Design in the new Do-It-Yourself age: trialing workshops for repairing

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Salvia, G, 2015. Design in the new Do-It-Yourself age: trialing workshops for repairing. In: Virtuous Circle: Summer Cumulus Conference, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy, 3-7 June 2015, Milan.

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Abstract

Traces of a renovated interest in Do-It-Yourself (DIY) have been observed in relation to technological advances and lowered prices facilitating the access to the practice at different levels of skills. This research envisaged the DIY trend as an opportunity to foster sustainable impact in a society where everyone can and does design. In this paper the role of Design in this ‘new’ DIY age is addressed. In particular professional designer as facilitator in investigated when supporting the DIY practitioners in repairing, reusing and in general practices prolonging product lifespan (RE-DIY). The facilitator role is studied through action research approach by setting four workshops in Italy in which designers supported practitioners in repairing and repurposing in ideal workspaces. The repairing workshops validated the hypothesis of a positive contribution by design in supporting the development of RE-DIY practice by optimizing resources (e.g. saving materials), informing on processing (e.g. 3D printing), increasing quality (e.g. refining the aesthetics). Critical components of the workshops have been identified such as the relevance of facilities, availability of time, emotional attachment to the item. These can be overtaken through the use of professional Design expertise based on abductive approach, finding an ordering principle and reasoning on multiple levels.

Item Type:	Conference contribution
Alternative Title:	The role of design to catalyse sustainable DIY design
Creators:	Salvia, G.
Date:	2015
Divisions:	Schools > School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Record created by:	EPrints Services
Date Added:	09 Oct 2015 09:58
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2015 14:25
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5597