2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

For the past several years at Illinois State University, undergraduate students in TEC 258: Renewable Energy Technology Applications have participated in a project to serve as design consultants for students in FCS 376: Interior Design IV, a capstone course. The project is interdisciplinary. Most students in the renewable energy class are from technology or engineering-related majors, and the students in the capstone course are from the Interior Design major. To scaffold the design project, students in both courses learn content relevant to design collaboration. For example, Interior Design students learn about how renewable energy technologies contribute to LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, while students in the renewable energy course learn about energy conservation and passive solar design, in addition to more traditional renewable energy technologies like wind and solar. Midway through the semester, students from each class are grouped into teams of two to three students and paired with a group from the other class. Interior Design students create a written and oral report about their final design, integrating renewable energy advice. Students in the renewable energy course submit a written report about their recommendations and contributions to the design as well as how the design was appropriate for the constraints provided by their Interior Design client. Students were also asked to complete a survey describing their reactions to the project, how effective the project was in solidifying class content, and what they had learned by working with an allied professional from a different background.