We started our formal study this week. In the lecture, the lecturer discussed the relationship between the environment and human experience. We live in an era in which human beings are profoundly changing the earth. This era is called the Anthropocene. While shaping society through industrialization, urbanization, resource exploitation, and other behaviors, human beings have inevitably caused damage to natural ecology. This led me to question if humans and nature truly stand in opposition to each other.
Historically, humans have tried to conquer nature through technology and culture. For an extended period, it appeared that we frequently discussed nature and culture independently, implicitly acknowledging that our actions would harm the environment. But in fact, human beings are part of nature. As stated by Fallan and Jorgensen (2017), the environmentalist movement sees arts and crafts as a pioneering endeavor. Nature and culture are interdependent systems, and design must reflect the relationship that exists between them to achieve sustainable outcomes in the future.
This means that designers have a key role to play in this process. First of all, William Morris and his novel News from Nowhere (1890) inspired me. The existing environment and case always constrain my design process, preventing me from making potentially “wrong” decisions. But now I realize that designers have to get out of their comfort zone and be bold and innovative to really drive change.
Secondly, Fry (2009) believes that designers need to realize that sustainable design is not only about reducing damage but also about repairing the environment through innovative practices. I can’t agree more with that. We frequently overlook the harm humans have inflicted upon the environment. What can we do and write? For me as an interior designer, the choice of renewable and recyclable materials is a key consideration. Through taking use of renewable materials such as bamboo and recycled wood as an example, which can greatly reduce the environmental impact of buildings and thus reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources. This can help the ecological resources gradually move toward balance. Also the use of recycled metals in buildings reduced the need for mining the environmental impact associated with raw material mining. And that gives nature more time to repair itself and regenerate.
Daudén, J. (2020) 如何利用回收与再生材料？10个面向未来的室内设计, ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.cn/cn/943612/ru-he-li-yong-hui-shou-yu-zai-sheng-cai-liao-10ge-shi-nei-xiang-mu-an-li (Accessed: 30 November 2024).
In general, I think designers should be the pioneers in realizing these aspirations. In fact, there are still many obstacles in the way. For example, even though sustainable materials can provide long-term benefits to the environment, the cost of their widespread adoption in the construction industry is very high. And because these technologies and materials are still in the early stage of research and development, the availability of these sustainable new technologies and materials is also limited. In addition to practical problems, including my own problems, the psychological problem of relying too much on the transmission design is also one of the obstacles. So it is going to be a long road for society and designers.
Bibliography:
1.Fallan, K. and Jørgensen, F.A. (2017) ‘Environmental Histories of Design: Towards a new research agenda’, Journal of Design History, 30(2), pp. 103–121. doi:10.1093/jdh/epx017.
2.Fry, T. (2009) Design futuring [Preprint]. doi:10.5040/9781350036079.
