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Marrakech Process Task Force on Sustainable Lifestyles Designing Sustainable Lifestyles

How do you design “environmental sustainability” into a house, or a subway system or a government building? What does energy efficiency really look like when it’s happening in a refrigerator motor?

These are some of the questions that kept industrial design students in China, India and Brazil awake for a year. They were taking part in the Creative Communities for Sustainable Lifestyles project, which enlisted three top design schools to envision scenarios for sustainable living in these countries, and come up with interactive technologies to make them happen.

Participating in the year-long project were the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in Guangzhou, China; the National Institute of Design, in Ahmedabad, India and the Technology and Social Development Laboratory at Rio de Janeiro Federal University in Brazil. The schools presented their ideas in workshops held in each of the cities. The discussions sparked a torrent of brainstorming among local designers, architects and public policy makers about how to design for a greener future.

The students’ involvement in the project typifies how industrial design schools are supplying decision-makers in wide-ranging fields with a steady stream of innovative thinkers able to meet the needs of environmentally conscious consumers.

To respond to changes in the ways people are buying food, for instance, designers are coming up with energy-efficient refrigerators with wider doors and more space, to accommodate the special needs of urban food purchase groups that place large orders from rural vendors. They are developing interactive software that allows those same groups to order their food with the push of a single button.

To promote sustainable transport systems, designers are creating technologies that help carpoolers coordinate plans, map out a route to a common destination and log pick-up and drop-off times into a database – all from a cell phone. Details down to the shape of magnetic keys used to open a communal car are considered to ensure personal safety and sustainability.

“A designer, working with a company, can make it easier for people to use these kinds of collective, urban services that promote sustainable living,” says Ezio Manzini, Director of the Design and Innovation for Sustainability research unit at the renowned Politecnico di Milano University, which was involved with the project.

Governments, however, can take on the lead by developing national legislative frameworks that allow for greener living, doing things like designating high-occupancy car lanes on highways, or carpool parking lots on office campuses.

The Creative Communities project generated a few related spin-off initiatives, including an online lecture for Brazilian universities, hosted by Mr. Manzini. Discussion is underway to continue the project in Africa.


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