Reflections
William McDonough’s outlook is very impressive. I have always conceived of human society to be detrimental to the environment and of design to only make small improvements to the human footprint. However, McDonough shows that there is an alternative. Good designers can make it such that a product, or building, or anything designed can actually give back to the environment more than it takes. It is possible to design a building that uses fewer resources and less energy than it produces. This radically changes the design field. If all designers begin to adopt a philosophy like this one, the negative consequences of human habitation can soon be reversed.
Suzanne Lee’s talk was very interesting. I do not think kombucha can be the future of all design materials, but this is not what Lee proposes. Kombucha is simply one example of a material that can be grown naturally and that can have versatile properties and uses. So far, the material cannot be made waterproof, but perhaps it has other uses then, such as indoor furniture, or even for more ephemeral, temporary uses. Maybe it can be used in bandages that dissolve in the shower, for example, or some other specific case that allows it to break down when necessary but to serve it’s purpose until then.
Janine Benyus introduces us to the world of biomimicry as a design tool. Nature is pretty much perfect, as millions of years of evolution have brought us to this point. I view design is somewhat of an artificial evolution, so looking to the source, nature, for inspiration for design can vastly improve what we make. Benyus shows a lot of examples of how mimicking nature is helping us to solve design problems that have been around for a while. I also found it very inspiring that she is helping create a database for future designers to access to make there designs more efficient through biomimicry.
Neri Oxman seems extremely intelligent. In her talk, she proposes marrying the two worlds of technology and biology in design. She uses the example of Chitin as a material that is naturally grown but can be manipulating to many different forms and properties. She also uses an example of creating an infrastructure upon which silk work can be released and fill in the form with their silk over time. There are many ways to use natural resources more efficiently and Neri Oxman suggests that by incorporating more biobased materials into preesxisting design processes, we can make cleaner, more efficient designs for the future.
Examples of designs that need Cradle to Cradle interventions:
Buildings such as the University Center
Garments and accessories such as backpacks
Public transportation such as the subway system
Examples of designs that are inspired by nature:
an earring inspired by feathers
an earring that reminds me of snowflakes or butterflies
an artwork that seems inspired by octopi or jellyfish
