Before I started the elective the only knowledge I knew of waste was the recycle bins dropped off at your house. I thought putting things in the recycling was a good enough method. Throughout the lectures I quickly realised I was very wrong, and how I as a designer was actually, very involved with the sustainable world. In the near future my designs will become reality and I will have to question if my design will last, if the materials can be recycled, whether to use recycled materials or if I simply can come up with a solution that will work without power, I could go on. In any case the elective has taught me to question my designs, taught me to ask if there is a more sustainable method than the one than the solution that is easiest.
One of my most favourite lectures was visiting the studio in Shoreditch. I fell in love with the Alchemists dressing table due to its simplicity and innovation, but most of all the ideas it gave me for my own designs. The materials used were copper, wood, cork and glass. These materials were very similar to my designs.
In my work I have looked at many camera lenses and chosen the fish eye, with this I wish to insert a large fish eye lens into the wall of the courtyard in King William Court in Greenwich. This lens will act as a window to look through, the viewer will see the site distorted by the lens and as if looking into a 18th Century naval painting, alluding to past happenings of the site.
The materials I wish to use would be glass for the lens, surrounded by brass, referring to the 18th Century. This idea will take the naval ship design from history, not only aesthetically illustrating that time but also using recycled materials. The brass I wish to source will be used previously, so that the material itself has history. I also understand that brass is highly recyclable now, so that when my installation is taken down the brass can be used again, adding to its own story.
Another lecture I found highly informative is the lecture regarding design activism, finding problems and managing the solving of them. The company IDEO that was mentioned looks at design through a different perspective, learning from mistakes and understanding that going wrong isn’t always a bad thing. On their website they speak about how they created a device for dunking a biscuit, this took many attempts to develop, as design does- always looking for better ways. I believe this summed up our elective very well; we look at our world, our designs, our project and ask ourselves how these need to be better, how can these be more sustainable? Then we go back to our work and solve the problems until we are happy that our design is the best model of itself.
Through the elective we were made to question our designs and ask ourselves how can these become sustainable for our planet and our future. I conclude that I wish to ensure not only the materials used are from sustainable sources and are able to be recycled after use, slowing down the life cycle, and making them available for years to come. But I will always question how to make my designs more sustainable, and with the help of TED 10 I will know how.
