The Dissertation Research Begins!

Two summaries of a text and a lecture I have studied in relation to my upcoming dissertation...

A Summary

The Green Imperative- Ecology and Ethics in Design and Architecture;
Papanek, V., 1995.  The Green Imperative- Ecology and Ethics in Design and Architecture.  London: Thames and Hudson.


Chapter 2 "Designing for a Safer Future"
"Ecology and the environmental equilibrium are the basic underpinnings of all human life on earth; there can be neither life nor human culture without it." pg29
This chapter starts with analysing how the lifecycle of any product can be divided up into six separate stages.  It describes how each of these stages has potential for ecological harm.  It is stated how when pollution related to products is usually discussed, it is normally pollution at  point of use that is highlighted.  However, pollution falls into several phases;
The choice of materials; Mining metal creates atmospheric pollution and uses oil and petrol, thus wasting natural resources that cannot be replaced.  Foams are cheap to manufacture but damage the ozone layer.  Designers must be made aware that every choice and dilemma in their work can have far-reaching and long-term ecological consequences.
The Manufacturing Processes.  Is there anything in the manufacturing process itself that might endanger the workplace or the workers?
Packaging the product.  Further choices face the designer when developing the package in which the product is transported, marketed and distributed.
The finished product.  There are too many different versions of the same product in many cases.  Most of the time there is no need for this and too many versions of the same product, depletes natural resources.  Other products damage the environment more directly at their point of use.
Transporting the product.   Transporting a product anywhere- with our infrastructure of trains, trucks, ships and planes- leads to the inevitable burning of fossil fuels.
Waste.  Many products can have negative consequences after the useful product life is over.  It has been estimated that the average family throws away some 16 to 20 tons of garbage and waste a year.


The chapter then goes on to talk about "Product Assessment" and the relationship between design and ecology.  The issues of Product Assessment are as follows;

• The exhaustion of scare or finite resources.
• The production of greenhouse gases.
• The production of chloroflourocarbons leading to ozone depletion.
• The production of acid rain.
• Habitat destruction and species extinction.
• Materials or processes that harm plants, animals and humans.
• Air, soil and water pollution.
• Noise pollution with its deleterious effect on the human psyche.
• Visual pollution.

Packaging and shrouding are next discussed in this chapter.  The "Six-sided Function Matrix" is introduced and is as follows;

• Method- tools, materials and processes.
• Association- Family and early environment, education and culture.
• Aesthetics- Perception and eidetic and biosocial "givens".
• Need- Survival, identity and goal formation.
• Consequences- Ecological/ environmental, social/ societal, material and energy use.
• Use- As a tool, as communication and as a symbol.

"It is a valuable concept that there is nothing now in the world that needs to be packed and shipped."  Pg34


The text then goes on to discuss the possibility that packaging solutions of the past were more effective and responsible.  Examples of such packaging materials include mosses, sawdust, crushed and dried leaves, dried grasses, woodchips and cotton bags filled with down or feathers.  These materials can be recycled, organic and will return to the natural environment.
  The next few pages go on to give the advantages and disadvantages of different materials and widely used products such as plastics and tyres.  Some shocking statistics and anecdotes are employed;


"In 1984 seven million tyres began burning in Winchester, Virginia.  The fire lasted for more than nine months and nearly seven hundred thousand gallons of oil oozed out."


Next, an interesting concept called "Design for Disassembly" is discussed and examples are given.  The chapter ends looking forward to the future and what changes need to made to our design mentality and design schooling. How; "...all design education must be based on ecological methods and ideas." Pg48





A Summary


"William McDonough Lectures on Cradle 2 Cradle".  Filmed Feb 2005.  TED Productions.  Viewed 26/ 11/ 10.  Available at;


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html

• William McDonough starts off the lecture by giving the example of the child's toy rubber duck.  However, despite being a childrens toy, the duck has a warning sticker on it stating that chemicals in it can cause cancer and birth and reproductive defects. He also mentions the Pendleton Blanket that contains substances which can cause Alzheimer's.
• He then goes on to talk about "Abundance driven by the sun"; one of the ideals he works towards.  
• "Intention of the human species" is then discussed.  He states that the first question we ask ourselves as designers is; "How do we love the children of all species for all time?"
• McDonough then goes on to talk about how most corporations have a "Strategy of Tragedy" in that there are always negative end games such as global warming or mercury poisoning as a result of their existence.  McDonough wants to see corporations with no end game, but an "infinite game".  This is summed up in his manifesto; "Our goal is a delightfully diverse, safe, healthy and just world; with clean air, water, soil and power.  Economicaly, equitably, ecologically and elegantly enjoyed."
• While referring to our age of oil, McDonough states that; "The Stone-Age didn't end because we ran out of stones."
• At this point in the lecture, William McDonough proceeds to cite a timeline of his development as a designer.  He quotes his old college tutor, Roger Meyers;"Bill, you gotta understand...solar energy has nothing to do with architecture."
• The first chapter in Cradle 2 Cradle is called "This Book is Not a Tree." He expresses how he feels that it is degrading that something which is so complex is used to make something so banal; "Makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water, accrues solar energy as fuel, makes complex sugars and food, creates micro-climates, changes colour with the seasons and self replicates...lets knock it down and write on it!"
• The next section of the talk is under the heading "Growth is good" and McDonough muses over DNA and the ideas surrounding it.  He talks about how growth is a precondition even for simple replication; how even simple life forms must have a free form of energy and how ther needs to be an open system of chemicals operating for the benefit of the organism and its reproduction.  McDonough questions how we could apply these notions to the growth of businesses;

