility options. But based on average UV levels in Denver, more than 20 minutes of direct sun exposure is not recommended, especially for fair-skinned people.

Balancing more time outdoors with more awareness of sun risk is something Tabatabaie takes seriously in her work.

“Community engagement, and using people’s lived experience, is so important in the design process. Because if people don’t believe in the design, they won’t use it,” she said. “We can’t just design something that looks great. We have to observe how people behave and interact with a design to ensure we’re creating something people want to use.”

Student research impact

That’s a lesson she imparted to the students working alongside her on the project. Gabby Rodriguez, a senior majoring in landscape architecture, studied urban trail systems to help guide recommendations for that typology.

“Looking at the climate we live in today demonstrates that smart landscape architecture projects are more needed than ever—especially at a time when everything is changing so rapidly,” said Rodriguez, who hopes to do more public-oriented projects after graduating this spring. “But the challenging part is definitely putting the scientific processes and methodologies into terms that the general public can understand, so you can convey that importance to people.”

The work is especially important to Rodriguez, who—like many native Coloradans—never turns down an opportunity to be outdoors.

“It’s exciting to see a project like this come to the surface,” she said. “I loved the opportunity to work with Sara, who is one of the most intelligent people I’ve known and is focused on cultivating a good space to bring design solutions for important problems to light.”

Tabatabaie’s gift for encouraging her students to become passionate about these issues speaks to her teaching ability, Samper said.

“The rigor Sara brings to her research really rubs off on her students,” he said. “The students understood the stakes were high, that this was a real client with a serious issue, and that their research was really going to impact policy in Colorado. That elevated the whole output of the students, which was really wonderful.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

More cities are studying ways to mitigate heat from intensely sunny days. One expert is more focused on the dangers posed by UV exposure.

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2 minutes with: ASLA

Ellie Chase — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:56:31 +0000

2 minutes with: ASLA Ellie Chase Thu, 04/09/2026 - 11:56

Ellie Chase

Learn more about ASLA, the student affiliate chapter for landscape architects and plant lovers

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) serves as a gateway for student landscape architecture and environmental design, and meets every Monday from 12-1 pm on the third floor of the ENVD building. They regularly participate in landscaping activities on campus, such as tree planting and ecological research. We’re here with Ella Seevers and Maddie Veasey who are the co-presidents of the Student Affiliate Chapter of ASLA at CU.

Responses edited for length and clarity.

Photo taken by Ella Seevers on her annual trip to Glenwood Springs for rock climbing.

What exactly is landscape architecture?

Seevers: It’s any design that’s outside of architecture or urban planning. A good example would be land bridges or stormwater management. There’s also a whole realm of adaptive reuse, like turning old railroad tracks into parks and trails.

How does ASLA contribute to student life at CU?

Seevers: It’s a good community for extracurriculars in general. It’s a great way to get outside and talk to other plant-loving people!

Top 3 reasons to join?

Veasey: One, it’s a really excellent community, we’re all really close. Two, if you're thinking about going into landscape architecture, this is one of the best professional development opportunities you can have. Three, it brings joy to be thinking about plants, they make us very happy! I personally have 100+ houseplants.

Wait. You have over a 100 houseplants?

Veasey: It started during COVID-19 and I wanted to bring the outside in. I guess I just got one, and then I couldn’t stop! I have to avoid going to the plant store now.

That’s really impressive, speaking as someone who can’t even keep one houseplant alive. Talk to me about why it’s so important to bring so much attention to plant life.

Seevers: You can’t care about something to the point of wanting to protect it if you don’t have a personal connection to it. It’s very important to me that we protect the natural environment.

Last one. Describe the club in one word.

Veasey: Biophilia. Bio means life, and philia means love. It’s basically just a love of nature.

Interested in joining? Join the GroupMe and follow @cu.asla on Instagram for more information!

Ellie Chase is studying journalism at CMDI, with a minor in business. She covers students and student news at the college.

American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) co-presidents Ella Seevers and Maddie Veasey speak on the role of their environmental club at CU.

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Schoolyards rock!

Hannah Stewart — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 20:02:19 +0000

Schoolyards rock! Hannah Stewart Mon, 02/16/2026 - 13:02

Hannah Stewart

When it comes to recess, kids from kindergarten to high school want a space to be creative, use their imagination and connect with friends. But what are the best ways to facilitate that?

For 15 landscape architecture students at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, this challenge was a chance to use their own imaginations to design outdoor recreation spaces at two �鶹ӰԺ schools.

“We really let it be guided by the students and their interests, and then determined what would be realistic to actually create from that,” said Anastasia Neznamova, a junior studying landscape architecture.

The studio course, Green Schoolyards, first launched in 2020 under Emily Greenwood, an associate teaching professor in the environmental design department. In that time, students have partnered with 18 schools on redesign plans.

Really successful landscapes are storytelling.”

Emily Greenwood

“Schoolyards are accidentally set aside as open space, and are full of opportunity. When we're creating learning spaces and ecological services, future generations benefit from that work,” Greenwood said.

She has worked with as many as six schools in one semester, but this year, the studio partnered with two �鶹ӰԺ schools. A teacher at New Vista High School, which recently underwent a massive renovation, is leading a regenerative agriculture program; he and Greenwood were part of a group that decided a collaboration would be a natural next step in the school’s redesign.

Horizons K-8 School, meanwhile, had worked with environmental design students on a nature play area more than a decade ago. This time, they hope to redevelop three separate areas around the campus with nature play opportunities in mind.

“There’s an ongoing effort to create spaces at schools that are sustainable, that really take into consideration a child’s relationship with nature and the ways children play,” said Kristin Hauger, assistant head of school at Horizons. “I love the fact that our students got a chance to work with the CU students, and that they got a chance to come and do some real life, hands-on work in a place where we’re committed to doing these kinds of things.”

It was important for the landscape architecture students to get face time with the students they were designing for. In addition to site visits, they went back to the schools mid-term to present their initial proposals for their schoolyard designs. Photos by Jack Moody (StratComm'25)

Getting their hands dirty

As part of the studio, environmental design students learned from landscape architecture professionals and even went on field trips to local parks and schoolyards that already had elements of nature play, as opposed to those set up around prefabricated equipment.

Most importantly, however, they worked directly with their clients.

Over the course of the semester, the environmental design students met their younger counterparts multiple times to get a sense of what they wanted from the designs. One 9-year-old from Horizons, Gretchen, said she wanted to see more nature, “and maybe a water feature.”

Initially hesitant, the high schoolers at New Vista eventually became more engaged once they were encouraged to think outside the box.

“One wild idea was to have a zip line,” Neznamova said, laughing. “Once they were envisioning the space, they got excited. We had to consider what the community told us, then think about how to make something that excites people. That’s the story we’re able to tell through the designs.”

“Working with the Horizon kids was a really cool opportunity to get more imaginative ideas and more creativity for our designs,” said Maddie Veasey, another junior studying landscape architecture.

