REFLECTION ON AUB SYMPOSIUM:
After hearing from 14 inspiring speakers, the urge to act and start to experiment on how we can design for a better world has kickstarted in me. The two-day event was an incredible experience as it allowed me to realise the deep-rooted issues that humanity has created for the planet, moreover the solutions we can start acting upon to counteract these negative systems as designers, innovators, and creators. These solutions can come in many forms it does not have to be campaigning or reiterating the issues, in fact, campaigning is the minimum we can do for getting the word out ultimately does not invoke enough change. This symposium has taught me that change can come from materials, natural resources, natural forms, public projects, and fields that are yet to be explored, but the solution must not intervene with accessibility and ethics and conform to a body that is accepted by all. A key aspect of the symposium that has stuck with me, is that we need to figure out how to heal our planet, not just for our generation, but for the entire planet’s life because everything that has ever been made creates waste, either for the time it is alive or its creation cycle.
SUSTAINABILITY, REGENERATION, ETHICS, AND VALUES:
Some of the core themes reflected and noted throughout the symposium related to sustainability and regeneration, ethics of work and procedures, and values relating to dealing with human interactions. Talked about by speakers Franziska Conrad and Edward Ward, a closed-loop zero-waste system is where materials and living organisms can fully sustain within an environment and don’t need third-party aid for their survival, additionally then can reuse what supposed waste they make to further encourage growth and not waste anything outside of the cycle. Conrad mentioned that “nothing in the natural world is wasted” and such we should try and take massive inspiration from the world we live in to follow these ideologies and concepts for increasing the longevity of our planet. Mentioned briefly, Conrad talked about a silkworm printer created by MIT and how they used silkworms to create a 3D hanging dome. The idea behind using a natural work force could be seen as an ethical dispute due to exploiting natural work for human benefit uses a lot of additional energy, ultimately using more than we gain and the idea of consent from participants has been completely overseen. The limitations of humankind constantly adapting – many may see this as a steppingstone and want to follow this same line to a larger scale with potentially more ethical and moral queries.
ACCESSIBILITY, INCLUSIVITY, AGENCY, AND INTENT:
For a long time, there has been conflict between private landowners and the general public. There have been many decisions about removing local indigenous communities for conservational and preservation reasons, however there are arguments to be made that these low impact developmental groups (LID groups) are in fact regenerating the land around them and caring for it by living there. An example of this can be made from the Steward Community Woodlands in Dartmoor living within the Dartmoor National Park, where the council and private owners of the national park were denying the applications for housing made by the community on grounds of ruining the natural beauty of the park (citation here). When questioned about what housing style would be acceptable, the council could not give an answer and mentioned they were just following policies. These said policies are dated and such I feel should open for adaptation, where these communities have lived here for multiple generations, they have no access to any other housing and this is the only way of living they’re taught – to live naturally, produce minimal waste and to regenerate the environment that sustains them ultimately creating a regenerative and beneficial cycle.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
MIT Media Lab. 2018. Project Overview ‹ Silk Pavilion – MIT Media Lab. [online] Available at:
TerraCycle. n.d. Closed-Loop Solutions. [online] Available at:
Steward Community Woodland (n.d.). Steward Community Woodland - An introduction to the website [online]. Available from: https://www.stewardwood.org/intro.ghtml [Accessed 3 May 2022].
FitzGerald, O., Collins, C.M. and Potter, C., (2021). Woodland Expansion in Upland National Parks: An Analysis of Stakeholder Views and Understanding in the Dartmoor National Park, UK. Land, 10(3), p.270.