• "Could human artifice be a living thing?  Therefore, the question becomes: What do you want to grow? "

•   Another of the notions he describes is that of "Biological and Technical Nutrition"- materials in closed cycles that can be recycled infinitely.
•   To the end of the lecture, he gives examples of his most recent work which includes work he has been doing for the Chinese government.  He has designed several new cities for China, using the Cradle 2 Cradle model.  Innovations include "waste-to-fertiliser" and "waste-to-natural gas" sewage systems and roof space which is used as argricultural land.

Research Begins!

Here are two books/ texts which I shall be looking at to begin my research for the Design Futures dissertation;

• The Green Imperative;  Ecology and Ethics in Design and Architecture by Victor Papanek.  Published by Thames and Hudson.

• The Future of Sustainability: Rethinking Environment and Development in the Twenty-first Century.  Report of the IUCN Renowned Thinkers Meeting, 29–31 January 2006.  By W.M. Adams  (2006). 

Dissertation mind map.

Here is a rough draft of a mind-map for my proposed dissertation topic; "Responsibility of the Designer".  This topic could change or vary, this was just an exercise testing the water!

Carbon Intensity in Materials and Processes and Design.

Carbon Intensity in Materials and Processes and Design.

Robin Burns

Year Three Product Design

A Summary Definition

Carbon Intensity is the average emission rate of a given pollutant from a given source relative to the intensity of a specific activity; for example grams of carbon dioxide released per mega joule of energy produced, or the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions produced to GDP.  Emission intensities are used to compile estimates of air pollutant or greenhouse gas emissions based on the quantity of fuel combusted, industrial production levels, distances travelled or similar activity data.  Emission intensities may also be used to compare the environmental impact of different fuels or activities. (Natsource 2010)

  Carbon Intensity can be very closely related to Embodied Energy, which is the total amount of energy required to produce a product or material.  Embodied Energy includes the energy used in sourcing, manufacture, delivery and installation of the product, and materials required for its ongoing use.  (Skills & Knowledge Team of the Homes and Communities Agency, 2008 - 2010.)

"The processes that transform raw materials into products requires the combustion of fossil fuels for energy." (Jedlicka, W., 2009.)

A History of Carbon Intensity

The human race has been producing large quantities of carbon through manufacture ever since the Industrial Revolution began in the 18th Century.  The Industrial Revolution began first in Western Europe and North America and then filtered through to the rest of the world.  The main fuel of that period was refined coal, which when combusted, produces CO2.  It was used to fuel the steam engines, powered machinery with metal tooling and the other many new advances in technology that were part of the Industrial Revolution.  The full impact of the Industrial Revolution was summed up in these words from Robert E. Lucas Jr. (2002);

  "For the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth...Nothing remotely like this economic behaviour has happened before." 

  Even during the Industrial Revolution people felt there was a need to manage the sheer amounts of carbon emissions.  The Arts and Crafts Movement, led by such people as William Morris was one of the first backlashes against "carbon intensive" and "environment degrading"  (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  pp. 11) new industries.  The Modernist Movement were next to rise against these new industries.  Members of the Bauhaus believed that form follows function.  They championed standard, simplified forms to facilitate the manufacture of good-quality, durable goods.  They felt that this contributed to social reform as it meant that furniture was available to the masses.  Marcel Breuer- a member of the Bauhaus- showed his concern of Carbon Intensive processes with his design of flat-pack furniture, which as a result of it's format, would be more efficient to manufacture and transport, thus cutting down on the carbon emitted during these activities.

  Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the Carbon Emissions as a result of manufacture and extraction of raw materials has grown at an exponential rate.  In this period the world's income has increased 10 fold, along with the world's population which has increased 6 fold. (Maddison, A.  2003)  This is because of the evolution of industry.  First there was the Industrial Revolution, then there was the Second Industrial Revolution (around 1850), followed by the invention of the internal combustion engine and then later by the introduction of electric power generation.  As industry has grown, so has its Carbon Intensity, rising from "1.6 billion tonnes of CO2 in 1960, to 7 billion tonnes in 1997" (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  pp. 11 ).

  The type of products we consume today is another factor which has led to the increase of Carbon Emissions.  The linear concept of a product’s "Birth>life>death" is directly linked its Embodied Energy.  (Jedlicka, W., 2009.  pp. 2 ).

