SHARE for architecture & design within the society of sharing by Duffau & Associés

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for architecture and design within the society of sharing

2012

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preface

Luisa Castiglioni

2012

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[LC] Luisa Castiglioni & [MB] Massimo Banzi

Creativity and production belong to rapidly-developing universes. Innovation is currently being driven by the open-source systems that diffuse globally thanks to the Internet commerce centered on individuals as opposed to major industries. Interview with Massimo Banzi, co-founder of Arduino. [LC]

You are one of the most important people in the world of open-source, what do the links between production and society mean to you? How do you view the new opportunities? [MB]

My feeling is that in every historic period, a faction of society will always put itself on the line to explore new directions to create something innovative and avant-garde while the rest of society trundles along the same tracks. At the time of writing, the industrial world is changing because the physical production activities have moved towards the East and will gradually expand across Asia to include other important aspects of the production chain (creation and design). The traditional production model is changing very rapidly. And in this context, there are some forward-thinking, avant-garde creatives, the Makers, representing a movement that started at a grass-root level to experiment possible alternative scenarios. The new technology greatly facilitates the production and the economies associated with personalized articles to suit specific needs and the creative souls of the individual. The person, not the major industries, are at the center of this universe. [LC]

The worlds of design and architecture are your elective playground: in your opinion, are they able to change and evolve to satisfy the new opportunities of the future? [MB]

It is worth mentioning that when something becomes antiquated and static, at a certain point, it will be forced to change. This is exactly what is happening in the worlds of design, architecture, and creativity more in general. The same thing happened in the music world in the 70s when the punks exploded into mainstream entertainment, and this is similar to the effects of the DIY movement. At the time of writing, design has become fossilized on the traditional model designer/company/end-user. In particular in Italy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; until a few years ago the unchallenged world leader in design â&#x20AC;&#x201D; many do not understand the business models embodied in these new funding platforms or the forums for design and thought-sharing thoughts and plans.

These innovative systems shake the age-old foundations with the promise of being open to all and no longer proprietary as was the nature of the traditional design methods. Moreover, it was an interesting experiment to examine these recent phenomena in the context of the long tail statistical format examined by Chris Anderson, initially devised only for the sales of articles through the Internet. Now it is more frequent to invent a product, a service, a company and to survive with this invention, thanks to the community. The Internet has removed the intermediary from a whole series of businesses (when is the last time you bought an airline ticket through a travel agency?): now it is the companies and the designers themselves who are the intermediaries.

[LC]

How do you think Europe can create new energy and a new axis between local and global dimensions? [MB]

Thanks to the know-how uploaded through open sources (software, hardware, basic knowledge), there is an abundance of information available on any given subject. So even a small start-up in the middle of nothing has the possibility of developing something relevant and useful. The combination of characteristics, such as compact, agile, rapid, allows experimentation and sales (and market exposure) on a global level thanks to the Internet. In parallel, the appearance of fablabâ&#x20AC;&#x2030;/â&#x20AC;&#x2030;makerspaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2030;/ communities provides a local forum for meeting driven people with initiative, encouraging them to work together. These platforms are ideal for sharing knowledge and knowhow, and offering the unexpected opportunities to reconnect people and articles with their territory. This is the fertile medium for revitalizing the desire to get back to making something, re-appropriating traditional customs and habits and transforming people into active consumers, creators of experiences, projects and ideas. Luisa Castiglioni, italian journalist, specialized in, design and architecture, founder of Press-Office.

Creative Commons Share Alike (CC BY-SA)

introduction Nathalie Bruyère

2006

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[a]

In today’s world, marketing plays a predominant role and influences the way people lead their lives; essentially, it creates specific must-haves that define new markets. The simplest definition of “branding” is as follows:

“Branding is synonymous with brand power. Ultimately it is the power of a brand established by its association with one or more flagship products. The products may be manufactured or cultural merchandise... The objective is to give the brand a strong personality and its own identity, by promoting the life style created through that brand. Products are therefore images of life, in addition to being physical goods.” Multinational companies capture and influence our desires through branding, advertising and communication. Branding exploits some lifestyle values to orientate consumers to the goods being sold; in turn this contributes to the development and increases the power of multinational corporations. The products commercialised are therefore designed to represent a preconceived and artificial way of life. The branding of products is perfected to the point that consumers end up buying into the image of a lifestyle, rather than considering any tangible economic benefit. These sales techniques use all kinds of cultural factors to consolidate the position of major brands in the market, exploiting the names of product developers which are transformed into economic assets. Product developers no longer work on projects or representation which contribute to a common area; they focus on the development of concepts to construct their brand image, allowing them to monetise their entry into large multinationals. Product creators continuously seek publicity to consolidate their brand. They no longer draw a picture, or a vision of the future; creative work is no longer taken into consideration unless it is for an established brand. By the same measure, the work of designers is no longer a creative process, but geared only to produce market value. In view of the importance of branding and its effects, the budget that major brands dedicate to marketing and communication has reached record levels. In 2010, the global total was 500 billion US dollars — equivalent to one quarter of the French GDP. In order to service a budget in a production

system that is already under enormous pressure from the financial markets, the companies and the staff work in conditions that are frequently compromised. Radical and restrictive individualism, based solely on financial interests, are now influencing how the world is being represented. This individualism has become the driving force of society and has perverted the nature of research in the fields of architecture and design. This area of research commenced during the industrial era (1880), and the diffusion of industrial production plant brought about significant changes in social relations throughout the manufacturing and production sectors. These developments undeniably led to improvements in living conditions, thanks to productive power, however they also generated unrest at a social level; the changes opened debates and stimulated formal research in the fields of architecture and design, oriented to the development of new ways of living. The discussions focused on the tension between craft and industry, with emphasis on the contrast between the dignity of craftsmanship and its alienation by industrial procedures. The research then shifts its focus to address issues of price and access to goods, through purification of the settings to enable the creation of objects and spaces designed from basic low-cost components. In the 1920s, discussions took place regarding the creation of a new system considered to be the reflection of modern man. The language was unique. It was based on simple shapes: squares, triangles, circles, and on the balance of primary and secondary colours applied with the new production methods. These involved the use of flat metallic surfaces, industrial materials, open plans â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a format that emerged from the School of Bauhaus. Finally, the School of Ulm implemented and radicalised this research into an industrial system that could calculate and control the production times â&#x20AC;&#x201D; this thought-train led to the development of standardisation. This unique and highly-industrialised standard, deeply-rooted in a single industrial culture, was being questioned again. The discussion was oriented to a pluralistic culture. In the 1960s, radical architecture provoked cultural openness. It aimed to create a multitude of languages, methods, and thoughts oriented to the development of a wide range of projects: it favoured diversity over domination of thought and the idea of beauty in these modern times, and it replaced the standardisation of men, whose image was based on a single model, integrated with human diversity. To promote a standardised and single production system, developed to produce large quantities, Italian designers oriented their research to hybrid production (SMEs, crafts...) to release their creativity and define formal experimentation, and ultimately to build a pluralistic culture. To achieve this, the production entities were small and medium enterprises, a mixture of craft and small industries...

[b]

The idea was not to eliminate large companies, but to create a network, a diverse economic structure. The need to move towards a culture of diversity, to articles produced in great variety, has been corrupted by profitability; these research directions have been recovered. Each period has its own school of thoughts, and the Domus Academy founded in Milan in 1982 was to the forefront in the post- industrial era. Having attended the Domus Academy myself, I followed its evolution closely. The main objective of this school was to develop projects that would support companies operating in a saturated market. The drive for design as a vehicle for communicating emotions, for promotion and for formal experimentation led to the foundation of an increasing number of schools to train many more creative professionals who could perfect strategies to support the design disciplines. Andrea Branzi (designer & theorist) explained:

“The guiding role of small experimental schools was gradually exhausted during the final years of the Twentieth century, when the role of designers was subjected to profound change; their operations shifted from the design of new products to the more complex task of achieving ‘ongoing innovation strategies’ for the entire industrial scene, which was faced with international competition, new global markets and the diffusion of new technologies. The role of the designer has gradually transformed into a ‘profession of the masses’; his job is to respond to the global demand for innovation, in other words, to create new products, new businesses, new markets. [...] Innovation is the result of profound change in the philosophy 13

of contemporary design; it abandons its traditional commitment to the ‘ultimate long-lasting products’ in favour of an incessant stream of renewable catalogues, of communication strategies and promotion; it encourages consultation and the selection of innovative ideas for projects, in the furniture and interior decoration industry, and any industry in the current market.” Design has developed into a communication medium for the creation of “lifestyles”; the image developed by designers for large brands based on “ideas of lifestyle” no longer supports the changing patterns of life, changing practices and usages, or items at the service of consumers. Creators must produce more images, their name also becomes a market value, potentially leading to lucrative business. What prevails are the images and the market values that can generate sales. Creation is compromised by the continuous buzz. It can be described as a dull constant sound, a noise generated by the creator who shouts the loudest, so that the message — their image — is sold through the products they create. It is the market value that allows them to “exist”. The evolution of this sector leads to:

