Katarina Dimitrijevic /KraalD MRes in Design Thesis, Goldsmiths UoL, 2013 (original) (raw)
Related papers
2013
KraalD Almanac Tale of Thinking, Doing & Researching MRes thesis title: Transformation by Designedisposal RQ: What kind of cultural and socio-ethical encounters will the proposed Designedisposal asterism provoke in the future? Transformation by Designedisposal research entangles a qualitative exploratory study of a newly incepted social and design praxis, based in London’s urban narrative. The focused intent is on reawakening unanesthetized informality within the plastic trash, through design and craft processes and research through practice for MRes Design at Goldsmiths, London, UK. The aim of the practice is neither to take a politically charged socio-economic stance nor demand an environmental revolution criticizing global triad. Instead, I have chosen to act upon the simple motto 'think globally act locally', as Buckminster Fuller initiated half-century ago.
RE-CYCLE PRACTICES IN THE CITY AS POLITICAL ACT. DESIGN PERSPECTIVES
The care of public spaces in urban environments has always been an indicator of a nation's welfare, impacting greatly on people's behaviours. In these terms, design of public spaces performs a political action, related to common life, because it holds people's ideals. Designers need to tell the story of how design can play a significant role in creating social change. This paper reports on the activities of an alliance of academics, designers, architects, artists and activists in the development of a public campaign to speculate on how a city might act on its present and forecast its future: Superelevata Foot[prints]. It focuses on the topic of recycling and re-use of abandoned spaces, by testing resources and chances as prerequisites of an open working process through specific tools and design practices. Is it possible to delineate a method and an innovation process by reading again these new spontaneous attitudes defined by the urgency to act? Is it possible to improve the political dimension of design action, conceiving the project as performance, as experienced in the '60 by radical groups? If design comes out from the interaction between a practice, which requests to change the state of the things, and a culture, which makes sense of this change, how do the public design activities produce culture and behavioural change? How can this culture orientate and offer common horizons to the multiplicity of practices that take place in design activities?
The Role of Design as a Catalyst for Sustainable DIY
Sustainable Consumption: Design, Innovation and Practice
Amateurs committed to self-production (i.e. DIY) are reshaping the relationship between production and consumption, leading to a ‘new DIY age’ (Hoftijzer 2009). The spreading of this trend suggests scenarios in which non-professional people are, or will be, able to create artefacts supported by innovative technologies, networks and, perhaps, companies with new business models. Easy access for consumers to the production system could lead to inefficient resource use and increased waste, however, and so the sustainability of this trend has been debated. Nonetheless, recent research by Salvia (2013) envisages this contemporary self-production phenomena as a ‘window of opportunity’ to foster positive environmental and social impact, through activities intended to prolong product lifetimes, e.g. re-using, re-pairing, re-purposing and re-appropriating—collectively named RE-DIY. This chapter addresses the role of design as catalyst for sustainable RE-DIY. Four scenarios portray the possible role of professional designers as educators or facilitators in the relationship with RE-DIY practitioners, at both a global and local scale. On the basis of a review of the current ‘state of the art’, cases of design-led sustainable initiatives promoting RE-DIY are explored to highlight the potential and feasibility of novel relationships between producers and consumers . Finally, barriers to the evolution of RE-DIY towards sustainable patterns are identified and discussed, and triggers for scaling up this practice on a broader societal level are proposed
Asli Kiyak Ingin | makiningfutures.plymouthart.ac.uk Asli Kiyak Ingin Made in Şişhane Project as an Alternative Design Practice for Safeguarding the Craft Neighbourhoods in Istanbul This presentation will focus on the future of craft neighbourhoods in Istanbul and discuss their potential and threats today, and present Made in Şişhane Project which is an alternative design practice for safeguarding the craft neighbourhoods. One of the subjects of the main agenda in Istanbul, where urban transformation processes are being lived rapidly, is whether to carry the dynamics and unique practices of the craft neighbourhoods into the future or not, or how to carry them. Due to the existence of such areas, we are able to discuss the unique act of making, design and craft relations and identity that evolve from their togetherness. Within such areas of the city, many creative products become alive through dialogue and interaction between designer and craftsmen. Craft neighbourhoods which are a strong part of the social, cultural, economic and spatial structure of Istanbul located in the city centre, even though still very much alive as part of the intangible heritage of the city, are currently facing the threat of evacuation. Sishane District which is one of the craft neighbourhoods is a 100-year-old lighting production and commerce centre of Istanbul. Being located in the city centre, it faces some threats such as city policies which plan to remove small-scale production from the city centre; state led gentrification process and speculated real estate prices in last ten years. Craft and design processes which are knitted with the local community and everyday life practices in Şişhane have ad hoc, non-hierarchical, flexible, interactive and unmediated characteristics. The invisible net that connects craftsmen to each other and to the city is at the heart of a production process that relies on constant interaction between all kinds of factors. In this model, a production process becomes a production route or journey which is special, unique and directed by the designer in the neighbourhood. The craftsmen, who produce in the district, using their traditional skills and machines, can adapt to new demands and techniques, and supply customized objects and they can also collaborate with each other for the big orders. Face-to-face design practice is that it allows for personal expression at various stages of production. The craftsman is not only someone who executes but is an active contributor to the product’s design. It is important to redefine craft neighbourhood’s essential role in its changing urban context. For these reasons, Made in Şişhane Project as an activist project organizes creative actions/events in order to contribute to the sustainability of these craft neighbourhoods versus the top down processes since 2006. The Project enriches the craft networks with the participation of designers, artists, architects and academia. Creative people become mediators to evaluate the possibilities for sustainable future developments. Made in Sishane Project asks: How can design have a positive role in the sustainable development of a craft neighbourhood? What kind of potentiality do these neighbourhoods have for the designers? morethandesignist.wordpress.com