Presenting new possibilities

After presenting to the schools in late October, the environmental design students had about a month to refine their designs ahead of their final presentations to professionals, including city employees and others in the engineering and architecture industries and get back to the schools to present the design.

Some groups dug in deeper to their designs, like one Horizons group tasked with reenvisioning the field behind the school. They focused their design on "traditional ecological knowledge" and cultivating not only plants, but also community and stewardship of the land.

“We wanted to tell the story of the land: what has been done to it, and what we can do now,” said team member Dylan Dodds, a senior studying landscape architecture. “This project is a story about remembering, reconciling and moving forward with all of this 'traditional ecological knowledge,' the stewardship, these land practices in a way that benefits the environment.”

Community was a key topic for many of the groups, as was honoring the various sites’ history. Dodds’ group at Horizons leaned into both the school’s historical relationship with anthropologist Jane Goodall, who visited Horizons in 2015, as well as the ecological knowledge that can be learned from Indigenous communities.

“We talked about cultivating plants and cultivating stewardship, but we also want to cultivate community and activity,” said junior Ella Seevers, Dodds’ team member. “Part of our concept is tying in that modern use and activity with our other values.”

The students’ thoroughness and thoughtfulness stood out to the professionals at the presentation.

Civil engineer and landscape architect Soozy Zerbe said she was especially impressed by the way the students’ research became part of the story. “That’s one of the most important things as a designer: digging that history up and telling the true story, not just telling the story you want to tell,” said Zerbe, an engineer designer with Alta Planning and Design, of Denver.

The college’s work with New Vista is continuing, with Greenwood and a group of her students collaborating with New Vista on a food cart design-build for its regenerative agriculture program. Hauger said that the Horizon School’s council is enthusiastic about expanding nature play around their campus, and will have to discuss the logistical next steps.

“Our students have the ability to empathize and really understand what kids just one generation below them are really looking for,” Greenwood said. “Really successful landscapes are storytelling. It’s so easy to design literally, but if there’s a thread that binds those elements together, then it’s a stronger design.”

Hannah Stewart covers student news for the college. She graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication.

Photos by Jack Moody (StratComm'25)

To reimagine play spaces for young students, two �鶹ӰԺ schools enlisted CMDI’s expertise in redesigning their schoolyards.

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Announcing the fall 2025 dean's list

Ellie Chase — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 22:57:57 +0000

Announcing the fall 2025 dean's list Ellie Chase Wed, 01/28/2026 - 15:57

More than 800 CMDI students were named to the dean's list for the fall semester. To qualify, students must complete at least 12 credit hours of CU �鶹ӰԺ coursework for a letter grade and achieve a term grade point average of 3.75 or better. Each receives a notation on their transcripts and a letter from the dean. Congratulations to all honorees!

Alejandro Abarca
Matt Abatangle
Saroon Abayenh
Marlo Abrahamson
Shea Ackman
Emilio Adams
Phillip Adams
Tassilo Adams
Quinn Ahrens
Lucy Alagna
Maria Alali
Rosie Aldridge
Caitlin Alexander
Kenzi Alipit
Sophie Allaway
Anthony Allen
Trinity Alvord
Saleh Alzamil
Alexandra Anaya
Bridgette Anderson
Molly Anderson
Lila Angelopoulos
Sierra Anguiano
Jaxon Archer
Mia Archuleta
Jazmin Armijo
Remy Arnold
Sydney Arnold
Natasha Arzt
Kaylee Austin
Niles Ayer
Ben Babson
Roxanne Bachana
Alexia Bailey
Owen Balboa
Austin Balconi
Tyler Bales
Cadyn Banerian
Jose Banuelos
Katie Barcroft
Evan Bardinelli
Caleigh Barletta
Julia Barlow
Thomas Barrett
Marina Barretto
Tomas Barrientos
Maddy Barth
Owen Barton
Kate Bashore
Mekdes Bass
Ellena Bassoukos
Leah Baumann
Klaire Bautz
Katie Baxter
Juliana Beans
Lily Becker
Savy Behr
Johnna Belveal
Jane Bengston
Tess Betman
Eliot Bevier Dill
Charlie Bickham
Jack Bigelow
Ezra Billig
Teagan Bischoff
Korinne Bishop
Katie Bixler
Mary Black
Miley Black
Kenna Blank
Sam Blatt
Miranda Bleau
Riley Blomstrand
Sophia Bobier
Sophia Bolich
Piper Bolin
Anvitha Bompalli
Matthew Boothroyd
Carmen Boyle
Reed Bracero
Anna Bradburn
Norah Brady
Kate Branscomb
Antonio Bravo
Elizabeth Brechtel
Olivia Brehm
Keeley Brei
Hannah Brennan
Adeline Briggs
Erin Brinkman
Jack Bronchetti
Elly Brooks
Mia Brosterhous
Samantha Brouhard
Addison Brower
Olivia Brown
Chase Browne
Lili Brownell
Callie Browning
Emma Browning
Eva Bruce
Tessa Buchanan
Tyler Buchanan
Ashley Budy
James Bui
Morgan Burcar
Alena Burris
Parker Burt
Tyler Byrne
America Cabral
Luke Cadenaro
Carli Camens
Claire Cameron
Evan Caplan
Rhiannon Cargo
Jessie Carlin
Gemma Carlson
Gabriella Carnevale
Laila Casanueva
Meredith Case
Madison Cashin
Kathryn Castanoli
Mia Castro
Dominic Celaschi
Zachary Chagnon
Isabella Chan
Emily Chang
Madelyn Chang
Connor Chase
Ellie Chase
Hayden Chedid
Cameron Cheney
Avery Childs
Kate Cho
Anika Chowdhury
Megan Chung
Coco Ciardelli
Malaya Cimino
Abi Clayton
Kay Clifford
Annalia Clifton
Avery Clifton
Emme Clymer
Morgan Coffin
Ava Coffman
MacKenzie Cole
MacKenzie Cole
Jaci Collins-Falcon
Joanna Conforti
Andrew Conley
Sarah Connor
Breah Conradson
Sophie Coombs
Zenden Copeland
Avery Corliss
Susie Cormack
Gilberto Corral
Amelie Couret
Sarah Cowell
Findlay Coykendall
Marissa Crenshaw
Elizabeth Cropper
Maddie Crosier
Chloe Cross
Heidi Crowther
Eryn Cryer
Kaylie Cunningham
Gracyn Custin
Cody Cutone
Liz Cutting
Avery Czachor
Teresa Da Silva
Clara Dailey
Abby Dalrymple
Abikael Daniel
Maya Dank
Olivia Darby
John Davis
Katherine Davis
Mason Davis
Turner Davis
Billy Dayton
Ramon De Arcos Tapia
Brandon De Pena
Olivia DeGregorio
Bella Demartin
Maddy Demmert
Luca Denicola
Rune Denolf
Helena Desoto
Charles Deutser
Leo Dienstfrey
William Dinh
Quinn Dobbs
Sydney Dobriner
Connie Dolati
Lexi Dolsak
Luke Donis
Eric Donjuan
Hunter Donovan
Brodie Dorko
Emily Doskow
Sydney Dossa
Daniel Doupe
Averie Dow
Brady Dowd
Lucas Drager
Irene Drapszo
Baylee Drevno
Kayla Drumke
Emma Dudley
Wyatt Duesenberg
Rowan Dulfer