[c]

“A System of objects that corresponds to a system of products, tautological market entities lacking any common direction and driven only by the force of competition and pure expressive innovation. Over the past ten years, architecture has also started to become a system of products, namely through 14

entities viewed from the outside; these exist as the controversial opposition to the surrounding urban setting, and in support of a brand, a blog, or an entrepreneurial initiative (as is the case of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Bilbao, Portugal).â&#x20AC;? This excessively market-driven society does not reach a balance point, contrary to the concept of market selfregulation. This market-driven society is directed exclusively towards the pursuit of maximum profit. The constant search disrupts many social and cultural balances that emerged in the glorious period of the years 1945 to 1973; more specifically, it has driven mass production to strive for profit as opposed to utilisation value. This has led to the destruction of small production companies and handicraft enterprises. These not only produce performance value more closely aligned with social needs, but they are also vehicles of social cohesion. Based on common concerns relative to the positioning of social ties positioned at the heart of our work and our production, we chose to connect the fields we work in: design, architecture, information technology, humanities and economics. Through a critical approach to Capitalism and its effects, in other words to the wide range of merchandise available, we decided to use an approach that would enable us to reclaim the environment we live in. It would appear that the common ground of our areas of expertise is the concept of an ÂŤopen standardÂť. Economic analysis demonstrates that objects and spaces are generally standardised; their features (shapes, colours, techniques) are customised to transform their usage into a paid service. Privatisation can be described as the restriction of access to usage and modification of the characteristics. In contrast to this, we suggested hypotheses centred on the idea of the open standard. The concept of the open standard is juxtaposed with the idea of the monopoly and mass standardisation, and it aims to build structures that are conducive to a friendly, close-knit working environment. The design concept does not lock the individual user into a specific and codified representation of society, but is open to adaptation and the ongoing development of the article based on its purpose. The same applies to architecture; the organisation of space is examined in terms of its correspondence to the changes in lifestyles and how these

changes relate to the ecosystem, even though in many ways architecture is still technically a rigid structure. The evolution in information technology is associated with large scale sharing of information and know-how, that was impossible and unthinkable in the past. In IT, the open standard corresponds to practices relating to free software, to the processes of development and shared resources, and to electronic open prototyping platforms. Discussions on the concept of the open standard have suggested that objects and spaces should lose some of their importance to create practices and approaches in harmony with the ecosystem, and that digital and electronic means should support this transformation. The first part reviews the dynamics of Capitalism that compel individuals to give up a part of their lifestyle and illustrates how they use objects on a daily basis. This builds on knowledge of social sciences, and will be illustrated through the three stories of Capitalism. It would appear that the economic and social representations of Capitalism have a distant relationship with science. They can be associated to a narrative or a â&#x20AC;&#x153;fableâ&#x20AC;? because they convey common visions. When the common representations are widely-accepted they have the power to change the world. This occurs in the principle economic entities, such as the market or individualism. The other representations we suggest also comply with these principles. Finally, by insisting on the narrative character of the main concepts of liberal economics, the greatest number of people can be oriented to this theoretical field despite access often being prevented by the temple guards, i.e. the liberal expert economists. The first part of this report will outline the main guidelines that orientate our approach to the open standard. The second part will provide an architecture-based reflection on our living environment, and is in-line with the previous socio-economic analysis. It will focus on the environment, the most obvious example, but it may be rooted in work facilities, public settings, and trade and commerce amenities. To reclaim these spaces, we suggest attempts to redefine the operational framework of an architectural project through the management of empty spaces. The third section closely examines how objects can be designed according to the open standard principles of creation and production. Design is therefore considered not as a discipline for creating articles - that can be more or less dull, more or less industrial; it is a discipline that uses projects to support life, create dreams, encourage communal living, and create production partnerships. The diffusion of the digital production chain, the sustained development of the Internet and its consequential ability to spread information, allow us to imagine a different operating framework. It can redefine the role of the user, of the creator, of diffusion and distribution. To avoid falling into the trap of a production system that only generates accumulation

