design for sustainability lessons 1 and 2

DesignSustainability&

Nicola Morelli2. Semester Master ID

Nicola Morelli Design & Sustainability 2

• The limits of growth• Growth and development• The question of

sustainability• Strategies for reduction• A lookout to the future• Socially and

environmentally sustainable scenarios

Summary

DesignSustainabilityThe limits of growthThe speed of growth

DesignSustainability

Speed of the growth

Source: D.H.Meadows, D.L.Meadows, J. Randers: BEYOND THE LIMITS, Global Collapse or a Sustainable Future

Exponential Growth

Exponential Growth exercise

Suppose you own a pond on which a water lily is growing. The lily plant doubles in size each day. If the plant were

allowed to grow unchecked, it would completely cover the

pond in 30 days, chocking off the other forms of life in the

water. For a long time the lily plant seems small, so you

decide not to worry about it until it covers half of the pond.

On what day it will be?

Doubling Times

Growth rate (% p.y) Doubling time (Years)

0.1 700

0.5 140

Nigeria’s Population with continued exponential growth

Year Population (millions)

1990 118

2014 236

2038 472

2062 944

2086 1888

World demographic transitions

industrialized and developing countries

Sweden

England and Wales

Taiwan

Mexico

The growth will continue…

Food production in world regions

South Americ

Africa

North Americ

East Asia

Middle East

Western

Europe

The total production of food is increased, though, in the poorest countries, the per capita production is not changed, as the population

increased with the same speed

The discovery of limits

• Quantity of withdrawal (How many resources are we using?)

• Quality of withdrawal (renewable or not renewable?)

• Speed of Withdrawal (Time of withdrawal compared with time of

• natural renovation of resources)

Limits

Growth VS Development

• Growth• Quantitative

economic growth Growth of economic resources spent for buying products and services

• measured with GNP

• Development• Qualitative

improvement of economic, social and cultural conditions

• Gross National Happiness (GNH)???

For a sustainable development

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs

of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to

meet their own needs.Gro Harlem Brundtland, (1987) Our

Common Future

Germany Developing countries

Energy consumption (tj) 158 22 (Egypt)

Greenhouse gases (t) 13700 1300 (Egypt)

Ozone-depleting cfcs (kg) 450 16 (Philippines)

Roads (km) 8 0.7 (Egypt)

Goods transport (t/km) 4391000 776000 (Egypt)

Cars 9128000 904,000 (Egypt)

Passenger cars 443 6 (Egypt)

Aluminium combustion (kg) 28 2 (Argentina)

Cement combustion (t) 413 56 (Egypt)

Steel combustion (t) 655 5 (Egypt)

Household rubbish (t) 400 120 (Average)

Other waste (t) 187 2 (Average)

Germany Developing countries

Energy consumption (tj) 158 22 (Egypt)

Greenhouse gases (t) 13700 1300 (Egypt)

Ozone-depleting cfcs (kg) 450 16 (Philippines)

Roads (km) 8 0.7 (Egypt)

Goods transport (t/km) 4391000 776000 (Egypt)

Cars 9128000 904,000 (Egypt)

Passenger cars 443 6 (Egypt)

Aluminium combustion (kg) 28 2 (Argentina)

Cement combustion (t) 413 56 (Egypt)

Steel combustion (t) 655 5 (Egypt)

Household rubbish (t) 400 120 (Average)

Other waste (t) 187 2 (Average)

Unbalance

CO2 emission

Marque: AUDI

Range: A4

Fuel: PETROL

Transmission: MANUAL

Doorplan: 4 SAL

Trim: QUATTRO

Model Introduction Date:

2001-01

Engine (cc): 2976

CO2 Level (g/km): 252

Marque: FORD

Range: FOCUS

Fuel: DIESEL

Transmission: MANUAL

Doorplan: 4 SAL

Trim: GHIA TDDI

Model Introduction Date:

2001-02

Engine (cc): 1753

CO2 Level (g/km): 144

Different impact of energy use

Ecological unbalance

• Developed countries (20% of the population of this planet) are using 80% of the available resources

Who should start?

• Developed countries are exporting a development model (ie a cultural, social and economic model) to developing countries

• Developed countries must find new systemic solutions that are based on a radical reduction in resource use

Who should start?

…OK, OKwe should start, but how

much should we reduce our resource consumption?

Who should start?

I = M x P x Wwhere

I = Environmental ImpactP = population

W = Average WealthM = Metabolism

(Quantity of resources per unit of services)

How much should we reduce?

