INTRO
hello.
This is Hajer, a postgrad at ECA. I’m a Graphic Designer and an Artist dabbling in Mixed Media art forms. My favourite median being charcoal.
I’m interested in social change and activism. I have won two global awards in the categories of social justice and human rights for my anti book banning campaign “MISSING INK” and “TRANSCARE” about transgender healthcare. I decided to join ECA because I wanted to challenge myself and further push the boundaries of what I can achieve and change in the world as a designer. I’m extremely interested in music, books, film, and photography. I’m eager to learn about environmental design due to the high level of environmental damage I’ve witnessed in my country, Kuwait.
I also have written my thesis for my undergraduate degree about greenwashing, which introduced me to the world of environmental design. The thesis was labelled “The influence of unethical design on human behaviour and consumption”, I’ve explored many jarring examples of unethical design and the effects of greenwashing on the environment which led me to rethink the ethics behind my practice as a graphic designer. I wanted to be able to exercise a profession I love without inflicting damage to our environment, and that has expanded my interest into the topic alongside participating in a manifesto zine design” INK AND IMPACT” as part of responsible design week in 2024 and participating with “DESIGN DECLARES” in design council design for planet in 2022 while advocating for environmental change. My interest in design activism expanded and I found myself drawn and fascinated by the environmental impact of design, witnessing the irreversible damage done to the environment has lit up my desire to install change. I want to obtain the critical skills that allows a designer to implement change both In theory and in practice, and hopefully contribute to a more conscious society.
The piece of environmental design that has peaked my interest is related to a massive environmental issue in my country Kuwait, climate change has raised the temperature to an alarming extent, with the hot summers reaching up to 60 degrees celsius. Wind catchers were found in Kuwait in ruins of ancient air conditioning. There has always been a theme for indigenous architecture in Kuwait, and for the longest time, I believed it was a decorative architectural design, but this article proves that in ancient times, these decorative vents worked as a natural cooling system, utilising the material the houses were built from. “it is an ingenious interior cooling system based on the flow of air, caught by openings in the tower superstructure,” Windcatchers work by evaporative cooling. Heat converts water to vapour which takes heat with it as it evaporates, just like sweat does for the body.” The History Blog (2016)
(Altuntaş, 2021)
(Altuntaş, 2021)
The History Blog, (2016)
This is an interesting discovery of how humans used to operate before the discovery of electricity, which led me to the thought that if this method is reintroduced to modern architecture, part of the finite energy consumption issue can be resolved and would serve as a natural solution to the raising temperatures, in a very circular and self sustained system.
REFERENCE LIST
Altuntaş, L. (2021) World’s First Air Conditioners ‘Windcatchers’, Arkeonews. Available at: https://arkeonews.net/worlds-first-air-conditioners-windcatchers/.
Ruins of ancient air conditioning found in Kuwait – The History Blog (2016) Thehistoryblog.com. Available at: https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/41955 (Accessed: 24 November 2024).