and individualism, the practices of creation and manufacture can also be based on giving and receiving. At a time when the crisis of Capitalism is becoming increasingly burdensome and destructive, it should be pointed out that our living environment can support shared practices and generate new perspectives of production and cohabitation. Moreover, this living environment should not support an illusory image which does not reflect reality.

summary

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0 The jellyfish 18

I The three Fables of Capitalism 26 1 La fable de la croissance économique illimitée source du bonheur 2 La fable de l'homme économique 3 La fable du marché grand optimisateur des relations humaines

II Architecture for Everyday Life 44 1 Reclaiming one’s own environment 2 Emptiness 3 An extra room: is this an impossible dream? 4 The “Sharing” recipe

III In the direction of open standard cooperation 60 1 The reappropriation of design 2 Shape and use 3 Free time and sharing

IV Our design philosophy: To build a user-friendly tool and emphasise a “giving” society 86 19

The jellyfish Nathalie Bruyère 2006

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0 A jellyfish develops through

artefacts, it continues to grow, it devours traditions, transports men under a false myth of happiness and creates conflicts between the factions. This jellyfish communicates in a highly codified and widely publicised language, defending any standardisation of thoughts to consent self-development; it presents articles of individual representation as a solution to consumption. Hiding behind its discontinuous appearance, it creates a multitude of different artefacts using techniques and languages, to best meet 23

0 the demands associated with

this elusive state of happiness. The environment is not more homogeneous but more compact. The jellyfish extends its tentacles over our heads and is now an omnipotence which can no longer be controlled by Man. Its primary purpose is the accumulation of profits regardless of the damage caused to social conditions, because its own development is the sole objective in its sights. The jellyfish has taken command through the development of a means of communication, which affords it control on a global scale. 24

0 The jellyfish lives in a modern

sprawling city, a city that is no longer connected to a specific territory; it gives people the opportunity to live wherever they want and with whom they desire. This lifestyle does not force people to live together, as is the case in industrial cities. Their daily physical resources are visible everywhere, from all origins and from a wide variety of production facilities. The jellyfish is in constant motion; it has crushed all of the previous networks. It uses the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ă la carteâ&#x20AC;? on a global scale whenever 25

0 required, without controls. Faced

with this new way of living, people purchase products that represent certain lifestyles, as this allows them to identify with it; it will eventually represent their culture and their religion; the â&#x20AC;&#x153;differencesâ&#x20AC;? only exist thanks to a mirrorimage effect. The reality of the environment and the objects make small everyday items almost unacceptable; we feel compelled to make a change using our awareness of the importance of sustainable development in creating the utopia of equilibrium.

The three Fables of Capitalism Mireille Bruyère

2012

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[d]

The first section aims to analyse the dynamics of Capitalism that lead individuals to give up a part of their lifestyle and change the way they use the objects in their everyday life. This work builds on our knowledge of Social Science: The three Fables of Capitalism.

“Socrates: ‘Do you know how we can convince men with this story?’ Glaucon: ‘No, or at least not the men you are talking about; but I do know how we can convince their sons, and their descendants, and in general the future generations.’” To illustrate the necessity to develop common tools and productions, we chose to outline the deeper dynamics of capitalism through three principle concepts, that are economic fables: the accumulation of profit as a source of growth and unlimited happiness, the economic man, and the optimised market.

