Hi Sustainable Designers!
On Wednesday this week we will have Daniel Hansson as a guest, talking about holistic, systems approaches to design which extend back to writings from thousands of years ago.
In this class we will look at how to approach design with a view that takes us above our usual reductionist and narrow viewpoint. Several of our lecturers, including for example Anna maria Orru on Biomimicry, have used holistic, systems-oriented understandings of the world to make truly amazing designs which are truly innovative in the face of complexity.
Daniel has given us some unusual literature to read this week, including:
- Autumn Floods, written by Chuang Tzu over 2000 years ago (3rd century BC)
- The Worm in the Blood, a short letter written by philospher Baruch Spinoza in the 1600s
- Physical Interlude, also by Spinoza
- Sustainability Education Outside the Cartesian Box by Daniel Himself, published 2012 in the Journal of Sustainability Education.
Click the titles to go to the article (all are in the course reader also). These are quite short, and are essential reading for the lecture!
In addition to these articles, you will also find included in the reader a chapter on Leonardo da Vinci, the great artist, scientist, inventor and perhaps designer who lived centuries before the notion of 'design' existed. This Leonardo article is not part of the required reading for this week, but recommended for all of you nonetheless.
See you at the class,
- Lakin and Heleen