There is a consensus that engineering design practice and education needs to change, to address the sustainability challenges facing the planet. This shift towards sustainability engineering requires illustrating successful design practices that embed sustainability values, particularly designs that move away from the current focus on input–output efficiency, towards eco-social and socio-technical approaches to design. We present three cases where the designs illustrate such a widening of the design space, to include parameters beyond input–output efficiency and optimization for profit, and leading to innovative socio-technical solutions. These cases suggest that the socio-technical connection is highly plastic, allowing for a range of ways in which the ecological, social, and technical could come together to form innovative and sustainable solutions. They illustrate a novel design principle – ‘Solving for Pattern’ – where the designs seek to address many problems simultaneously in an interconnected way. These cases indicate that designing for sustainability requires a broadening of the roles and identities of engineering designers, to include themes wider than engineering sciences and mathematics. Including these and similar case studies in engineering curricula could support the shift towards such a broader engineering design identity, where sustainability is a key component of design practice.

人们达成共识，工程设计实践和教育需要改变，以应对地球面临的可持续性挑战。向可持续性工程学的这种转变需要说明成功的设计实践，这些实践包含了可持续性的价值，尤其是那些从当前对投入产出效率的关注转移到生态社会和社会技术方法的设计。我们介绍了三种情况，其中的设计说明了设计空间的扩大，包括了超出投入产出效率和利润优化的参数，并带来了创新的社会技术解决方案。这些案例表明，社会技术联系是高度可塑的，从而为生态，社会，经济，社会，文化等方面的发展提供了多种途径。和技术可以融合在一起，形成创新和可持续的解决方案。它们说明了一种新颖的设计原理-“解决模式”，其中设计试图以相互联系的方式同时解决许多问题。这些案例表明，为可持续性进行设计需要扩大工程设计人员的作用和身份，以包括比工程科学和数学更广泛的主题。在工程课程中包含这些案例研究和类似案例研究，可以支持向更广泛的工程设计标识的转变，而可持续性是设计实践的关键组成部分。这些案例表明，为可持续性进行设计需要拓宽工程设计师的角色和身份，以包括比工程科学和数学更广泛的主题。在工程课程中包含这些案例研究和类似案例研究可以支持向更广泛的工程设计标识的转变，在这种设计中，可持续性是设计实践的关键组成部分。这些案例表明，为可持续性进行设计需要拓宽工程设计师的角色和身份，以包括比工程科学和数学更广泛的主题。在工程课程中包含这些案例研究和类似案例研究，可以支持向更广泛的工程设计标识的转变，而可持续性是设计实践的关键组成部分。