A blog about design at the OU.
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Boiler bans for off grid homes-a rural design challenge?
Reducing energy and associated carbon emissions from the built environment is critical to meeting our climate targets. A key part of the Government’s strategy for this in England (energy policy is a devolved matter), is to decarbonise heating in residential properties by shifting away from fossil fuels. Announced by the Government as far back as […]
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Have you ever thought of doing a PhD?
A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) is awarded for postgraduate study in any subject (not only Philosophy) which involves substantial independent research that can be considered to be ‘adding to knowledge’ in your area. It usually takes 3-4 years full-time in the UK, produces a single-authored thesis of up to 100,000 words (depending on discipline), and […]
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50 years of design teaching
Recently we held the first event in a series to celebrate 50 years of design teaching and research at the Open University. The event was a discussion between Emeritus Professors Nigel Cross and Robin Roy, both of whom played key roles in developing design teaching from its inception, and myself, who as an […]
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COP26 – Is 1.5 still alive?
After unprecedented global news coverage, the United Nations COP26 conference ended on 13 November 2021 with the Glasgow Climate Pact agreed by the 196 countries present. The Pact was only achieved after a last-minute weakening of its wording on the use of coal from ‘phase out’ to ‘phase down’ after objections from India […]
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Creative Activism, COP26, Emerging and Forgotten Voices
Today is the last day of COP26 and, being based in Glasgow, I thought it would be a good time to share some thoughts and images. I don’t want to write about COP26 itself, but rather about how creative activism has reshaped the city space and visually and emotionally engaged people in the last two […]
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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 […]