Carolyn Dunlap
Nicollette Dunn
Etienne Dunoyer
Emily Duvall
Abby Dwyer
Ryan Dye
Ryann Dyk
Esperanza Edwards-Satragni
Avery Ehrig
Riley Eisenstein
Molly Elert
Ryan Elliott
Jenny Ellis
Kaoutar Elouadi
Libby Emery
Ava Esposito
Lucy Esquivel
Felix Estes
Angel Estrada Zarco
Quinn Etheridge
Morgan Evans
Emma Evars
Sienna Fahey
Maddy Farmer
Nolan Farrar
Liam Fehlau-Barton
Aysla Fenner
Peyton Fenner
Anika Fergis
Clare Finnigan
Carolyn Fish
Elena Fisher
Maddie Fisher
Marli Fisher
Tate Fitzgibbons
Emma Flanagan
Aiden Fliszar
William Flockton
Soleil Floyd
Delaney Flynn
Joe Fogler
Callie Forrest
Ellie Foster
Rhen Fowler
Tatum France-Kelly
Natalie Free
Ellis French
Jayne Frey
Rylee Frey
Isabelle Friedrich
Adelene Frymoyer
Colette Gagliano
Kaija Galins
Cassidy Gallagher
Jacalyn Gamble
Lydia Gammon
Gaby Garcia Armendariz
Katelyn Gardner
Abigail Garza
Caitlyn Garza
Zoey Gassner
Samson Gear
Nick Gehring
Carly Gelfand
Piper George
Alex Gertzen
Olivia Gewanter
Hannah Giacomin
Orion Gibbs
Ink Gibson
Caroline Gilchrist
Lauren Gillespie
Danny Gillis
Gigi Gittelman
Graham Givan
Anna Gledhill
Jessie Gleitsman
Arlie Goldman
Susannah Goldsmith
Deborah Gomez
Karlyn Gonsalves
Max Goodman
Salem Goodman
Bella Goodson
Drew Gorman
Avery Goss
Chloe Graham
Kylie Graham
Nora Graham
Ariana Grant
Sophia Graup
Rachel Greenberg
Logyn Greer
Willow Gretsch
Erica Griffiths
Tristan Grosam
Caitlin Grossman
Vivan Guida
Grayson Guinan
Griffin Gurewicz
Owen Guzik
Aric Gyekis
Anthony Haberkorn
Trey Haggarty
Paxton Haines
Hanna Hale
Sabina Hall
Alsa Halquist
Norah Hampford
Nate Hankins
Audrey Hansen
Ella Harris
lanier Harvey
Tyler Harvey
Nick Haseman
Josie Hayes
Keeley Haynes
Brooke Haynie
Skyler Haynie
Madison Hays
Lorraine Healy
Will Henrickson
Vanessa Hernandez
Jane Hershberger
Carter Hessen
Kainoa Hiatt
Tyler Hibri
Bella Hill
Cassidy Hill
Hannah Hillen
Hannah Hoffman
Jason Hoffman
Cruz Hoitsma
Ella Holden
Dylan Hommes
Max Hostetter
Taylar Houck
Mira Hougen
Donavon Houston
Owen Houtakker
Brooklyn Howard
Taylor Hoyt
Oleksa Hryciw
Haley Hubbard Godfrey
Kendra Hudgins
Livia Hughes
Ronan Huizar
Ellie Hultgren
Wyatt Humble
Camille Hunt
Susanna Imhof
Maxine Inman
Samantha Isaacson
Jules Isenberg
Grace Jackman
Grant Jackson
Paige Jaeger
Monroe Jasper
Alana Jenks
Grace Jenks
Alexis Jennings
Annika Jobanputra
Mia Jochamowitz-Endersby Chikhani
Addison Johnson
Tanner Johnson
Liv Johnstad
Neda Jonaitis
Gianna Jordon
Max Julian
Danielle Jung
Emma Kaiser
Nina Kanavati
Chase Kanger
Faith Kaplan
Kush Karamcheti
Lola Karimi
Bailey Karraker
Brooklyn Karraker
Skye Karsh
Ty Keeley
Nicole Keffer
Thomas Keller
Audrey Kelley
Henry Kelty
Charlotte Kendall
Rachel Kennedy
Riley Kenny
John Kerklo
Grayson Kern
Riley Kerstiens
Josh Kesner
Amy Kibort
Madeleine Kiel
Hannah Kijner
Kenzie Kimball
Myra Kirk
Marin Kirkman
Avery Kissinger
Ian Kligora
Ally Klinefeldt
Leia Kliska
Jackson Knapp
Maggie Kocher
Alexa Kofman
Cameron Kolinchak
Jon Kolvereid
Colton Kominski
Alden Koskoff
Kristin Kraml
Riley Krane
Quinn Kreck
Ella Krelovich
Katie Krochalis
Carey Kronhart

