TED'S TEN 8. Design for Ethical Production.

Today we explored the notion of 'ethical production' in response to our own design disciplines, this means that we explored the social impacts designers and sustainable development can have on a human level; we also examined existing companies:

Fair Trade:

Fair trade is a social and economic movement which promotes international standards of ethical production, labour and environmental policies in the trading of goods or commodities such as cotton. It includes principles such as payment at a fair price and gender equality.  

Where fair trade is a way of doing business, ethical production refers to the production of a textile product and encompasses the whole life cycle of the product from the raw materials, through the finishing processes, to the construction

Unilever:

Architecture For Humanity:

Design is important to every aspect of our lives. It informs the places in which we live, work, learn, heal and gather. We engage all stakeholders in the design process. We believe our clients are designers in their own right.Thoughtful, inclusive design creates lasting change in communities by: 

• Alleviating poverty and providing access to water, sanitation, power and essential services
• Bringing safe shelter to communities prone to disaster and displaced populations
• Rebuilding community and creating neutral spaces for dialogue in post-conflict areas
• Mitigating the effects of rapid urbanization in unplanned settlements
• Creating spaces to meet the needs of those with disabilities and other at-risk populations
• Reducing the footprint of the built environment and addressing climate change

TED'S TEN 7. Design to Replace the Need to Consume.

This Design Strategy addressed the idea that products can adapt and change with age and explored alternative forms of design and consumption such as co-design and collaborative consumption. We discussed the durability of a product and how the value of the material effects how we use it, i.e. our emotional relationship with the product.

“Most products create a small amount of empathy at the point of purchase , from that point on the length of the product’s lifespan depends upon how well the product can maintain empathy with the user. Waste, therefore, can be seen as expired empathy.”
Jonathan Chapman (2006)

TED'S TEN 6. Design that Looks at Models from Nature & History.

This seminar addressed the question:

How can the practices of the past and models from the natural world inform the process of design and production of the future? 

This strategy is about how much designers can find inspiration and information for future sustainable design from studying and reflecting upon the habits and societies of the past and from biomimicry.

“Biomimicry is a new design discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.”  - www.biomimicry.net


During the Seminar we covered:
Design to Minimise Waste Design that Looks at Models from Nature & History

Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a design discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies, e.g., a solar cell inspired by a leaf. The core idea is that Nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with: energy, food production, climate control, non-toxic chemistry, transportation, packaging, and a whole lot more.

Model: Biomimicry is a new science that studies Nature’s models and then emulates these forms, processes, systems, and strategies to solve human problems sustainably.

Mentor: Biomimicry is a new way of viewing and valuing nature. It introduces an era based not on what we can extract from the natural world, but what we can learn from it.

Measure: Biomimicry uses an ecological standard to judge the sustainability of our innovations. After 3.8 billion years of evolution, Nature has learned what works and what lasts.

Green Building in Zimbabwe Modeled After Termite Mounds 

Sources: The Economist; Biomimicry; Inhabitat

TED'S TEN 5. Design that explores Cleaner/Better Technologies.

This seminar addressed methods of technology that would make more sustainable products. It explored ways that we could use new technologies to save water/energy/materials during the production phase. It s a design strategy that can be applied to all areas of design because it encompasses technologies that can be adapted and used in any aspect of design:

ENERGY

• Light - laser cutting, laser etching, laser welding 
• Water - water jet cutting 
• Sound - ultrasonic welding, ultrasonic patterning 
• Heat - welding, plasma cutting, extruding, reforming

BIOLOGY

• Bio - GM technology, vanishing muslin, regenerated cellulose fibres 

NANO

• Nano technology 

MANUFACTURE

• Production Technologies - zero waste cutting, 3D warp knitting 
• Digital Printing - 2D and 3D 
• Coating and Finishing - colour technologies, Teflon 

MATERIALS

• Smart - Piezoelectric materials, shape memory alloys and shape memory polymers, magnetic shape memory alloys, self-healing materials

OTHER

• Visioning - Second Life, body scanning, interactive. Devices - RFID tagging, mobiles, internet & communications

TED'S TEN 4. Design to Reduce Energy & Water Use

This aspect of TED'S TEN addresses the issues surrounding water consumption in the production and use of the product.
Having already explored the work by Unilever in creating a more sustainable company, they offered more information into the work they are doing in order to reduce water use wherever possible, because as a company they use water both directly – in the manufacturing of their products – and indirectly – particularly through the farmers who grow the raw materials and the consumers who use our products at home
The video below explains how Unilever's brands rely on water at every stage of their lifecycle and what they are doing to reduce the impact this has on the environment...

In relation to the Interior Design/Architecture Industry, RIBA has estabilished a number of 'Design Strategies' as part of their 'Sustainibility Hub' which aim to provide a list of sustainable strategies that can be applied at the early, conceptual stages of design in order to bring together the environmental, social and economic issues when designing a sustainable structure. 

One aspect of these Design Strategies, addresses the use of water conservation which explores ways to sustainably manage this resource:

What is it?

Water conservation is a design measure to establish more efficient use of water in order to reduce loss, use and waste. The intention is to reduce water demand and this can take several forms: water recycling, water saving devices and water storage areas. In households and businesses this involves water saving devices, water efficient equipment and recycling. In industry and particularly agriculture this can involve a change in production methods, such as drip irrigation over flood irrigation, wet silage based food products and improved rainwater harvesting and use.