If (in 50 Years)

ECO-EFFICIENCY (E) = 1/M = 10 =90%

I = 0.5 P = 2 W = 2.5

then0.5 = 2 x 2.5 x M

M = 1/10

How much should we reduce?

Variations of the model

Productivity Growth

% per year

2.0 North

3.5 South

2.5 North

5.5 South

2.5 North

7.5 South

2.5 North

8.0 South

DesignSustainabilityAre we thinking RADICALLY

enough?

New solution for new lifestyles

Design of new products and services which respond to the same needs of the existing products with innovative ideas and with a lower environmental impact

Ecoredesign of existing products (Process optimisation, efficiency improvements, reduction of resource consumption, recyclability)

Is it radical enough????

Strategies for resource reduction

Resources from the

planet

Biosphere

Technosphere

Sociosphere

DesignSustainabilityResources

from the planet

Biosphere

Technosphere

Optimizing the system by reusing resources

Sociosphere

from the planet

Biosphere

Technosphere

Sociosphere

Dematerialisation

Row materials

Production

Utilization Waste

Re-use

Repair

RebuildRecycle

Optimising the system by reusing resources

Product-life extension of goods

(Re-use)Goods that need few resources for maintenance or operation (Furniture, household effects, bicycles)Goods that require resources to operate, when new goods do not improve resource efficiency

Washing machines Refrigerators

Energy production during the life cycle

Innovation and efficiency

Appliance Bought 1980

kWh pa

Bought 1992kWh pa

Annual rate of change, 1980-1992 (% pa)

Refrigerator - single door 650 536 -1.6

- 2 dr cyclic defrost 1100 826 -2.4

- 2 dr frost free 1300 1097 -1.4

Freezer 680 664 -0.2

Dishwasher 610 575 -0.5

Clothes washer 1700 1560 -0.8

Airconditioner - reverse cycle 800 700 -1.1

- cooling only 570 460 -1.2

Durability and innovation

Product life extension

may not save resources if

new products are

introduced which use

less resources in the use

(Re-use)

Product-life extension of components

(Repair and rebuild)

(Re-use)

Product-life extension of components

(Repair and rebuild)

Remarketing of new products from waste

(Recycle)

from the planet

Biosphere

Technosphere

Sociosphere

Dematerialisation of the system

from the planet

Biosphere

Technosphere

Sociosphere

Dematerialisation

Considering the total material input an appropriate measure of the potential disturbance of our host system "the Earth" the reduction of material flows is regarded a necessary (although not in all cases sufficient) means of reducing the pressure of humankind on the global environment in a directionally-safe manner.

(Wuppertal Institute, Sustainable Europe Project, http://www.wupperinst.org/Projekte/SuE/HTMLtexts/index.html)

Reduction of material flows in the economic system

• Extending life cycles of goods

Strategies for dematerialisation

Miele updates the software system of washing machines when new washing programs or detergents will be available

• Long Life goods

• Focus on utilisation

Sharing goods

Sharing

•Cars

•Washing machines

•Offices and office equipment

• Long Life goods

Sharing goods

Providing services instead of products

•Xerox provides photocopy services, rather than photocopiers

•Interface provides floor covering services rather than carpets

•Shindler provides vertical transportation services rather than elevators

• Long Life goods

Sharing goods

Providing services instead of products

Selling results instead of products

Ownership VS utilisation

DesignSustainabilityQUESTIONS?

Choosing the future

Future

Present Future

Future

The future and the present: Backcasting

Present

Sustainable Futures

Technical Horizon

-cultu

From Present to Sustainable Future(s)

From Present to Possible Future(s)

Present

Sustainable Futures

Technical Horizon

-cultu

Technological evolution:

• More efficient products• New materials?• New processes

From Present to Possible Future(s)

Present

Sustainable Futures

Technical Horizon

-cultu

Social/cultural Acceptance:

• Shifting to services?• New lifestyles• Social sustainability

• Technological alternatives:Improve efficiency in the technosphere–reduce emissions, –new fuels, –new materials, –use of renewable energy, –distributed systems

Alternatives to the gas light

Nicola Morelli Design & Sustainability 61Component Product Production system

Consumption

New materialsImproved efficiency

Modular systems

Product redesign

New product families

New distribution systems

Scenarios for new lifestyles

Social sustainability

• Social alternativeChange lifestyles–Reuse–Sharing–Activation of local resources–Social networking–Activation/participation

• The complex dynamic of change may generate promising cases

• Such cases may generate new patterns of developments, bringing about new products and services

• Environmental profiles on those cases are not always possible

Enabling Solutions

• changes in the way individuals or communities act to obtain results (i.e. to solve a problem or to generate new opportunities).