  "Some products lead short miserable lives, destined for a one-way trip between the retail shelf and burial in a landfill". (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  pp.12)

  Prime examples of these kinds of products include packaging, novelties and electronics.  There was a time when products were meant to last, but nowadays products have a built-in life expectancy.  This is done if the product was designed to be disposable, if a company wants the consumer to buy from them again within a certain timeframe or of a company gives a product (a good example of this being computer processors) an upgrade that the consumer doesn't necessarily need.

  "The big brands have the potential to reduce the environmental impact of their activities, but not if they persist in encouraging their customers to consume more, not less." (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  pp.13)

    Despite there being all this Carbon Intensive activity in the world, it is not evenly distributed.  The 25% of the world's population which lives in the developed world is responsible for 80% of the world's energy use, 90% of the world's car use and 85% of the world's chemical use.  (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.)

A breakdown of energy use in developed countries.  (Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by Command of Her Majesty, 2003.  pp. 11)

How Carbon Intensity Relates to Design

"The ultimate design challenge of the 21st Century is to avoid or minimize the adverse impacts of all products on the environment".  (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  pp. 8)

It has been said that the most effective way to protect the environment would be for the human race to stop living.  As killing off every human being isn't a viable option, designers should strive to be "eco-pluralistic” (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  pp. 15).  This means that they will follow the mantra of "eco-pluralistic designers" and design materials and products that are sustainable, i.e. they don't harm eco-systems or constrain the options available to future generations.

  There are countless ways in which a product designer can design in such a way to reduce Carbon Intensity.  The first place for a designer to start is to understand energy.  When designing a product, a designer must carefully consider the energy involved in the weight, size, delivery distance, quality, efficiency, energy use and sourcing of materials. 

  A designer must try to use locally available materials and resources whenever possible, in other words "thinking globally, but acting locally" (Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  pp. 15).  As the materials and resources are on the designer's doorstep, the Carbon Intensity of the product produced is reduced.

  When designing an object to less Carbon Intensive, the designer must look at how to enable to components to be disassembled for ease of recycling and re-use at the end of its life.  Has the product been designed to be repaired or separated in components which are correctly labeled for recycling? (Brower, C. Mallory, R. and Ohlman Z., 2009.).  This means that the life-cycle of the product is no longer linear (Birth>life>death), but becomes more cyclic like in nature.

"When objects are re-born (recycled or reclaimed) and put back into the system again, this becomes circular consumption and thus imitates nature...."  (Jedlicka, W., 2009.  pp. 2)

  Efficiency is a simple, often over-looked and effective way to reduce Carbon Intensity in a product.  It's an eco-friendly quality that cuts down on energy used whether in production, transportation or use.  In terms of manufacture, efficiency means consuming less materials and labour to produce the end product.  (Brower, C. Mallory, R. and Ohlman Z., 2009)

  To cut down on a product's Carbon Intensity, a designer must look at its "Ecological Rucksack".   (Jedlicka, W., 2009.  pp. 245).  This term is coined to describe how many kilos of material must be mined (or grown) to produce one kilo of end product.

  The idea, as described in W. Jedlicka's work (2009), that designers should create safe objects of long term value and not burden future generations with the careless creation of dangerous products or processes should be closely adhered to.

Bibliography

Brower, C. Mallory, R. and Ohlman Z., 2009.  Experimental Eco-Deisgn.  China; SNP Leefung Printers Ltd.

Jedlicka, W., 2009.  Packaging Sustainability.  New Jersey; John Wiley and Sons, INC.

Fuad-Luke, A., 2009.  The Eco-Design Handbook.  3rd Ed.  London; Thames and Hudson Ltd.

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by Command of Her Majesty, 2003  Energy White Paper.  London; Crown Copyright.

Maddison, A., 2003.  The World Economy; Historical Statistics.  Paris; Development Centre OECD.

Lucas Jr., R. E., 2002.  Lectures on Economic Growth.  Cambridge; Harvard University Press.

Electronic Resources

Natsource, 2010.  Environmental Serivces; A Glossary of Terms.  [online] Available at; http://www.natsource.com/markets/index.asp?s=104  [Accessed 31 September 2010].

Skills & Knowledge Team of the Homes and Communities Agency,  2008 - 2010.  Glossary.  [online] Available at; http://skills.homesandcommunities.co.uk/glossary/9/lettere.  [Accessed 02 October 2010].

 

Wiki Group Meeting

Here is the photographic evidence of our group meeting in Drouthy's for our first project for the Design Futures module.  We were assigned the task to each create a Wikipedia entry on a chosen topic.  I chose the subject of "Carbon Intensities in Materials and Processes".
What will follow will be my Wikipedia entry on what I perceive "Carbon Intensities in Materials and Processes" to be, under the sub-headings of "Summary Definition", "A History of" and "How Carbon Intensity Relates to Design".

Design Futures