Tutor: Tim Denshire-Key

Friday 1:30 – 4:30

Design for sustainability goes beyond focusing on creating new products with low environmental impact. It requires rethinking how products are designed, how needs are resolved, and how resources are used. The Industrial Revolution brought about a linear model of production and consumption. In the 21st century, these practices are moving to a circular model in which products and/or materials are kept in a continuous loop through different design strategies including reusing, remanufacturing, reassembly, repairing, upcycling, reclaiming, upgradability, standardisation, among others. These strategies are relevant to a design approach known as Circular Economy.

Circular Economy is based on the idea of product restoration and regeneration while expanding a product’s lifespan beyond its ‘traditional’ life-cycle. Keeping and extending the product’s functionality and value through continuous material loops is paramount. This concept moves away from just material recyclability, which in many cases is not planned and it only achieves the recovery of some materials.

The class will be a broad introduction to key concepts relating to the circular economy. You will be required to participate in a mix of in-class discussion, practical exercises, site visits, critical reflections, along with research of current design practices and new consumption models.
You will be exposed to issues of material sustainability while envisioning new consumption and production practices.