Viktoriya Kukarekina
Justin Kulas
Brayden Kurzawa
Emily Kwon
Amy Labontu
Bentley Labrecque
Genevieve Lacey
Devin Lafave
Ella LaMura
Kadence Landis
Skyler Landry
Dalton Lanham
Delaney Lantz
Ben LaPlante
Leighton Larsen
Blake Larson
Maddie Lasker
London Lawrence
Sarah Lawrence
Alex Lazarou
Kaija Lazda
Camille Leach
Lauren Leclair
Lou Leclercq
Alice Lee
Skyler Lee
Chloe Legere
Asher Leish
Aubrey Leneweaver
Brian Leuthold
Charlotte Levine
Kara Liguori
Jasmin Lin
Ahnnali Lindgren
Isabelle Lingo
Joe Lingold
Mia Lioudis
Alexander Lipka
Margaret Lipscomb
Lucy Lloyd
Aramis Loma-Guzman
Luke Lommatzsch
Leif Lomo
Skyler Longerbone
Lauren Lopez
Deborah Loseke
Katelyn Love
Lexi Lower
Stella Lowery
Janie Ludington
Julia Luther
Bailey Luts
Maille Lyon
Claire Macaluso
Molly Machoskie
Julia Maclean
Natalie Madeira
Maxwell Majors
Carly Malamut
Julianna Maldonado
Devon Malling
Mel Malloy
Patrick Mancuso
Lily Maniotes
Emelia Mantz
Alexis Manzo
Nicholas Marcin
Kea Margolis
Annaliese Markel
Isabella Marquez
Sedona Marshall
Taylor Martin
Mia Martinez
Maggie Marusin
Eloise Masciola
Carolyn Mason
Keely Matthews
Alden Mazur
Grace Mcanany
Finn Mccarthy
Evan Mccormick
Elizabeth Mccoy
Wyatt McCune
John Mcdermott
Teague Mcdonald
Maeve Mcerlane
Andrew Mcfadden
Lucia Mcgetrick-Dima
Fiona Mcginnis
Delaney Mckernan
Abbey McMahon
Margaret McQueen
Ava Melen
Alex Melvin
Jenna Mendelssohn
Claire Mercer
Ava Merias
Olivia Meyers
Allison Miller
Channing Miller
Creed Miller
Ellen Miller
Hailey Miller
Maggie Miller
Morgan Miller
Ashley Mohrbach
Camryn Montgomery
Gigi Montgomery
Justice Montoya
Bronte Moore
Emily Moore
Felipe Moore
Jenna Morley
Chaney Morris
Maya Morse
Scout Mortenson
Nathan Mosley
Madison Moss
Trevor Mueller
Ally Murphy
Reese Murphy
Rue Murray
Mason Mutz
Becca Myers
Emma Myers
Aahana Nandy
Caitlin Neil
Remi Netupsky
Natalie Newmann
Taylor Nickerson
Matthew Nielsen
Maximillian Noble
Charlotte Norton
Anna Novak
Lila Nuttle
Remy O'Connell
Nora O'connor
Olivia O'Haver
Addie O'Neil
Brinley O'neill
Ashlyn Oklesh
Taylor Oldenburg
Annabelle Olson
Sofia Olsson
Alexandra Organa
Annika Ort
Maddie Osterkamp
Max Osterman
Alina Ouligian
Emmett Owenby
Josie Pachla
Phoebe Paletta
Aly Pardo
Katy Parks
Macie Parsons
Lauren Paschke
Liliane Patrick
Kaya Patterson
Audrey Patton
Izzy Pell
Caroline Pellerito
Ava Pelster
Lily Pemberton
Mia Pendergast
Paige Pennell
Annie Peragine
Jaclyn Pereira
Kennedy Perez
Brisa Perkins
Emma Perlmutter
Eliza Perry
Isabelle Perry
Quetzal Peterson
Patrick Pethybridge
Ellie Phillips
Bell Piccirillo
Norah Pietras
Mackenzie Pinksa
Macy Place
Alison Plagge
Nico Plaisted
Skye Platto
Liliana Poast Soler
Lilly Polak
Katharine Polep-Sawyer
Ella Policastri
Ashley Pomeroy
Lyla Ponce
Norah Pope
Elle Pottinger
Dax Prata
Bradley Pratt
Addisson Pribble
Elle Price
Giana Pritchard
Taylor Pulley
Sutton Raeburn
Jacob Rainsberger
Samantha Ramirez
Olivia Randazzo
Maya Raulf
Nick Rauscher
Huston Rawls
Madelyn Ray
Rachel Ray
Cameron Reed
Hailey Reed
Jenna Reed
Molly Reed
Katrina Reghitto
Anna Rehak
Jack Remington
Jake Reuss
Katie Reuter

Ella Revivo
Peyton Rhodes
Katie Ridgway
Jackie Rivera
Eliza Roberts
Caniya Robinson
Ella Robinson
Michael Robinson
Abby Robison
Gabrielle Rodriguez
Cole Rogers
Laura Rogers
Salome Rojas
Lauren Romero
Diana Romero Bermudez
Brynna Roscoe
Jenna Rose
Sophia Rose
Sierra Rosen
Alison Rosenbaum
Eli Rosenthal
Sierra Rossman
Piper Roth
Taylor Roth
Ava Rotman
Giova Rubenstein
Sophie Rubinstein
Reagan Russell
Sam Russo
Brenna Rutherford
Emme Rutherford
Catherine Rutman
Jessica Ryanczak
Brooklyn Sadler
Sosan Safi
Rylee Sahl
Joaquin Salinas
Yahir Sanchez Diaz
Lydia Sarbacker
Ramey Sattich
Christopher Schepers
Riley Schermerhorn
Carly Schiller
Stephanie Schmitt
Addie Schneider
Emma Schneider
Jaimie Schoenke
Sydney Schrader
Teagan Schreiber
Willow Schulz
Aubrey Schwartz
Ben Schweiger
Ella Scolnick
Grace Scott
Madeline Scripp
Olivia Scussel
Grace Seaback
Veronica Seal
Ella Seevers
London Selah
Michael Seward
Krish Shah
Jack Shand
Ava Shanrock
Marissa Sharon
Danny Sheedy
Jenna Shenbaum
Daniel Sher
Cody Shoelson
Zoe Showalter-Flowers
Rainna Shrull
Aaron Siegel
Matthew Silver
Harrison Simeon
Gannett Simonton
Ella Skoloda
Mac Skudlarczyk
Cj Slattery
Moe Slintak
Marie Slotnick
Ella Smith
Matthew Smith
Ryan Smith
Jack Snyder
Eli Sobel
Edgar Soberon Munoz
Sevi Solari
Ewan Sookswat
Noel Sookswat
Madelyn Speights
Sophia Spheeris
Simon Spillane
Matthew Spivack
Samantha Spiwak
Bella Stamper
Kaeden Stander
Brady Stark
Kate Starke
Ashlin Stasswender Swasey
Trent Steffen
Alexander Stein
Zachary Steiner
Evan Stellino
Cole Stephan
Ariele Stern
Sarah Stern
Samuel Stevens
Jordyn Stewart
Braden Stirrett
Stella Stone
Anna Stout
Mary Strasser
Ava Strauss
Xander Sucich
Elizabeth Suffian
Luke Suitts
Lucy Suja
Aoife Sullivan
Clara Sullivan
Olivia Sullivan
Taylor Sutton
Dennis Swanson
Jackson Swartzendruber
Leah Szabo
Willow Tachna
Harper Tagg
Emi Takaoka
Nano Takeda
Mira Talusani
Sophia Tambascio
Jack Tannenbaum
Annie Tanner
Natalie Tapia
Raquel Tapia
Tyler Tatman
Hailey Taylor
Sarah Taylor
Skylar Taylor
Cecelia Tecu
Jordan Teicher
Josie Terry-Lloyd
Annabelle Thomas
Sage Thompson
Channing Thomson
Sol Tirado - Jensen
Brooks Tolany
Grace Toomey
Zohair Toor
Annabelle Torgove
Clio Torrance
Alexa Tovar
Hendley Tracy
Eduardo Trejo Trinidad
Carly Tremaine
Ricky Tuka
Jazzy Tung
Audrey Turley
Braden Turner
Caroline Valdes
Christian Valentino
Ann Vanderveen
Maya Vanvleet
Celia Vargas
Maddie Veasey
Sydney Venetsanopoulos
Bella Vetta
Holden Vincent
Andrew Vogt
Saanvi Vookanti
August Vrielink
Fiona Wachter
Ashtyn Waddle
Chloe Walsh
Catherine Ward
Lauren Ward
Kieran Warger
Evie Warner
Kadyn Warner
Valerie Warszawski
Ryder Watkins
Kylee Watrous
Leila Watters
Liam Watters
Jordan Watts
Greta Wattson
Taylor Weatherwax
Jenna Weil
Kennedy Weiss
Erin Wheeler
Kennah White
Ella Whittall
Abigail Williams
Jackson Williams
Ranney Willis
Piper Wills
Holly Wininger
Emma Winkelbauer
Amanda Winslow
Mia Winstead
Trent Wobschall
Zachary Woodbury
Alexandra Woodland
Lily Wright
Owen Wright
Jackie Wynne
Maggie Yalmokas
Gabrielle Yates
Savannah Yates
Nate Yearous
Hannah Young
Elsie Zerega
Emily Zhou
Matt Zimmermann

