︎︎︎ Conscious Design ︎︎︎ Approaches
(A) Innovative approaches, interdisciplinary teams and education
1
In 20th century design, the emphasis was on the visual and functional side of things, and designers were judged on whether their products were successful. Such a design was necessarily bound and subject to the demands of (industrial) production.
Nowadays, however, a new logic is emerging on how to divide and direct design. Such logic largely depends on interdisciplinary links. An individual is not expected to know and be able to do everything, so there are collaborations with experts from various fields because environmentally conscious design is not possible today without at least an interdisciplinary discussion.
The situation and position of design has been changing in the academic sphere in recent years. In the wider world, unlike at Czech universities, more emphasis is placed on cooperation across disciplines. New fields are emerging that respond to environmental challenges, which often address the development of new materials (Material design).
For such fields, connecting design with scientific experts is crucial. As Carole Collet, the founder of Material Futures (London University of the Arts), said in an interview with Material Times (2017):
‘We teach designers how to communicate with fellow biologists and software engineers because, in the future, we will not manage without mutual collaboration’.
In Carole Collet's course, students deal with synthetic biology. According to her, this can mean a path to a more sustainable life on Earth. It is the genetic modification of organisms and their programming so that they produce what is needed for humanity. At present, scientists in the field of synthetic biology focus mainly on food and healthcare. They also attempt to program bacteria to provide new sources of biofuels. The first industry to implement such modifications (specifically yeasts that can produce silk) was the textile industry.2
There is also a field called Biotechnology and Biodesign at the University of Newcastle which combines design approaches with engineering approaches used in the creation of new biotechnological processes and products. This is a master's degree (MRes - Master of Research) lasting twelve months. HBBE - The Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment - is also related to this field. This initiative combines research findings in Biotechnology and Biodesign with Architectural Design. The HBBE aims to create a research centre and make the United Kingdom a leader in this new transdisciplinary field. The centre should be able to creatively design and build biotechnology at various scales.
The cooperation of education with production and research is also characteristic of the Netherlands where technical universities have been cooperating with the arts for many years. The high level of output of such applied research has been observed annually in New Material Award projects, which believe in the innovative power of creativity in various design, artistic and scientific fields with regard to sustainability. The last year of the competition took place in 2018. However, other initiatives and competitions are emerging, such as the Material Designers project.
In the American environment, for example, Neri Oxman has contributed to the connection of science with design, architecture and art in practice. She studied medicine, design and architecture. She describes the thinking and goals of her laboratory at that time at MIT under Media Lab - Mediated Matter - in one of the parts of the documentary series Abstract. Currently she has her own practice (OXMAN).
For such fields, connecting design with scientific experts is crucial. As Carole Collet, the founder of Material Futures (London University of the Arts), said in an interview with Material Times (2017):
‘We teach designers how to communicate with fellow biologists and software engineers because, in the future, we will not manage without mutual collaboration’.
In Carole Collet's course, students deal with synthetic biology. According to her, this can mean a path to a more sustainable life on Earth. It is the genetic modification of organisms and their programming so that they produce what is needed for humanity. At present, scientists in the field of synthetic biology focus mainly on food and healthcare. They also attempt to program bacteria to provide new sources of biofuels. The first industry to implement such modifications (specifically yeasts that can produce silk) was the textile industry.2
There is also a field called Biotechnology and Biodesign at the University of Newcastle which combines design approaches with engineering approaches used in the creation of new biotechnological processes and products. This is a master's degree (MRes - Master of Research) lasting twelve months. HBBE - The Hub for Biotechnology in the Built Environment - is also related to this field. This initiative combines research findings in Biotechnology and Biodesign with Architectural Design. The HBBE aims to create a research centre and make the United Kingdom a leader in this new transdisciplinary field. The centre should be able to creatively design and build biotechnology at various scales.
The cooperation of education with production and research is also characteristic of the Netherlands where technical universities have been cooperating with the arts for many years. The high level of output of such applied research has been observed annually in New Material Award projects, which believe in the innovative power of creativity in various design, artistic and scientific fields with regard to sustainability. The last year of the competition took place in 2018. However, other initiatives and competitions are emerging, such as the Material Designers project.
In the American environment, for example, Neri Oxman has contributed to the connection of science with design, architecture and art in practice. She studied medicine, design and architecture. She describes the thinking and goals of her laboratory at that time at MIT under Media Lab - Mediated Matter - in one of the parts of the documentary series Abstract. Currently she has her own practice (OXMAN).
3
Oxman argues that in the classical process of developing and exploring things, disciplines such as art, science, design and engineering meet at a crossroads: art expresses, science researches, engineering invents and design communicates.
According to her theory, these industries should be interconnected and transformed from separate boxes to a cycle, where the output from one area becomes the input impulse for another. In such collaboration, science turns information into knowledge, engineering applies that knowledge and thus turns it into benefit.4 The role of design is to produce solutions that maximise functions and improve the human experience; it ‘translates’ usefulness into behaviour. The role of art is to question human behaviour and create awareness of the world around us; It ‘translates’ behaviour into a new perception of information.5 The described cycle enables the flow of information and creativity between disciplines, the so-called Creb's Cycle of Creativity.