• driven by behavioural changes (rather than by technology or market changes),

• typically emerge from bottom-up processes (more than from top-down ones).

• If the way to get a result is totally new (or if it is the result that is totally new), we may refer to it as a radical social innovation

Social Innovation

• Relieving logic: companies do something that was previously done by the user; i.e. users is relieved from his/her responsibility, s/he has to work less

• Enabling logic: companies provide users with tools (product/services) to find their own solution. Users must use their own (sometimes residual) skills to find their desired solutions.

Relieving and enabling logics

• In the past century, industrial societies have been dominated by dis-abling trends. I.e. towards the dis-involvement of individuals with regards to their personal capabilities to solve their problems, to use their skills, energy and time to get the needed or wanted results

“No care service society”

• cases of social innovations that enable individuals or communities to achieve a result using at best their skills and abilities.

• If these initiatives have a good probability to spread and to be developed using an “industrial approach” (i.e. in a more efficient, effective and replicable way) they may be considered as promising initiatives.

Enabling Initiatives

Based on:• Optimisation of resources• Economy of scale• Replication of solutions in

different contexts• Division of labour• Codification of knowledge

Industrial Approach

• systems of products, services and organizational tools that enable individuals or communities to achieve a result using at best their skills and abilities.

• If these products, services and organizational tools are specifically designed to increase the enabling potential, the production efficiency and the reproducibility in other contexts of the resulting systems, these systems may be defined as advanced enabling solutions

Enabling Solutions

• User-oriented solutions, when they enable an end user to fulfil his/her own need

• Community-oriented solutions, when they enable a community building process

• Micro-enterprise-oriented solutions, when they enable a subject to develop his/her own entrepreneurship and create some innovative forms of micro-enterprises.

Enabling solutions

Examples

1. how can I, as designer, contribute with my professional skills to this question?

2. who would pay me for this?3. how do we identify those who

would like to promote similar projects (and therefore pay a designer for developing them)

4. how does the need for a design activity emerges, if the initiative usually starts from an institution of a management board, which is usually unfamiliar with Designers?

Some questions about ourselves

Life 2.0 the platform

1. What is there for designers?– Specify the functionalities?– Design the infrastructures (booking

system, trust system)?– Design the rules (Who is doing

what? Capability? Resource use and coordination?)

2. Who would pay for the service?3. How can we alert those who

would pay for designers to develop this initiative?

4. How would we demonstrate that there is a need for designers?

Back to the questions

1. What is there for designers?– Specify the functionalities?– Design the infrastructures (booking system,

trust system)?– Design the rules (Who is doing what?

Capability? Resource use and coordination?)

2. Who would pay for the service?– Could the service, in any form, be profitable for

anyone (healthcare institutions, public kitchen, restaurant)

3. How can we alert those who would pay for designers to develop this initiative?

DesignSustainabilityQUESTIONS?

Cyclo-Pouce

Senior club No profit book exchange

Example: the living room restaurant

• This initiative offers people who love to cook an opportunity to cook for a larger number of people then let’s say only their

wife or husband

Example: the problem

• Many older people in our neighborhoods are cut off from society. The people who started the solution want to make friends, be socially active and create a backup in case one of them would lose their job. They love to cook and want to offer a cheap alternative for people that go out for dinner

Solution description

• Reservation: email or a phone call,

• After a short chat to get acquainted with all the guests, dinner is served.

• Dinner: two appetizers, head course, dessert and unlimited drinks.

• Guests can choose the music in the background

• Guest must help with clearing the table between each dish.

• Hosts sit on the ends of the table; between the dishes they switch places to talk to everyone

• It depends on the cheerfulness how long the evening lasts

Revenue/cost model

• Around 10 people per visit. • Cost per participant: 15 euro

(for their own meal and that of the providers) and the unlimited drinks.

• The providers don’t make any profit on it, nor do they lose money on it.

• Providers shop in regular supermarkets

• No permit is needed for the restaurant since it is a small-scale setup.

1. What is there for designers?2. Who would pay for the

service?3. How can we alert those who

would pay for designers to develop this initiative?

design for sustainability lessons 1 and 2

limits of growth growth

sustainable future growth

speed of growth

resource reduction resources

global collapse

development model

discovery of limits

exponential growth exercise

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