Genell Ebbini

AD 125: Introduction to Interior Design

AD 397: Sustainability in the Built Environment

AD 440: Interior Detailing and Construction (Senior ID Studio)

AD 465: Professional Practice

Genell Wells Ebbini, RID, NCIDQ, LEED-AP ID+C, BD+C, IIDA, ASID, IDEC Assistant Professor of Interior Design

“To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ―Richard Buckminster Fuller

Genell Ebbini joined the Interior Design faculty at Purdue University in 2022. She earned a Master of Design Studies Sustainable Design from Boston Architectural College and graduated Summa Cum Laude, earning a Bachelor of Interior Design from the University of Arkansas. 

Genell has an extensive background in interior design, indoor environmental quality, sustainability, energy-efficient design, and construction as a practitioner, researcher, and educator. She is an NCIDQ-certified and Registered Interior Designer in Indiana, with over twenty years of global practice and ten years of extensive teaching experience in CIDA Accredited programs at the University of Minnesota, Washington State University, and Indiana State University. She is also a LEED BD+C and ID+C Accredited Professional with experience managing and delivering the highest LEED certification on a building, Platinum.

Her research, pedagogy, and practice focus on whole  systems thinking through regenerative, biophilia, and sustainability. Her work explores the links between knowledge paradigms, human activities, their effects on the environment, and the resulting consequences for the well-being of human societies and natural systems. She is particularly interested in the study of effective communication methods leading to a shift in mindset toward systems thinking. Her research is interdisciplinary, transects design professions and academic disciplines.

In 2006, she established a global design and consulting firm in sustainable design and transitioned from practice to academia in 2011. She is a recipient of the 2019 Women in Sustainability Leadership Awards (WSLA) - one of the top honors in the world of architecture and the built environment for women. Genell was awarded this due to her seminal work in sustainability in the Middle East and the strategies in sustainability education she has implemented to bridge the gap between academic learning and professional practice-showcasing her career as an educator and practitioner in mentoring the next generation of change agents and leaders of the built environment.

Genell's research and industry scholarship have contributed to sustainability initiatives, international standards on sustainability, indoor environmental design, and sustainability policies on a global scale.

 

CREDENTIALS

Master of Design Studies Sustainable Design, Boston Architectural College

Bachelor of Interior Design, University of Arkansas, Summa Cum Laude

 

LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION

Registered Interior Designer, Indiana, RID00688 (2020-current)

Registered Interior Designer, Arkansas State (ASBALAID) #5233 (2008-2014)

LEED AP BD+C, LEED Accredited Professional Building Design and Construction GBCI#: 92094 (2011)

NCIDQ® Certificate Number 24359, The National Council for Interior Design Qualification (2008)

LEED AP ID+C, LEED Accredited Professional, Interior Design and Construction GBCI#: 92094 (2007)

 

AWARDS RECEIVED

Charlotte Zietlow Endowment for Women Faculty Research Grant Award, 2021.

Ebbini, G. W. “A Decade In The Making: Studying Indoor Environmental Quality in LEED-certified Projects in Jordan,” 2021-2022, (P.I.). This award/grant to support my longitudinal study on occupant experiences of green buildings in Jordan.

Women in Sustainability Leadership Award, 2019.

“Women in Sustainability Leadership Award winners: over 85 of the most influential women trailblazers who have become a powerful force in the profession of creating a more sustainable world. The group was created to ensure that its annual awards program, summits, service activities and mentorship opportunities continue to pave the way in sustainability and for future leaders in the field.” Website: https://gbdmagazine.com/wsla-2019-winners/

 

SELECTED SCHOLARSHIP

Refereed: Articles, Book Chapter, and Conference Presentations/Proceedings

Ebbini, G.W., & Al-Assaf, A. (2022). Assessing contextual factors for sustainable development: a case study of LEED-certified projects in Jordan,  Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, https://doi.org/10.1108/ARCH-12-2021-0368 (Published online July 4, 2022).

Ebbini, G. W. (2022). Transformative Design Pedagogy: Teaching Biophilic Design through Experiential Learning, Journal of Experiential Education, 45(1), pp 7-31. https://doi.org/10.1177/10538259211019088 (Article first published online June 11, 2021).