More than 800 CMDI students were named to the dean's list for the fall semester.

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All together now: 2025 at CMDI

Amanda J. McManus — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 02:22:15 +0000

All together now: 2025 at CMDI Amanda J. McManus Mon, 12/15/2025 - 19:22

In a year where the college’s biggest story was its name change—following its integration with the environmental design department—CMDI’s community also found itself at the center of the biggest conversations shaping our time—from sustainability and A.I., to media literacy and the future of journalism.

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Waste not. Want? Yes.

Hannah Stewart — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 21:18:19 +0000

Waste not. Want? Yes. Hannah Stewart Fri, 12/05/2025 - 14:18

Hannah Stewart

The EPOP Shop was a crowd favorite at the Firefly Handmade Market in downtown �鶹ӰԺ. The students sold out of two items in the first two hours of being open; they ultimately sold all their products midway through the second day of the market. Photos by Hannah Howell.

How many students can say one of their first class assignments was to go shopping?

That unusual first assignment is how students in the EPOP Studio course prepare to create sustainably sourced gifts that are sold at a holiday market.

EPOP by the numbers:

39 students

12 unique products

240 items brought to and sold at market

$10,070 sold

For the past five years, environmental design faculty with CU �鶹ӰԺ’s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information have partnered with the Firefly Handmade holiday market to give students hands-on experience in product design.

The twist for students who participate—all of whom are majoring in environmental products of design—is the requirement that their creations have a strong sustainability component, which becomes part of the story for each product sold. Students who complete the degree go on to careers in virtually every design field.

“We want to be the people who make cool things to sell,” said senior Pilar Agostine, who was part of the team that built the EPOP storefront—itself created from sustainable materials. “We’re designing the everyday products for a home, but in an environmental way.”

The EPOP Studio draws its name from the EPOD major and the annual pop-up shop powered by the students. The goal of the course is to challenge them to think critically about sustainability while developing technical, interpersonal and business skills.

“The theme of the studio is diverting design—they have to identify waste streams, capture material and transform it into a product,” said Jared Arp, an assistant teaching professor of environmental design who teaches the course alongside Melissa Felderman, associate teaching professor.

All products were made with upcycled materials, which many customers felt was both unique and important.

Once students identified a waste stream, they used their experience from observing the market to identify potential products to pitch to classmates. Among this year’s product themes were creative, decorative, fun and—for the first time—masculine.

“Shopping for men, in my opinion, is so hard,” senior John Davis said with a laugh. “When you think about the context of a handmade market, a lot of those things tend to be directed toward feminine audiences.”

Davis and his team had “100-plus ideas” before settling on a set of whiskey glasses made from bottles sourced from Spirit Hound, a distiller in Lyons. Even the glasses’ complementary coasters were made from a mixture of crushed glass, rockite—a fine concrete material—and a cork base. Davis estimated the design is made from about 80% reclaimed material.

“I'm really proud of the fact that we have all consistently shown up and created this product, and of how sustainable we were able to make it,” Davis said. “We were lucky Spirit Hound was willing to give us their bottles for free. That made our story a lot stronger.”

According to Arp, that storytelling is critical to EPOP because it connects customers with the shop’s mission of promoting sustainable design. When the link connecting the waste stream and final product is clear, he said, the audience is more receptive.

As in past years, customers beat a steady path to EPOP’s storefront: Well before the Firefly market closed, the students’ 240 products had sold out. Sales from the weekend amounted to slightly more than $10,000; adjusted for expenses, their gross profit was just shy of $6,100, all of which will support next year’s studio.

A steady flow of customers kept EPOP students busy at the market.

“That’s 240 decisions from shoppers to purchase the students’ work,” Arp said. “There’s no better jury than live people.”

Those live people weren’t just impulse buyers. An hour before the market opened, curious passers-by were watching the shop—partially constructed from reclaimed wood—take form. Within minutes of opening, the first customer bought six sunglasses cases made from reclaimed outdoor gear, like jackets.

Uniquely, the structure included more than just the items for sale. It was outfitted with 12 tablets, which ran looped videos showing the creation process and sustainability story of each product. Buyers also received cards with the product name and a blurb about the item.

“Foot traffic is really important for markets, and I think the shop itself is incredible—it stands out,” said Chrissy Howell, a yarn artisan who frequently participates in markets like Firefly. She and her husband—the parents of a CMDI student—picked up a number of items for their holiday shopping.

Another customer, Jean, stumbled upon the market while visiting �鶹ӰԺ from Frisco. She, like Howell, thought EPOP was perfect for picking up a unique gift—she purchased the Waste Knot for her daughter—while being environmentally conscious. She said the students’ mission really spoke to her.

“This is the culmination of their whole semester, and it makes me really happy for them that they get this opportunity to be out in public to get feedback about their work and ideas,” said Mary Kay Cunningham, another holiday shopper and parent to an EPOP student.

For the students, it’s more than just holiday gifts. In addition to learning to tell a story that resonates with potential customers, the class challenged their technical and teamwork skills, teaching them creativity and resilience as they brought their ideas to market.

The Waste Knot yarn bowls, Respirited whiskey glasses and other items made by EPOP students.

“They warned us at the beginning that we could use software to generate a concept of a final product, but it will dampen your creative experience,’” said Elliette Igel-Manvitz, a junior on the Waste Knot team.

Felderman said that’s an important lesson for students in the studio class. While many CMDI classes challenge students to find useful, ethical and responsible ways to use generative artificial intelligence as part of assignments and projects, she asked them not to do so in the early stages.

Doing so “stymies their creative process and pigeonholes them,” Felderman said. “We offer guidance to our students both on when and how to use A.I. in the design process, so that it can act as a tool, as opposed to a hindrance.”

Students said working through the front-end creative challenges of their projects furthered their learning.

