Hello hello!

In this blog, I am mainly going to talk about the debate that was held during the seminar as I have just walked out of it and found it very interesting, enriching and raised a lot of questions for me personally. I unfortunately did not make it to the workshop in the morning but tried to carry out the task myself (fig. 1).

Figure 1: Circular Redesign idea – deodorant packaging.

Today, I was on the ‘against’ side of the motion ‘This house (i.e. we) would enforce a circular economy’ and throughout my research I actually found a lot of limitations to the idyllic ‘circular economy’ model. There is quite a few reasons that this way of living would not be as beneficial as it sates to be in our current society and here are a few that stuck out to me;

1. The limits of recyclability is a big one, and especially in the design field where we are so reliant on a materials properties. Materials degrade and disperse over time and with use, and recycling will (more or less depending on the material) loose of their original high quality. This is definitely a limitation in interior design and specifically construction as it is extremely reliant on material properties of strength and toughness which could in the long run compromise safety and durability. Furthermore, restoring end-of-life products to a reusable state requires a lot of energy and new material inputs.
2. Consumer mindset and behaviour is another, if not the biggest in my opinion, challenge as it requires us to detach from throwaway culture which is so deeply rooted in our current society. Changing consumerist habits that are so deeply ingrained is a big challenge and something that needs to come from a strong communal desire to do so. An individual living according to the circular economy model in a society that does not support it can only have a limited impact.

A lot of very interesting points were made by both parties of the debate and I can’t cite them all but it was overall such a nice conversation and realisation that the incentive to make positive change is actually mostly there and that it is now about implementing it on a deeper level. But I really do believe that our governments will eventually have to follow through if we put enough pressure emphasis the common wish to do so. It is now about making it happen sooner rather than later.

Bibliography:

The Circular Economy and its limitations (W5) / Emilie Noel / Environmental Design: Materials, Ecologies, Futures (2024-2025)[SEM1] by is licensed under a