Week1 Me, Interior Design and Environmental Design –Yichen Jiang

Me (self-introduction):
This is my blog for the first week! My name is Jiang Yichen. I’m from China. My major is interior design, and this is my third year in the University of Edinburgh. At once, in high school, I realized that “space” was a concept that permeated all aspect of our existence. Since I have discovered that space may immediately evoke a variety of emotions in people. Whether the environment was good or comfortable in traditional terms or not, I was attracted by the feeling that its diversity kept my mind engaged and creative.

Cano P. (2024) UNStudio 设计德国塔楼，聚焦环境友好与社交可持续性. https://www.archdaily.cn/cn/988451/unstudio-she-ji-de-guo-ta-lou-ju-jiao-huan-jing-you-hao-yu-she-jiao-ke-chi-xu-xing.

 

Space plays a vital role in influencing the way people live, it is not just a set of organized walls. Nowadays, with the worsening of environmental problems around the world, sustainable development is slowly sweeping the globe. As a result, interior design and environmental design, two fields with similar core philosophies, are becoming increasingly intertwined. Now, as interior designers, in addition to making the space beautiful and comfortable, our responsibility is to make the space more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Environmental design and interior design complement each other. They work together to create a beautiful, useful and sustainable environment while promoting resource reuse, a circular economy and harmonious interaction between man and nature.

So I chose this course because it fits my principles and interests. I understand the importance of the design domain chain for global sustainability, and fortunately this topic is also related to my field of interest, so I hope to develop new ideas and synchronized design habits that will help find a solution. I believe the learning and thinking process is worth it!

 

Here is an example of environmental design I chose:

The tennis speaker from the British firm hearO is the design I went with since it is really interesting. Yearly, thousands upon thousands of championship tennis balls are retired (hearO). He began considering reusing the tennis balls that were thrown away after realizing that ignoring them would be an enormous waste of resources.

Because the creator of the hearO Tennis speaker thought about the features

of the original tennis ball, this is an excellent case of reuse. For this, hearO works with a group of specialists from several fields. For example, they attempted stamping cutting and 3D printing rails with skilled rubber cutters from the Woodash Group in the shoe and boot sector of Northampton, England, in an effort to maintain as much of the original as possible. The resultant structure was able to hold onto over 75% of the tennis balls. They also collaborated with the Paris-based Innov8 Group to build electronics that match the properties of a tennis ball, like a longer battery life and improved speaker sound quality, in order to finish new goods with new features. HearO is also aiming to help the creation of a sustainable environment through partnerships with numerous groups and organisations, in addition to its own efforts in product environment design. In one case, they collaborate with The European Nature Trust, and they plant a tree to restore wilderness for each speaker they create.

hearO (no date). https://www.hearospeaker.com/.

While it reduces waste, encourages the use of sustainable resources, and creates new and desirable commodities while solving many problems. However, such a design also causes some problems, such as the tennis shell will limit the design flexibility, so that it can not meet the diversified needs of product appearance and function, which may lead to higher research and development and production costs. Secondly, the durability of recycled materials and their acoustic properties may be slightly inferior to the materials used in traditional similar products, which may reduce consumers' desire to consume. But overall I think the environmental design of the HearO tennis speakers is excellent. And while the tennis speaker alone won't fully solve the global climate crisis, its importance and the environmental efforts the company supports will continue to have a positive impact on the environment.

 

Conclusion:

To put it briefly, I am enthusiastic about researching environmental design because it excites and honors me to work in an area that I love and make the world a better place for people. Obviously space is not the only factor. In order to live a more environmentally conscious life and consider design from every perspective, including my everyday activities, I hope to learn more about environmental design in this course. Through doing so, I hope I can make a positive impact on the world and contribute to the creation of a healthier planet. Looking forward to the next study!

 

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