Research



Sustainability Research

General Sustainable solutions

Energy Conservation... saving energy by monitoring use (within the home and manufacturing/production)

Recycling... Re-using materials from former products to create new.

Materials... Using materials that are biodegradable or recyclable when creating products or  selecting materials that require less energy to manufacture.

Multi-use... Designing or creating a product with more than one use in order to save energy and require less products purchased.


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Biomimicry

When researching into sustainability I came across information about biomimicry, I was instantly drawn in as I am very interested in nature and natural form and I try to inject it into all my projects, and so when I saw that this could be a way to encourage a sustainable design concept I was sure that this is what i wanted to focus on. 



' Nature is full of solutions
looking for problems to solve. '
                          
                                 ~Christopher Viney


    I feel that before we as a race started to destroy the planet in our ways, nature's processes were creating life as well as looking after the environment and so in my opinion I think that by mimicking nature, and observing and acting upon, we can get back to the purity of the earth before it is too late.







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    Modularity


    When researching into modularity I found that there are 3 main effects on sustainability.
    1. ease of manufacturability
    2. ease of upgrade 
    3. ease of repair


    Designing a product which gives the customer options rather than a 'one way' product which may need to be modified by the customer after purchase. This 
    saves cost, energy and within design, customer satisfaction.

    Designing a product that is broken down meaning one section of the product can be upgraded at one time, this means that the product wouldn't need to be re-designed over and over but could simply have a part upgraded. This

    'Modularity reduces time and cost to repair an item as the Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) becomes a part of the whole unit, instead of the unit itself.'


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    Longevity

    Creating a design which is long-lasting. 
    I looked deeper into this to find out methods and how long-lived products effect customers.


    Emotional Connection is a powerful incentive to purchase an object or keep hold of a product, this is why 'longevity' tries to get the point across that a more expensive product more often than not would be a better investment than to always pay cheap.


    “an object is most used when the user forms an emotional connection with it and that there is a shift towards designing products that provoke an emotional response in users by highlighting the object’s symbolic function”. 
                                                                            ~Rochus Jacob
    Emotional Connection With Product Essential To Design’s Longevity




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    Dematerialisation

    Dematerialisation is simply the use of less materials, there are many ways to go about this whether it be an action taken after a product is produced or before.

    I found a very straight forward bullet pointed list that covers everything i could think of and more: 


    • resource savings in material extraction,
    • improved eco-design of products
    • technological innovations in the production process
    • environmentally conscious consumption patterns
    • recycling of waste, etc.
    • the conception and manufacture of a smaller or lighter product
    • the replacement of material goods (for instance a letter on paper replaced by an email)
    • the reduction in the use of material systems or of systems requiring large infrastructures (for instance using telecommunications instead of using a car to go to work.





    The idea is to compare the total flow of materials on the eco-cycle against the service produced in order to work out whether the materials need to be reduced to be environmentally acceptable.

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    Locamotive Research


    I started looking at the aspect, ‘locamotive’. Firstly I didn’t attempt to think of a design that I could create but an object which already exists that is linked to movement. This I thought, would be a good way to research but also maybe give me ideas for my own design .

    Now that I have done research into aspects of sustainability, I tried to link the locomotive research to one or more of the sustainable solutions I have chosen to look at above.


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    Movement in Nature 


    I have decided to focus on nature, and see how i can link it in the both locomotive and sustainability. Therefore I think it would be a good idea to think about ideas for an outdoor space as this would directly involve my research but also keep to the brief given.




    Here are some example of images that represent both nature and movement, as nature is sustainable by itself without human destruction I plan to create a design from this idea taking into account biomimicry, as this relates directly and the research I did into this will help me to come up with an initial idea before I develop it into my final concept.


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    Natural Form


    I like that this project is allowing me to look into something that I am already interested in and so I have decided to use my knowledge and interest of natural form as the basis of my idea design concept.


    I have always been amazed by the way in which tree branches grow so unpredictably resulting in mesmerizing shapes being created.


    The beauty of nature is something that I am sure not only I see. also i think that, by drawing attention to its beauty, the public will connect and hopefully become more environmentally aware and maybe start to take action within their own lives to help save the planet.


    By using its natural form, combined with an element of design and manipulation I am sure I can come up with a piece of outdoor furnishing that the public can admire as well as use. I shall now start to sketch some quick designs to show the types of ideas I have.  





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