23 December 2016 - Task 8 Evaluative Report

Evaluative Report

Over the few months course of this expanded practice unit, I have gained a lot of knowledge and learned more clearly towards sustainable design in all fields, such as architecture, fashion or textiles. I think that Sustainable design plays an important role in our lives, but very often being forgotten by human beings. It can be an idea, a property of living systems, a manufacturing method, a way of life or the development that meets the criteria of the present. It is living within the limits of what environment can provide, understanding interconnections between economy, society and environment, or the equal distributions of resources and opportunities.

Before I enrolled in this unit I could consider myself being quite interested in doing practices such as recycling and reusing materials. Very much often I found myself sticking to reused materials when it comes to doing models for our work. At the start of the unit, we were being introduced to the TEN strategies that I was unaware of and how these strategies relate to the present design industry that we will be involved. Then only I realised that there are so many issues often being ignored and not being fully understood, such as unethical production of almost all our clothing, or furnishings for an interior space, creating so much waste from the past and present which is impacting our lives.

My research was centered on architecture and interior spaces. I have gained knowledge that the life cycle of every building can be divided into six phases: obtaining raw materials, manufacturing of materials and components, sale, construction, use and maintenance of the building, and demolition. Each of these phases creates a burden on the environment in the form of energy use, as well as of emissions of CO2 and other harmful or even dangerous substances. Individual phases of the cycle may take place at some distance from one another, which require transportation. The use of energy and the associated emissions must therefore be looked at in the light of the entire life cycle of the building. By using materials that are more environmentally friendly in the phase of manufacturing and building (e.g. wood, cellulose insulation), we can ensure fewer negative effects for highly energy efficient buildings by comparison with less energy efficient new buildings. By using sustainable design to build houses, which utilize renewable sources of energy, we can decrease the negative effects over the total life cycle, even for less energy efficient buildings and come close to the effectiveness of more energy efficient buildings.

By following the TEN strategies and apply them to each of the blogposts, I was able to grab a better knowledge and understand design project examples that was presented, understanding how cradle to cradle, durable design works. This Sustainable design practice has made me more resourceful towards my practice. Also, ever since then I have it constantly on my mind, how is every single production going to impact people and their lifestyles. I can see myself starting to reduce waste during every single project given in my studio and start to do my part of helping the earth and provide information to people about the environmental impact. I plan to extend my learning outcomes on my upcoming project where we will be working on creating spaces at the little Venice, perhaps by creating a speculative design that look more into sustainability in terms of materials, recyclability and functionality of the space. This unit has made me aware and be more considerate when it comes to designing. I hope that my research blog could inspire others and enhance people’s awareness towards the environment. 

1 December 2016 - Task 7 OpenDesk

Week 7 – OpenDesk by Nick Lerodiaconou

For this week’s lecture we were honoured to listen to a guest lecture, Nick Lerodiaconou. He is a founder of the company OpenDesk. They are based along the line of a furniture company and have collaborated with big companies such as Greenpeace and Nike, giving a different approach towards furniture curations.

OpenDesks connects designers who create furniture such as desks, tables, chairs, and stools for offices or classrooms with manufacturers such as Renatus that produces orders of precision cut pieces of simple wooden desks and chairs, reaching millions of customers around the world. Consistent level of information was given to people anywhere in the world to make and curate a quality piece of furniture. With just internet, there are plenty of channels online where people could self-publish. This saves the hassle of a traditional method where designers have to negotiate with contractors, distributors and retailers. The process begins with customers making selection of furniture from their database of items made by designers earlier. Any nearby maker could cut out the plywood pieces are sourced, and then it goes under production. After completing cutting out pieces of wood, the boards will be packed and transported items that fits like a key and hole structure – no need any metal parts.

This changes the way in which furniture is produced. It is never time consuming and without expensive shipping and storage facilities anymore, It minimizes waste as the furniture will only be made with demand, thus there will be no “ready stock” waiting and being stored. Moreover, what’s better is the exact same furniture could be repeated and built in anywhere in the world. As the furniture is made on demand, the lesser the amount of time takes to be produced.

As the popular edit stool was passed around, we tried to assemble the legs and the body by slotting in like Lego fittings. As easy as it seems, it creates sturdy and firm furniture with the tag that is inexpensive and practical. 