“I’ve definitely become more adaptive,” Igel-Manvitz said. “When we realized we’d have to change our materials because of resource availability, we learned from other teams.

“After working on it for so many months and not really seeing the final product until the very end, it feels unreal.”

Even the storefront was made by students, using both new and reclaimed wood. Students also created all the signs for the shop.

November's Firefly Handmade Holiday Market was packed. Customers frequently visited the EPOP shop, some of them even lining up to check out the products before the official start time. They quickly sold out of items.

Hannah Stewart graduated in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news at the college.

Photographer Hannah Howell is studying media production at CMDI.

At an annual holiday market, CMDI students again sold handmade, sustainably sourced gifts—along with the stories of how the materials were rescued from waste streams.

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Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Kathy Grewe

Regan Widergren — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 23:29:36 +0000

Fall 2025: 2 minutes with Kathy Grewe Regan Widergren Mon, 11/17/2025 - 16:29

Joe Arney

Kathy Grewe (EnvDes’76)

Interventional cardiologist (retired)

Proving career paths are rarely a straight line, Grewe practiced medicine in her Portland, Oregon, hometown after completing her environmental design degree. She and her husband, also a cardiologist, retired in 2019.

Responses edited for length and clarity.

How does one go from designer to doctor?
I graduated during a recession, when no one was building or designing anything. So, I came back to Portland and worked three jobs at once—as a phlebotomist, a typist and waitressing in a Chinese restaurant—before going back to school as a science major.

Why medicine?
My family has always been in medicine—my dad was a doctor, and my mom was a nurse—so I was familiar with the work. Actually, I was in the same med school class as two of my brothers.

That must have been incredible.
Our class was great—we had so much fun. And, if I missed a class, I could get notes from my brothers. We’re still super close.

How could you not be, after that? Is that why you went home to practice?
I didn’t go home right away—but I was homesick. I trained in San Antonio and Atlanta after graduating, and I acquired a thick Southern accent. I’d call around Portland asking about jobs, and people would say, “Where are you from?” “Oh, I’m from Portland, Oregon, bless your heart.”

How did studying design influence your career?
I learned to frame and solve problems, and think about different opportunities and resources. Our designs had to answer Bronislaw Malinowski’s seven basic needs—nutrition, safety, movement, reproduction, comfort, growth and relaxation. And each applies to medicine.

Tell me a favorite CU memory.
I went streaking!

OK. I’m listening.
At the time, there was always some guy streaking across a football game, or through a classroom. And there was—well, probably a stretch to call it a plan, but once, a bunch of naked people met in Folsom Field, and we booked it across campus. My mom split a gut laughing when I told her.

Something you miss about �鶹ӰԺ?
Ralphie. I’m not a football fan, but I had a season ticket every year, and when Ralphie came out, that was my highlight.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

A regular feature catching up with people in our community who are doing interesting and impactful work. In this edition, can design make you a better doctor? Kathy Grewe says she used lessons from her environmental design degree every day as an interventional cardiologist.

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10 for 10: Centers making an impact

Amanda J. McManus — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 21:20:40 +0000

10 for 10: Centers making an impact Amanda J. McManus Mon, 11/17/2025 - 14:20

Centers and labs at CMDI are important not just because of the insights discovered by the researchers and creatives working within them, but because of the impact they offer to the public.

Here are some signature labs and centers from CMDI’s first decade.

Center for Communication and Democratic Engagement: Aims to learn from deliberation, dialogue and educational events tied to communication and democratic practice.
Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media: Creates opportunities for the public to engage with documentary films, especially through the signature Mimesis festival, in �鶹ӰԺ.
Center for Environmental Journalism: Journalists who complete a fellowship from the center have been responsible for award-winning work on environmental issues.
Center for Media, Religion and Culture: Studies the complex relationship between media and religion in an entangled world.
Community Engagement, Design and Research Center: Partners with communities at home and abroad to build resilient, equitable cities and neighborhoods.
Immersive Media Lab: Invites people to explore augmented and virtual reality environments to develop different perspectives on emerging challenges.
Media Archaeology Lab: A peerless collection of obsolete, but functional, technology to experiment with and imagine roads not taken in tech and society.
Neuro D Lab: Explores the intersection of design, neurodiversity, equity and innovation to ensure designs—from products to wayfinding—work intuitively for all users.
Sustainability and Storytelling Lab: Aims to understand how stories influence the ways we practice sustainability and shame unsustainable methods.
Visual Evidence Lab: Studies how the legal system can be better equipped to handle video and photographic evidence presented in court, including deepfakes and generative A.I.

Here are 10 centers and labs that have created public impact in the college’s first decade.

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First resort

Allyson Maturey — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:49:09 +0000

First resort Allyson Maturey Fri, 11/14/2025 - 14:49

Allyson Maturey

As part of the assignment, CMDI students spent the day exploring Eldora for a site visit.
Header image: Hunter Wright, director of sustainability and project development at Eldora, guides CMDI students through the ski resort to give them a sense of the property. Photos by Kimberly Coffin and Addi Rexroat.

It’s not every day that “a local’s mountain,” as Jade Polizzi refers to Eldora Mountain Resort, is listed for sale. But when it hit the market in August 2024, Polizzi was quick to get CMDI students involved.

This spring, Polizzi (EnvDes’99), a teaching professor in environmental design, centered her senior architecture studio on the theme of “celebrating snow.” Over the 16-week capstone course, students completed three resort-inspired projects, including a redesign of the Lookout, Eldora’s signature lodge. In the summer, the town of Nederland announced its intention to purchase the resort.

“I’m always looking for projects that will get students excited,” Polizzi said. “This was a good one, especially because so many of our students are outdoor enthusiasts and love thinking about a ski resort. This is something they can connect to, and now they get to re-envision it.”

‘Like the bumper rails’ in bowling

For this project, the connection to the work included skiing a blue run during a site visit, as well as a more traditional opportunity to receive critiques from design professionals. Tobin Taylor (EnvDes’25) said his favorite part about Polizzi’s teaching philosophy is that it removes boundaries, creating an inspiring environment to experiment with new design ideas.

“She’s like the bumper rails guiding us to the bowling pins,” Taylor said. “She really inspires us to make beautiful things.”

View a 360 of the wood sculpture.

Two-dimensional abstractions.

Students explored wood as a material and constructed an abstract sculpture using tools available in the Creative Labs Center woodshop. They referenced the sculpture to hand-draw a two-dimensional abstraction. Designs by Orion Davis and Bailey Freeman

In an architecture capstone course, students work through complex design challenges, like environmental sustainability, user experience, and integrating building technologies and structural systems. To jump-start the students’ creativity, Polizzi assigned them what’s called an exploration, where they created abstract sculptures using wood.

“Wood is a warm element, and most resorts have some component of wood in them,” Polizzi said. “I wanted to get them in the wood shop to rethink what your typical lodge looks like.”

