the adjacent possible
TRANSCRIPT
the adjacent possible
2 stories
Toyota 4Runners Pipe Clamps
chicken incubator
newborn incubator
Tarnier, a French obstetrician in the 1870s, stumbled upon an exhibit of chicken incubators in the Paris Zoo. This triggered an association in his head, and he decided to hire the zoo’s poultry raiser to help design a similar device for newborns.
1870s
After Tarnier’s invention, the death rate of low-weight newborns was practically cut in half–by treating newborns like hatchlings in a zoo. While not the first person to design a warming device for newborns, his statistical analysis helped it gain momentum.
2000s
95% of medical technology donated to developing countries breaks within the first 5 years of use
*technical expertise required
Today’s incubators are extremely expensive, and when they break, you need the technical expertise to fix them.
$40,000*
Design that Matters created the NeoNuture unit, created entirely of auto parts. They realized that developing countries already had the knowledge to fix their Toyota 4Runners, so he built the incubator with technology already abundant in the developing world.
The story of the incubator is an example of Stuart Kauffman’s concept: the adjacent possible. The idea captures the limits but also the potential of innovation.
The best part of the adjacent possible, is that through exploration, your boundaries expand. There are constraints, but there are also opportunities.
Now for the second story. This is a photo of my apartment just after I moved in. My tiny little greenhouse took up 12sf of my 1000sf home.
+
+
I looked to find a way to display my plants without sacrificing floor space. Taking cues from the verticality of a coat rack and the engineering of an expandable shower curtain rod and the common pipe clamp, my husband and I created a new solution.
The pole expands into the floor and ceiling, holding it in place, similar to a shower curtain rod. The rings that hold the plants can rotate 360 degrees and move up and down, because they are clamped onto the pole. This allows for flexibility over time.
the adjacent possible
Beth Zacherle, R.A., LEED AP Strategic Innovation Designer
http://go.hdrinc.com/StrategicInnovation
Image Citations
Slide 2 Slide 3 Slide 4 Slide 5 Slide 6 Slide 7 Slide 8 Slide 10
http://bestcarmag.com/sites/default/files/85267221996-toyota-4runner-10.jpg https://3b0b747a213bc007f504-201cd9801cfd61c625913545c1a472ef.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/products/large_412_1411422139_pipeclamplg-polished-back.jpg http://www.nbfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ChickWithEgg_Dollar62115459-300x300.jpg http://www.neonatology.org/classics/hess1922/figures/fig132.gif http://api.ning.com/files/cA-UdsvJLzzXYVtSDy-Ue-9zxX5yjdwK195Nfz5iNbzMeAJGy*NF9I9Fxi-0SKnsKOdkgJM3wIokglXNHtdWQFdddDEnoSZk/FileRuedeConstantineParisbyCharlesMarville.jpeg http://web.tradekorea.com/upload_file2/product/884/P00294884/cbe9caa5_8746ea62_4d80_4a6f_9efc_cb82c9bf8027.jpg http://archive.cooperhewitt.org/why-design-now/exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Why-Design-Now/project/neonurture-car-parts-incubator.html https://governancexborders.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/cover-johnson.gif https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Stuart_Kauffman.jpg/220px-Stuart_Kauffman.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PRsgHn6xot4/VgDQEK1N4xI/AAAAAAAAAdA/-GGL6CH0AcA/s1600/MazeRooms.png https://3b0b747a213bc007f504-201cd9801cfd61c625913545c1a472ef.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/images/products/large_412_1411422139_pipeclamplg-polished-back.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kFrl01BeL._SL1000_.jpg http://wate.letspollute.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Standing-coat-rack-Free-Hooks.jpg