Culture of Hope — Color, Biophilic Design, Biomimicry, and Belonging in Diverse Communities

Course Description

What does it feel like to walk into a building designed with you in mind? For too many students, the answer is elusive. This course explores the design levers that shape belonging: from biophilic elements and natural materials, to culturally responsive representation, biomimicry, and authentic community engagement.

Belonging isn’t an aesthetic. It’s a welfare outcome. Participants will examine established frameworks for authentic community engagement that move beyond consultation into genuine co-design. Learn a shared vocabulary and evidence-based framework for translating community identity into programming priorities that measurably improve student well-being, belonging, and engagement.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify the research base linking belonging, biophilic design, and culturally responsive environments to measurable welfare outcomes in K–12 schools — distinguishing evidence-supported claims from those requiring careful framing.
  2. Examine the framework of two-eyed seeing (Etuaptmumk, Elders Albert and Murdena Marshall, Mi’kmaq) and related approaches for honoring diverse cultural perspectives authentically in the built environment.
  3. Apply biophilic design and biomimicry strategies that strengthen students’ connection to nature, community, and cultural identity — evaluated against welfare criteria for belonging and mental health.
  4. Evaluate community engagement processes against criteria for authentic cultural representation and equitable participation — and distinguish evidence-based design claims from aspirational ones, particularly regarding color and behavior.

Course Credits

1 LU | HSW