"She's like the bumper rails guiding us to the bowling pins. She really inspires us to make beautiful things.

Taylor Tobin (EnvDes '25)

Outcomes from the exploration influenced motifs used by students for the next two projects—redesigns of the Nordic Center and the Lookout—with an emphasis on beautiful designs that harmonize with the land.

Orion Davis’ concept was regrowth and return to nature, a theme she wove into her inhabitable designs.

“Because the Nordic Center is on such a drastic slope, I sank the building into the site a little bit to make it more accessible,” Davis (EnvDes’25) said. “For the Lookout, I took the same idea and exaggerated it. You start at the top with this minimalist building, because it’s so sunken into the ground—but as you move through, you get this array of views. It really meshes with the topography.”

Taylor’s Lookout design focused on highlighting the peak experience while providing shelter for skiers and staff.

“My building is essentially this idea that the earth at the base of the mountain has been pulled up, and you can go beneath it and use it as shelter,” Taylor said. “I hope people appreciate that, and don’t just pass it by as they walk through.”

View a variety of scaled architectural models.

The hands-on studio sparked enthusiasm and creativity, with students producing scaled architectural models and presenting them for review.

View the final design board (PDF) for The Viewout at Eldora by Tobin Taylor (EnvDes '25).

Real-world experience

Polizzi’s course was run as a client-based studio, in which students interacted with the team at Eldora—including its general manager and sustainability director—to get guidance and site context throughout the semester. This included a much-anticipated field trip to the mountain, with all-day ski passes and rentals for students.

“We had the most perfect day,” Polizzi said, “even if some of the students may have exaggerated their skiing abilities.”

I know that 99% of the class would say the field trip and skiing during a school day is their favorite memory, but for me, it was the midterm.”

Orion Davis (EnvDes '25)

At several points during the semester, alumni from local architecture and design firms were invited to participate in guest critiques—a regular feature of environmental design studio projects.

For graduating students, these casual settings offer both network development and real-world feedback from design professionals—like Hans Cerny, of ESA Architects, who designed the Caribou Lodge at Eldora.

“Hans gave us reviews for the midterm, which was incredibly cool, because we got direct feedback from someone who has done this before,” Davis said. She was experimenting with green roofs, which incorporate a top layer of vegetation, and felt unsure about the direction of her design.

Feedback from Cerny and other professionals validated her choices.

“I learned that it doesn’t have to be my best idea to still be a good idea,” Davis said. “It gave me an opportunity to challenge myself and run with something. I know that 99% of the class would say the field trip and skiing during a school day is their favorite memory, but for me, it was the midterm.”

Allyson Maturey is a communications project manager for CMDI.

When Eldora hit the market last summer, a team of environmental design students got the chance to re-envision its signature buildings as a way to potentially interest a buyer.

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Band together

Amanda J. McManus — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 22:14:09 +0000

Band together Amanda J. McManus Tue, 11/11/2025 - 15:14

Joe Arney

What role does CMDI play in the university chancellor’s vision for an institution that leads on sustainability? From left, faculty experts Phaedra C. Pezzullo, Caitlin Charlet, Hong Tien Vu and Morgan Young explored that question from their different areas of expertise. The group was photographed at the tree office, which was built by environmental design students and installed on the CU �鶹ӰԺ campus in 2016. Photos by Kimberly Coffin.

Phaedra C. Pezzullo is a professor of communication and director of the Sustainability and Storytelling Lab. She is an expert on communication’s role in shaping and influencing environmental and climate justice movements.

Caitlin Charlet is an associate teaching professor of environmental design, specializing in regenerative architecture and urban ecologies. Her research is situated at the experimental intersection of transformative design strategies, biogenic materials and the built environment.

Hong Tien Vu is the director of the Center for Environmental Journalism at CMDI. His work examines journalism and communication practices in addressing global challenges, from environmental degradation to societal inequalities.

Morgan Young has decades of experience in branding, strategy and creative execution—including managing campaigns about, and clients working in, sustainability. He is an associate teaching professor of advertising at the college.

CU �鶹ӰԺ Chancellor Justin Schwartz has been clear that he expects Colorado’s flagship university to be a leader in sustainability. But what does “sustainability” even mean? How do we get there without becoming discouraged? And in the current political and social moment, how do we advocate for the steps needed to advance sustainability?

At the time of this conversation, Hong Tien Vu—an associate professor of journalism and director of the Center for Environmental Journalism—was so new to the college that most of his belongings were still in boxes after relocating from the University of Kansas to CMDI. But he has a long track record of doing environmental journalism, so we threw him into the deep end with three faculty experts who have been doing sustainability long before it became a buzzword—whether directing ad campaigns, being mindful of building materials or podcasting about plastics.

This conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Vu: I’d like to start by asking each of you about sustainability, and how you define it.

Pezzullo: I’m a little nerdy about the definition of sustainability. There’s a new edition of my textbook out now, and we literally have a boldfaced definition I make my students memorize. So, for me, sustainability is the capacity to negotiate environmental, social and economic needs and desires for current and future generations.

Charlet: I rarely use the word “sustainability,” actually. There needs to be something regenerative—not just sustainable—in how we build and design. I’m interested in the long-term cultivation of regenerative relationships, in terms of materials, ecosystems and communities. For most of human history, we’ve built with what we’ve been able to grow locally, and it’s been able to go back into the earth. There was care for the environment, animals and humans. That changed with the Industrial Revolution.

Young: I come at this from a different perspective. Advertising and branding is both a leader and a follower in society. And at this moment, the industry is more of a follower, as people try to figure out what’s going on in this administration.

Pezzullo: I think, interestingly, that the ambiguity Caitlin was talking about, around the term “sustainability,” works well in this moment. It’s not a banned word, because we could be talking about anything. We could be talking about, for instance, economic sustainability.

There’s no reason why CMDI can’t be a leader in sustainability, particularly with the incorporation of environmental design."

Morgan Young, associate teaching professor

Vu: That’s an interesting point. I’d like to hear more from you all on what you’re seeing in the world as it relates to those organizations and sustainability.

Young: One example: I’ve done a lot of work with General Motors; in fact, I was the first person to make a commercial for an electric vehicle. It was the Chevy Volt, and it was their first ad talking about a sustainable future. And, in my classes, we do projects on how brands can create extensions to existing product lines. How can we use sustainability as a marketing tool to reach people who will respond positively to that information?

Pezzullo: I think it’s important to note that over the summer, CU �鶹ӰԺ transitioned away from all single-use plastics in beverage bottles on campus. It’s a great sustainability story, because it’s a tangible difference in our everyday lives that was made systemically, following the wisdom of the growing climate justice movement.

Charlet: I’ve been working on a documentary to collect the stories of how women have used collaboration as a foundation to run material science departments in academic settings, and work toward scalable alternative material solutions—and to show how they will have a major impact in changing our built environment.