Ebbini, G. W. (2021). Interdisciplinarity and International Education: Creating Opportunities for Collaboration in Design Research and Practice. In Hokanson B., Exter M., Grincewicz A., Schmidt M., & Tawfik A.A. (eds.), Intersections Across Disciplines. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53875-0_19

Zollinger, S., & Ebbini, G. W. (2021). Thinking & Writing = Relectionnaire. In DeLong, M., Hokanson, B. Strohecker, C., Fisher, T., Asojo, A., and Chu, S. (eds.), Design: Thinking and Making at a Community-Engaged University. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. https://issuu.com/umndesign/docs/cdes15thcompendium_digital
(Accepted 2019)

Routman, R., Ebbini, G. W., Bruckner, C., & Gowda, A. (2021). Creating A Culture of Mentorship in the Sustainability Field. GreenBiz Industry Sustainability Conference (refereed), conducted online, February 11, 2021.

Ebbini, G. W. (2019). Cultivating Biophilic Design in a Healthcare-focused Interior Design Studio. Proceedings of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Annual Conference, Charlotte, NC, March 6–10, 2019.

Ebbini, G. W. (2019). Transformations in Design Education: Helping Students to Become Leaders in Sustainability. Proceedings of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Annual Conference, Charlotte, NC, March 6–10, 2019.

Ebbini, G. W. (2019). A Decade in The Making: Studying Indoor Environmental Quality in LEED-certified Projects in Jordan. Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Annual Conference (Sustainable Urban Environments), Brooklyn, NY, May 22–26, 2019.

Bilgic, N., & Ebbini, G. W. (2019). Restorative Potential of Hotel Lobbies: Biophilic Design and Attention Restoration Theory. Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Annual Conference (Sustainable Urban Environments), Brooklyn, NY, May 22–26, 2019.

Ebbini, G. W. (2019). Cultivating Health and Well-being in Interior Environments. IMPACT Conference, St. Paul, MN, April 8–9, 2019.

Ebbini, G. W., & Al-Assaf, A. (2018). Social Well-being: Building Social Capacities through Sustainable and Affordable Housing in Jordan. Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Annual Conference (Social Equity by Design), Oklahoma City, OK, June 7, 2018.

 

Selected Grants Received

Ebbini, G. W. “Targeted Post-occupancy Evaluation Study of Occupants’ Satisfaction with Indoor Environment Quality Related to Sustainability Design Criteria in LEED-certified Buildings,” University Research Committee (URC), Indiana State University, 2021-2022, (P.I.).

Guzowski, M. and Abi Asojo, Genell Ebbini, Joe Favour, Richard Graves, Jessica Rossi-Mastracci, "A Biophilic Approach to Net-Positive Design,”  College of Design, University of Minnesota, 2020-2021, (Research Team Member). Website:  Biophilic Net-Positive Design Project.

Ebbini, G. W. “A Critical Review of Building Occupants’ Health and Wellbeing in the Design of Certified Green Buildings: Jordan as a Case Study,” McKnight Arts and Humanities Endowment, University of Minnesota, 2019–2020, (P.I.). The grant supported travel to Jordan to study issues related to LEED certified buildings.

Ebbini, G. W. “Building Social Capacities through Sustainable and Affordable Housing in Jordan,” McKnight Arts and Humanities Endowment, University of Minnesota, 2018–2019, (P.I.). The grant supported travel to Jordan to study issues related to affordable, sustainable housing.

 

Non-Refereed Industry Reports and Publications

International WELL Building Institute (Ebbini, G. W. as contributing member of the IWBI Task Force). (2021). Prevention and Preparedness, Resilience and Recovery. Special report of the IWBI Task Force on COVID-19. https://wellcertified.foleon.com/iwbi/pprrspecialreport/cover/

Ebbini, G. W. (2019). University of Nizwa Green Campus Initiative: A Brief Report. Nizwa, Oman: University of Nizwa.

Ebbini, G. W. (2016). Responsive Infrastructure and Urban Development: Jordan. (Green Infrastructure Guidelines). Amman: Jordan Green Building Council.

Ebbini, G. W. (2011). Indoor Environmental Quality. In LEED Gap Analysis: Respecting Diversity through the Localization of the LEED Rating System in the Region: Jordan as a Case Study. Amman, Jordan: Jordan Green Building Council. http://jordangbc.org/uploads/main_gbc/652ebc1eb0ce036f9b75c78a4de5f528.pdf