 

Why use it?

Water is a precious natural resource and its sustainable management is essential to protect the water environment and to meet current and future demand. The average person in London uses 156 litres per day, 50% more water than we did in 1980. In London (mirrored by the rest of the UK) the population has grown by approximately 10% in the same period. Mean average rainfall is predicted to fall in the east of the country, affecting the highly populated southeast. We cannot sustain water consumption at this level nor rising consumption, therefore, we need to reduce consumption and conserve more water. Water supply is likely to rise in cost, therefore introducing water saving devices can also save costs on utility bills.

 

When to use it?

Water conservation measures should be used in the early design of all new buildings to deal with growing demand and ever growing shortages whether it is for residential, industrial, agricultural or commercial use. In existing buildings it is still possible to reduce water consumption through new fittings and fixtures such as low/dual flush toilets, aerated taps. Grey water recycling is far more expensive to retrofit than from the outset but and rainwater harvesting can be installed even if only to irrigate the garden.

 Sources: RIBA, Unilever

TED'S TEN 3. Design To Reduce Chemical Impacts.

Today's seminar addressed the issues concerning the use of appropriate processes and material selection in order to minimise the chemical input/Toxicity profile of the the final product. I felt that this seminar was very focused on the textile material aspect of design, because the textiles industry accounts for 25% of all the chemicals used worldwide.

However, after conducting some further research, I understood that the chemical impacts of textiles can have a huge effect on the Interior/Architecture Industry in the way they are used in building design, for example:

"Inside a new, state-of-the-art building, designed to meet the highest standards of energy efficiency - a building many would call environmentally intelligent or "green" - you might expect to be able to breathe clean air. 

You'd be mistaken. 

Clean, fresh indoor air is not a guaranteed by-product of green design. Indeed, a recent study in Germany found that air quality inside several highly rated energy-efficient buildings in downtown Hamburg was nearly four times worse than on the dirty, car-clogged street. For all the care taken to save energy by keeping out the elements with better insulation and leak-proof windows, no one considered the long-term effects of sealing in the chemically laden carpets, upholsteries, paints and adhesives used to finish the interiors." 

                                      'Redefining Green/A New Definition of Quality Empowers the Next Wave of Design'                                                 By William McDonough & Michael Braungart © 2002 

It is evident that chemicals therefore have a similar negative impact on the environment, no matter what profession uses them. 

Sources: Redefining Green

TED'S TEN 2. Design for Recycling/Upcycling

Recycling:

(1) A resource recovery method involving the collection and treatment of a waste product for use as raw material in the manufacture of the same or a similar product.

(2) The EU waste strategy distinguishes between: reuse meant as a material reuse without any structural changes in materials; recycling meant as a material recycling, only, and with a reference to structural changes in products; and recovery meant as an energy recovery only.

VS

Upcycling:

(1) The process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

(2) If one can add value – economic, emotional, intellectual, material – to a product through the process of reuse, whilst conserving resources that went into production, it can be called ‘upcycling’.

Sources: Life Cycle Thinking And Assessment

TED'S TEN 1. Design To Minimise Waste.

Designing to minimise waste addresses both pre and post consumer waste. In the lecture we learnt how '80% of a products environments and economic costs (are) committed by the final design stage, before production begins.'  - Greadel Et Al 1995:17

Designing Out Waste:

In doing some research into ways of designing to minimise waste, I came across this diagram which shows that the largest opportunities to influence waste reduction occur at the master planning stage. This is because during this stage there is flexibility in the designing process, it is also when key decisions are made which affect waste, such as decisions addressing the size and shape of the building will have dramatic effects on the amount of waste generated.

Life Cycle Thinking: 

The goal of Life Cycle Thinking is to identify possible improvements and reduce a product's environmental impacts and resource use, as well as improving its socio-economic performance throughout its life cycle. 

The key aim of Life Cycle Thinking is to avoid “burden shifting”. This means minimising impacts at one stage of the life cycle, while helping to avoid increases elsewhere. For example, saving energy during the use phase of a product, while not increasing the amount of material needed to provide it.

After examining these key aspects of designing to minimise waste, it was clear that during the process of design is to question whether we should design with degeneration in mind? Or should we assume the product/build is to be dismantled and recycled or upcycled?

Sources: wrap.org.uk; architecture.com; unep.fr; Life Cycle Thinking & Assessment

No. 1 Sustainable Design and Materials

As part of this elective in Sustainable Design and Materials, I have established this blog which will catalogue the information that I have gathered from lectures and present further research into the topics that have been discussed. Although this elective is heavily focused on TED [Textiles Environment Design] I intend to use the design strategies in relation to Interior and Spatial Design, and explore possibilities of reducing the impact ISD has on the environment.

As an ISD student I intend to focus my research and thoughts on design aspects involving architectural, interior and spatial design, hopefully resulting in exploring methods to create a 'greener' more sustainable environment to live, work and play in. 


I chose the above image because of the way it incorporates some of the ideas explored in TED's Ten Design Strategies and it's relation to Interior and Spatial Design. 


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