Bibliography

1. (info@opendesk.cc), O. (2017) Opendesk - Edie Set, Opendesk.cc. Available at: https://www.opendesk.cc/edie/edie-set#get-it-made (Accessed: 20 December 2016).

2. Tucker, E. (2017) Opendesk provides open-source furniture for Kano office, Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2015/08/19/opendesk-open-source-furniture-kano-office-london/ (Accessed: 20 December 2016).

30 November 2016 - Task 6 Workshop

Week 6 Sustainability Workshop

I was absent during the seminar as I was not feeling well. Though, after asking a friend of what was conducted, I was told that each group was centred on a specific object:

·    Chanel bag – High end, style, success, wealth, luxury

·    Little Sun Solar Lamp, by artist/designer Olafur Eliasson – social innovation

·    Levis Western Shirt – historical & contemporary social & culture fashion & workwear/utility (denim)

·    iPhone 3Gs – Technology, everyday. This is an old iPhone.

·    2 Man Dome Tent, Argos – Temporary shelter, flat pack, Cheap mass market manufactured item

·    Brompton bike – Object considered an exceptional design icon

·    Traditional Vietnamese jacket – The Dao (vintage) – ethnic craft & cultural references

I think the purpose of this workshop was to look at each object with different perspectives when investigating the sustainability factors through material and lifestyle.  The task was to work out with:  the ‘speeds’ of the materials, biological to synthetic, mass-produced to handmade, disposable to vintage, and chemical recycling to up cycling.

Reflecting on our answers, I still believe we are more or less correct with our thoughts. As being a polycarbonate plastic, it is a synthetic material and it cannot be remelted so must be destroyed with chemicals. It would also be used for a long time by a person, but due to the amounts produced it cannot be regarded as vintage.After taking this information on board, the next task was to decode our groups object which was the LITTLE SUN SOLAR LAMP.

What did you find most interesting about this workshop?

The workshop could be interesting as to find out the social aspect of whatever product we were given to. If we own an object, we should know what are the stories told behind this object. By venturing and searching it adds to the sustainability to it, plus we will also learn to appreciate and cherish it more.

What did you find most difficult and challenging in the workshop?

If I were given an iPhone 3Gs, I think it will be hard to recycle and fully reuse the whole phone. As technologies improve every single day, users tend to leave their used items behind when they got hold of a new one. I found it hard to create a new object from the iphone 3Gs as it is already completed.  

Did you find it useful working with objects?

If I attended the workshop, I think working and interacting with objects could be another way that we could learn during this whole process. By investigating objects, we could apply theories that we have learnt previously on a physical object rather than just having them imagined. Moreover, it makes us think how we can improve rather than just exploiting our sources.

Do you think this workshop helped you to understand the speed of materials, production, use and recovery in order to help you design with a better approach to sustainable design?

By working through it has shown me to approach designing with a new mind frame. Rather than diving straight into a design piece, it has taught me to slow down the process and examine each aspect, the speed of the materials, production, use and recovery. It has also helped me understand others designs, and ways of changing certain aspects to create sustainability.

Sustainable development affecting an average person

How Does a Sustainable Development Affect the Average Person?

An eco-friendly way of life does not mean that people must live without any comforts or have any less fulfilling existences. In most cases, it means to use only what is necessary instead of wasting valuable resources, but it does come at a cost. This can be viewed as payback for all the times that limited resources were wasted for no good reason.

There are substantial investments required for solar panels, wind power, geothermal energy, and other alternative energy sources. It isn’t something that the government can buy for the public; the government already offers incentives for citizens to invest in something that will save them money over time and preserve the earth, too.

What technologies are used is dependent on what best suits the conditions where a person lives. The wind turbine is great in flat areas where there is plenty of wind power to turn the turbines, but in some areas there is not enough sustainable wind to warrant the expense of the wind turbine. Many of the areas where wind turbines are not effective have plenty of sun, which makes the use of solar panels the ideal way to reduce the carbon footprint.
The use of geothermal energy is still in its infancy. Harnessing the natural heat from within the earth is not as easy as it sounds. Some authorities contend that the lifespan of a geothermal reservoir is limited, and once it cools down, it might not return for a very long time. It also requires deep drilling even to tap this source of natural and sustainable energy.
The geothermal heat pump works on a principle of using the natural controlled temperature just below the ground for lessening the demands on the standard system during times of extreme temperatures. This is the most viable use of the earth’s renewable heat and cooling capabilities at this time.