Pezzullo: Collaboration is the only way to get things done for systemic change. Otherwise, you just have individuals, which isn’t enough to generate impact. In my work with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, we co-create story maps of the five most-polluted communities in Colorado. And working with those communities—instead of just about them or at them—creates better outcomes for public participation.

Charlet: Oh, I agree. Individual behavior won’t solve this problem. How do we educate a generation of architects and designers to choose better materials? That’s a radical notion for an architecture school. And the choices they make in building things will have a larger impact, because the construction sector is responsible for so much destabilization—humans, animals and topographies—and carbon emissions. There is no one solution, but biogenic and regenerative architecture and design is a basis for a scalable, forward-looking model.

Vu: We talked about how to define sustainability earlier, but Morgan, I wonder if you can talk about challenges you have faced in working with brands and avoiding overuse of the term, so they’re not accused of greenwashing.

Young: The reality is, even some of the brands we think of as being best for the environment are greenwashing. And as an advertising person, we’re not so deep into the business that we can look at their entire supply chain and influence that. If you hire someone like me, I’m going to focus on the best things to accentuate for a specific target audience—but what we’re missing is the rest of that chain that doesn’t have that positive impact. And in advertising, we have to be careful not to get in front of our skis and pretend a client is someone they’re not.

Vu: So that’s kind of mobilizing companies. Phaedra, I know you’ve done a lot in terms of initiatives that mobilize communities. Can you share some of the challenges you’ve faced there?

Pezzullo: Well, there’s a reason I use the word “sustainability” in my lab—I was launching it knowing the administration was going to ban words. I was set up to work with the Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justice office, and the week I was supposed to present to them, they sent me an email and said the department was being shut down. Part of what’s exciting about this campus and the �鶹ӰԺ community is that we’re not giving up on our values.

Young: To build on that, on this campus, we are different. I had 13 students with me in London for a month, and we were really struck by the complete absence of reusable water bottles there. They don’t have their Yetis or their Hydro Flasks like we do in Colorado. The point I’m trying to make is, much of the world is not there with us.

Vu: We’ve brought up current events a couple of times now. I wonder if we could talk about what the shift in public perception around sustainability has meant for your students, or the way you teach.

Young: A lot of my students are very business-minded. Some want to do advertising for the Environmental Working Group, the League of Conservation Voters or Earthjustice. But some would rather work for Chevron, Sephora or a fashion brand, like Kith. So, my goal is to create a student who can do external communications that show sustainability is good business.

Pezzullo: I think one of our biggest challenges, in communication, is A.I., which has radically changed our classrooms and what we understand labor to be—for creative content makers, for storytellers and for people just doing research. This generation is going to need to rise to the challenge of whether A.I. can become sustainable.

Charlet: I love this question. I’ve taught a design course where I challenge students to create a resilient ecological strategy for urban design with A.I. And the biggest thing that they learn is that it’s really hard to design with A.I.—it’s a tool like others already in use in architecture. It isn’t magic. In parallel to that, I ask them to consider the environmental detriment of using A.I.—not only the energy use, but the building facilities themselves. What impact do they have on communities? Where do the materials come from? Considering those two aspects of A.I. in parallel is really important for them to think about.

Vu: Caitlin, is that what students are looking for, from the standpoint of their career paths?

Charlet: Architecture is often seen as an exciting, but inherently safe, choice for students. It rests somewhere between the creativity of art and the challenges of engineering—so it’s a middle ground, and a respected profession. And I think the students come in with confidence, knowing they will be able to get a job. In terms of environmental design, there’s such a movement toward regenerative and biogenic architecture now, and the reuse and recycling of materials within buildings. There are a lot of firms with research departments that our students feel very comfortable and very prepared to go right into, and work on certifications like LEED, WELL and Passive House.

Young: I already mentioned advertising is more of a follower than a leader right now, but oftentimes, advertising is a reflection of society, as well. Right now, we see companies pulling back and hiding on sustainability issues. There are good companies—Patagonia, Outside magazine—that will continue to stand up and fight. But those that are more about their bottom line will let go of their sustainability programs to keep making money. This is where we have to work with our students, to show them these companies don’t have a moral high ground and will change with whatever the environment is in order to look good. But—is this important to all our students? I’m not sure, en masse, that they’re much more focused on sustainability than past generations were.

Pezzullo: There are lots of reasons to be alarmed and depressed, and I’m Italian American, so I can have, like, 100 emotions in five minutes. But I do have hope. You know, when South Park started—it was written by two CU �鶹ӰԺ grads, you know—

Young: Yes! I went to college with them.

Pezzullo: That’s right, so you know they began South Park making fun of climate change, saying Al Gore believes in this thing called ManBearPig, and there’s no such thing. But South Park has, over time, recognized climate change does happen, and they even apologized to Al Gore. It’s important to remember that attitudes change, and we can shape public opinion in creative ways.

There needs to be something regenerative—not just sustainable—in how we build and design.”

Caitlin Charlet, associate teaching professor

Vu: Let me ask one final question. After listening to your colleagues, what’s one thing you’re inspired to explore?

Charlet: I’m inspired by and appreciate the chance to learn more about my colleagues’ work. Especially advertising—that’s a field I’ve never delved into. How might that impact the field I’m working in? Does it pertain to architecture firms and how they forefront buildings and construction ethics? Is there a measurable impact?

Pezzullo: That’s what I love about being part of a college like this—the opportunities to publish, edit, co-author or just talk to people in so many different disciplines. So, when we have a challenge like sustainability, we approach it from a more systemic, holistic perspective. We all bring different experiences from the institutions and companies and communities we’ve worked with.

Young: I think this college is in a rapid growth trajectory. We are very well positioned to have a big impact on the next generation—specifically, A.I. I’m inspired by people like Caitlin, who are already building A.I. into their syllabi, because I don’t have a handle on how A.I. will be incorporated into our academics. But I am worried about intellectual property rights around it—specifically related to advertising, but also areas like architecture, design and communication. Our college needs to tackle that—it’s a great opportunity for us to become a leader within that sector, because right now, nobody has a handle on it.

Vu: So, can CMDI be a leader in sustainability communication?

Young: Absolutely. I think our students are more concerned about this matter than those at other universities. There’s no reason why CMDI can’t be a leader in sustainability, particularly with the incorporation of environmental design.

Pezzullo: I absolutely agree with you, Morgan. It’s not that we don’t know the science, or what’s wrong, or what we could do to have a more sustainable future. It’s that we have to find ways to bridge differences, and that’s a strength of ours. With our expertise across a wide range of human expression, I really believe CMDI has a strong role to play in sustainability in the future.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Photographer Kimberly Coffin graduated from CMDI in 2018 with degrees in media production and strategic communication.

When it comes to sustainability, individual actions aren’t enough. The same is true for how we look for solutions, so we asked a group of CMDI experts how collaboration might save the day.

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Illustration by Dana Heimes