Category: Design comment
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Do we need to redesign the COPs?
Today was the much-heralded (in my circles at least) ‘Built environment day’ at COP26. I have been trying to follow it on Twitter, which is ideal for those of us with short attention spans who are also meant to be working. There are some exciting events going on, and some brilliant and passionate speakers, and […]
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Doing it for the ‘gram: Design, influencers and affluenza.
There is (rightly) no getting away from discussion of the climate emergency, especially this week as Cop26 is underway in Glasgow. Whilst many problems that contribute to the crisis are global, political and very difficult to solve, there are others that, frustratingly, are driven by greed, social media, and personal choices. We could put the […]
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COP26 UN Climate Change Conference – ‘Code red for Humanity’
Image; Rise in average surface temperature 2048-2051 from 1951-1980 based on IPCC 4th Report, Robin Roy, October 2020 As you’ve probably heard, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) – called COP26 because it’s the 26th annual UN climate change conference since 1995 – will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from […]
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The Unvaccinated: The new marginalized to co-design with?
The photo is from a London demonstration in May. Source: https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2021-05-30/Thousands-in-London-protest-against-the-use-of-COVID-19-vaccines-10Fse7trwBO/index.html I am with a friend in Athens, we are having dinner at a terrace. He is cold, but we cannot get inside because of me. My EU Covid certificate, which I obtained as I recovered from Covid back in April, has just recently […]
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LEARN x DESIGN Conference on Design Education
The 6th International DRS EdSIG Conference on Design Education, LEARN x DESIGN 2021 was held in September 2021, hosted by Shandong university of Art & Design, China. The 2021 Conference was a great success, particularly considering the challenges facing the organisers. Shortly after the announcement was made that Shandong would host the conference, the COVID-19 […]
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Retrofit and new build – the policy reality gap
I was quietly minding my own business on Thursday the 24th of June when not one, but two colleagues emailed me to say that Radio 4’s The World at One was discussing heritage buildings and that I might want to listen in. Through the wonders of BBC Sounds I was able to go back and […]
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Rethinking household chores, and game design about farming industry among student projects presented at OU Annual Design Show.
A low-tech solution where kids exercise and tumble wash their clothes, a grocery trolley designed according to Inclusive Design principles, and an app that relies on true body size, not labels to curate your online shopping experience were among the projects presented at the Annual OU Design Show. This year, over 50 projects across the […]
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What is the role of urban robotics in an unpredictable world?
Rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are making urban robotics an everyday reality. In this blog post we summarise the story of Starship robots in Milton Keynes (MK) to assess their contribution to the complementary mechanisms and institutions that supported the most vulnerable in MK during a challenging point of the Covid19 pandemic. We then […]
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The impact of the built environment on climate change – and of climate change on the built environment
Why is the built environment important to climate change? We all live and work in buildings, and they provide us with shelter and warmth, belonging and protection. However the built environment is responsible for a huge 39% of all global carbon emissions, far higher than any other individual sector. This 39% can be divided into […]
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Reviving Department Stores as Destination Spaces
The London Architecture Festival comes to an end this Wednesday after a month of diverse and fascinating events. With many being hosted online this year, this has afforded the opportunity to attend far more than would normally be possible. Elouise Huxor and I have been exploring some of the discussions around learning spaces, and in […]