The Mediated Matter team itself consists of biologists, engineers, biochemists, designers and architects. An example of the application of the mentioned theory is shown by the Aguahoja project (2012-2019) - a structure formed by a specially printed surface imitating natural structures, in the development of which the team spent years experimenting with biopolymer composition to optimise optical and mechanical properties. The main vision was to develop a structure made up only of natural sources - such as chitin (found in shellfish shells) and pectin (found in lemon and apple peels) and to reduce or eliminate plastic production on our planet. In addition, the developed 3D printing creates a material with a structure containing air bubbles which the Mediated Matter team filled with photosynthetic microorganisms. Similar biological materials (when used on buildings and structures) could, in the future, support the ecosystem in which it is located and thus become an active part of it.6
In the field of Czech research and educational institutions, it is important to mention Associate Professor Vladimír Kočí, who conducts research at the University of Chemical Technology in Prague using LCA (Life-cycle assessment) analysis. LCA assesses the environmental impacts of various products, technologies and services.7 Cooperation with designers is still in its infancy but this academic connection could fundamentally influence future thinking about the choice of material in design, even early on in education (more on LCA in text E and in the interview)
Edit from May 2022
Environmentally responsible creation from a designer is not possible without interdisciplinary collaboration (intensive team cooperation). You will soon read in the upcoming articles and interviews about how the interdisciplinary teams mentioned above work in practice and in education, and how such different fields as design and science can communicate with each other.
According to her theory, these industries should be interconnected and transformed from separate boxes to a cycle, where the output from one area becomes the input impulse for another. In such collaboration, science turns information into knowledge, engineering applies that knowledge and thus turns it into benefit.4 The role of design is to produce solutions that maximise functions and improve the human experience; it ‘translates’ usefulness into behaviour. The role of art is to question human behaviour and create awareness of the world around us; It ‘translates’ behaviour into a new perception of information.5 The described cycle enables the flow of information and creativity between disciplines, the so-called Creb's Cycle of Creativity.
The Mediated Matter team itself consists of biologists, engineers, biochemists, designers and architects. An example of the application of the mentioned theory is shown by the Aguahoja project (2012-2019) - a structure formed by a specially printed surface imitating natural structures, in the development of which the team spent years experimenting with biopolymer composition to optimise optical and mechanical properties. The main vision was to develop a structure made up only of natural sources - such as chitin (found in shellfish shells) and pectin (found in lemon and apple peels) and to reduce or eliminate plastic production on our planet. In addition, the developed 3D printing creates a material with a structure containing air bubbles which the Mediated Matter team filled with photosynthetic microorganisms. Similar biological materials (when used on buildings and structures) could, in the future, support the ecosystem in which it is located and thus become an active part of it.6
In the field of Czech research and educational institutions, it is important to mention Associate Professor Vladimír Kočí, who conducts research at the University of Chemical Technology in Prague using LCA (Life-cycle assessment) analysis. LCA assesses the environmental impacts of various products, technologies and services.7 Cooperation with designers is still in its infancy but this academic connection could fundamentally influence future thinking about the choice of material in design, even early on in education (more on LCA in text E and in the interview)
Edit from May 2022
Environmentally responsible creation from a designer is not possible without interdisciplinary collaboration (intensive team cooperation). You will soon read in the upcoming articles and interviews about how the interdisciplinary teams mentioned above work in practice and in education, and how such different fields as design and science can communicate with each other.
1 Creativity Cycle
2 Material times. What do we create? Things - materials - schemes - organisms - relationships. Harvest your biosynthetic lace - an interview with Carole Collet. Prague: Happy Materials, 2017, pp. 24-31. ISSN 2464-742X.
3 Aquahoja, source: Dezeen
4 Abstract: The Art of Design. Neri Oxman: Bio-Architecture. NETFLIX. 2019
5 Age of Entanglement. Journal of Design and Science.
6 FLIPPS, Andrea, Matilda MCQUAID, Caitlin CONDELL and Géne BERTRAND. Nature: Collaboration in Design. 1. New York: Cooper Hewitt, 2019. ISBN 978-1-942303-23-7.
7 Material times. Fourth edition. Vladimír Kočí: With common sense, we cannot see beyond the horizon. Prague: Happy Materials, 2019, pp. 24-34. ISSN 2464-742X.
2 Material times. What do we create? Things - materials - schemes - organisms - relationships. Harvest your biosynthetic lace - an interview with Carole Collet. Prague: Happy Materials, 2017, pp. 24-31. ISSN 2464-742X.
3 Aquahoja, source: Dezeen
4 Abstract: The Art of Design. Neri Oxman: Bio-Architecture. NETFLIX. 2019
5 Age of Entanglement. Journal of Design and Science.
6 FLIPPS, Andrea, Matilda MCQUAID, Caitlin CONDELL and Géne BERTRAND. Nature: Collaboration in Design. 1. New York: Cooper Hewitt, 2019. ISBN 978-1-942303-23-7.
7 Material times. Fourth edition. Vladimír Kočí: With common sense, we cannot see beyond the horizon. Prague: Happy Materials, 2019, pp. 24-34. ISSN 2464-742X.
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The project was renewed with the support of the Specific Research FaVu BUT and is one of the outputs of Valentýna Landa Filípková's dissertation.
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