Sustainability in Theory

Circularity, being my first module, introduced me to a material-oriented approach to sustainability. This closely aligned to how I viewed sustainability before starting this course; something embedded mostly in materials rather than practice or philosophy. Frameworks like the Value Ladder and Butterfly Model (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2021) formed the core of the perspective we got introduced to. I see the models as lenses through which circularity's ideas are seen rather than being the core idea.

Circularity to me is about becoming aware of how extracting, making, and disposing has shaped modern-day production and material use, and how designed artifacts own a bigger responsibility beyond the use-phase.

Circularity is a direct response to the linear economy (Ministerie van Algemene Zaken, 2023), something that is very form-fit to an engineering-centered process, not necessarily a designer's exploration of what is beyond, like multispecies relationships or considering a non-patriarchal structure. I originally got interested in these alternative approaches to sustainability from the introductory lecture; the lecture given by Dr. Lenneke Kuijer who introduced how showering can be redesigned by considering the ritual, not the functionality of the shower (Kuijer, 2016). The latter being something an engineering-oriented professional would most likely consider first.

Regeneration is an exploration of sustainability beyond the constraints of the current system. It considers a more than human aspect which is the first time I got introduced to it in an academic perspective. It most resonates with my personal beliefs and ideology, that humanity is only one part of a broader complex system that is beyond our understanding it, and that we are disregarding it and even exploiting it in the name of progress.

Regeneration to me calls to consider that there is more than humanity and material on our planet. That segregation of humanity and nature is the very core of the modern-day disconnect.

Changing this starts with noticing and observing, which is what I learned most from this module through the sketching assignments and through the guest lecture at NOOF. What could be possibilities for connecting with nature and caring for it through beneficial practices, by observing and using tools such as sketching? That is the question that defines the regeneration module for me. What was interesting to note for me was that this is still happening from a human perspective. Human as caretaker, human as part of a system. This is where Rights of Nature challenged me more.

A project I found that resonated with what I learned from Circularity and Regeneration is the Trees From The Garden collection by Fraser (2026). As introduced by NOOF in their presentation, diversity is part of their idea of regeneration, which this project captures through variation and repetition of patterns. It also explores the co-creation with nature instead of extraction of timber. This is an idea I want to take from regeneration as well. Connected to Circularity this project also explores reusable materials and makes sure there's no need for adhesives or surface finishes, something well rooted in what I learned from Circularity myself.

Rights of Nature challenged me to try and understand and learn from perspectives that are more than human. What stood out to me the most is that marginalizing and "othering" tendencies of humans on more than human artifacts and beings can also be traced back to human on human behavior. Including more than humans in, for example, human legislation and perspectives may also re-sensitize people to consider perspectives more than their own. Challenging patriarchal thinking in favor of relationality.

Rights of Nature taught me to reflect on (mostly western) human systems, behaviors, and biases from a more-than-human perspective, and how to be sensitive and considerate of these more-than-human, and non-western, perspectives.

I want to include non-western because I feel that most education and theory in academia that I have considered in courses and projects has been that of western origin, which ties in with the engineering perspective from circularity. Inherently they are problem-solution oriented and value efficiency and progress from an individualistic point. More holistic and contextual perspectives exist in other cultures that I haven't considered or discussed. I see this as an opportunity.

An example I think connects with my interpretation of Rights of Nature is one I came across two years ago; Down in the Clouds by Practice on Earth + Increments Studio (Weimer, 2024). In particular I was attracted by their concept of breathing buildings through a non-western poetic background that seeks out to connect humans with nature through unusual forms and perspectives. To me this is something that isn't possible in the framwork of form-follows-function on which many designs are built in western thinking. This collection of buildings explores, to me, the more-than-human connection through buildings that integrate into the landscape: "We are not really designing things for you. We are trying to grow poems in a rice field" - Wu, taken from Weimer (2024).

Sustainability in my Vision & Practice

Sustainability as a Practice

Sustainability as a practice is something I have always been interested in, though I never took measures to apply it in my projects as it felt like an intangible problem. My stance on sustainability has been that it is such a wicked issue that no matter what materials are chosen, it will have negligible impact compared to structured projects aimed at curbing ecological damage. This was a very one-dimensional way of thinking looking back, and one rooted in the same part I see circularity; sustainability of material (use). In this course I learned that sustainability is an issue that can be tackled from multiple perspectives, like the one of multi-species relationality or co-creation, which I learned from Regeneration and got a better understand of from Rights of Nature.

Practices that I already used have been the use of open-source software and designing for modularity, very in line with Circularity. I wouldn't classify them as sustainable practices before this course. They were done more from an intrinsic value of democratizing design. Through especially Rights of Nature I have learned that this is in fact also part of sustainability.

Vision on Sustainability

Sustainability is more than the material and physical impact of humanity on their surrounding. Though this way of thinking is very much Industrial Design, I am of the belief that Industrial Design is moving into a realm of Post-Industrial Design. Designers are responsible for more than just aesthetics and designing of mass produced products, it is more and more about interfacing with the world and people around us. Sustainability through the forms of Regeneration and Rights of Nature are aimed at this new domain. Issues should be translated into a format that people can feel and empathize with.

Sustainability in my Future Practices

I want to start introducing sustainability as the basis on which I build projects. In particular I am interested in exploring prototyping materials and methods that strive away from plastics such as used in 3d-printing in favor of materials that can be foraged and reused like clay. I have used 3d-printing in many of my projects, but I have started noticing how false the notion of it being a sustainable technology is. I want to explore more bio-based materials with a natural origin instead of synthetics, this is what I want to do for my BEP and I'm already taking steps towards that. Even though material-based I want to explore it from a regeneration perspective, seeing the material as part of a larger cycle.

References

Ellen MacArthur Foundation. (2021, 12 februari). Butterfly diagram animation [Video]. Ellen MacArthur Foundation. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy-diagram

Fraser, M. (2026, 6 april). biodegradable thermoplastic casts tree bark and branches into light sculptures. Designboom | Architecture & Design Magazine. https://www.designboom.com/design/biodegradable-thermoplastic-tree-bark-branches-light-sculptures-mj-fraser/

Kuijer, L. (2016). Splashing: The Iterative Development of a Novel Type of Personal Washing. In Living Labs - Design and Assessment of Sustainable Living (pp. 63–74). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33527-8_6

Ministerie van Algemene Zaken. (2023, 24 oktober). From a linear to a circular economy. Circular Economy | Government.nl. https://www.government.nl/topics/circular-economy/from-a-linear-to-a-circular-economy

Weimer, D. (2024, 16 augustus). A Trio of Pavilions Bring Poetry—and Photo Ops—to a Rural Chinese Village. Architectural Record. https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/17057-a-trio-of-pavilions-bring-poetryand-photo-opsto-a-rural-chinese-village

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