Cornell University Sustainable Design (CUSD)

Started in the late fall of 2009, CUSD is an interdisciplinary design-build and sustainability-focused project team, dedicated to promoting education through action, empowerment, and innovation. Our team of over 100 dedicated students come from departments and majors all over campus to work together to design, build, and enhance resilient structures in the built environment, focusing on achieving ecological, social, and economic sustainability and providing innovative solutions. It is entirely student-led and driven by collaboration, and works closely with renowned faculty and knowledgeable professionals to provide an invaluable, hands on experiential learning opportunity. Through comprehensive analysis of every input and its effects on performance within a system, we strive to reach a healthy symbiosis of social, ecological, and economic sustainability. We provide hands-on experiential learning opportunities to students through local, regional, and international design-build projects. These projects range in scale from doing small renovations to designing and building entire communities. Our projects include an early childhood good education center in Johannesburg, South Africa; a model home with eco-technologies in Nagarote, Nicaragua; on-site energy generation research for the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City; hands on construction for a community building project in Lansing, NY; the concept design of a hub for student life and outdoor activities on Beebe Lake; and more. Mission: 1. Empower students to make an impact now. 2. Provide engaged learning opportunities for proactive research and innovative design. 3. Achieve a symbiosis between environmental, social, and economic sustainability.