1 The story of unlimited economic growth, considered to be a source of happiness

[e]

“Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman, or an economist.” What we call “Capitalism” is a social organisation that has taken centuries to build. Some of its origins can be traced back to 16th century England. We will now provide a recent definition of Capitalism: it is a system in which a large proportion of the production facilities for goods used in everyday life belong to private owners. Private ownership of the production facilities of everyday goods (known as economic goods), is the basis of Capitalism. The production facilities can include factory plants, industrial and agricultural machinery, and businesses that provide services such as restaurants, cinemas and bookshops. Max Weber, a famous German sociologist (1864 –1920), wrote a book on the spirit of Capitalism in the early 20th

century. He analysed the ideas and representations that were associated with the birth of Capitalism. With these new representations of the world, Weber believed that the desire to accumulate material wealth was a legitimate and moral objective of life on Earth. Accumulation as an increase in material wealth is only possible if we manage to produce a greater quantity of merchandise compared to the goods utilised in production. Added-value must be created which, according to Karl Marx, can only be generated by human labour. Capitalism is therefore a system in which the value created does not belong to the worker, but to the proprietor of the production facilities, i.e. the Capitalist; he will then retain the profits for himself and pay wages to workers. The story of this fable is as follows: the Capitalist aims to accumulate wealth, because this accumulation is a legitimate objective and the indicator of a successful life. To achieve this, Capitalists search for any rational way of business operations; they then rationally invest and direct their labour force, and this will lead to increases in production levels. The main idea behind this myth is that by seeking profits Capitalists generate economic growth. This leads to an accumulation not only of mere profit, but of economic wealth in general. The growth of economic market wealth results in the accumulation of profit. In actual fact, in order to make a profit, the goods produced must be sold on a market, and are therefore considered tradable goods. To achieve greater profits, a larger quantity of merchandise must be sold on the market. Capitalism is morally founded on this promise of abundance and prosperity: profit is a “necessary evil” that enables the achievement of economic growth and prosperity for everyone through a “trickle-down” effect. Wealth will firstly benefit the rich, and then it will stream down to poorer people by means of investments and luxury consumption. The abundance is a reality for the wealthy; however it is often merely a simple promise for the poor. The promise presumes that the increase in material goods is limitless, as are the human desires. This assumption is based on the idea that the wants and needs of consumers, in terms of material goods, are the same. The promise also presumes that the markets will always be large enough and the demands high enough to absorb the flows of goods: this is a myth. So how have the production facilities ended up in the hands of just a few, and more widely distributed among the population? It is simply the result of a historical process of primitive accumulation. Karl Marx analyses primitive accumulation in his book Capital. The private ownership of means of production and the initial accumulation of capital began in the pre-industrial period. One of the symbols of primitive appropriation is the enclosures movement described by Karl Marx and Karl Polanyi. This movement began in the late Middle Ages and ended in the 19th century,

[f]

[g]

in Great Britain; it involved the expropriation of small farmers from their communal lands, to allow the Lords to have large closed pastures for the production of wool to satisfy the demands of the expanding drapery industry. This process privatised common land, driving farmers to industrialising cities or to offer themselves as farmhands serving the Lords.

“The plundering of Church properties, the fraudulent alienation of public estates, the expropriation of common land, the fraudulent and threatening transformation of feudal or even patriarchal property from public to private modern property, and war against the cottages: these are the idyllic methods of primitive accumulation. They have conquered the land for Capitalist agriculture, they have integrated soil and capital, and they have given the city industries the power of a docile proletariat without a house or home.” “The countless flocks of sheep which can now be found all over England — an idyllic situation that is so sweet and simple anywhere else — are so voracious and wild in your country that they even eat people, and strip the fields, houses and villages. 35

[h]

In actual fact, right across the kingdom, noble people, rich people, and even very holy priests, rush to where the finest and most valuable wool is produced. These poor people are not satisfied with their profits, their benefits, and the income from their land; it is not sufficient to allow them to live a life of leisure, at the expense of the public, and without generating any benefit for the State. They occupy large portions of land used for cultivation, use them for their pastures, and destroy houses and villages; they leave their temples to serve as stables for their sheep. They transform the most populated and well cultivated places into deserts. They undoubtedly fear that there may not be enough parks and forests, and that wild animals may not have ground to live on.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Growth is not the problem, it is the solution.â&#x20AC;? Obviously, this tendency of Capitalism to multiply the enclosures and to increase property rights for public goods has always faced with some resistance, as it corresponds to a domination of social relations. It has developed and advanced, but it has also had to take steps back. In the postwar period, Europe and the United States saw a withdrawal

[i]

of the Capitalist market logic through the creation of social security systems; the Philadelphia Declaration ratified by the United Nations in 1944 is an emblematic example of this. This declaration recognised a new form of Human Rights: the social rights, i.e. rights to social protection. These new rights have been incorporated in many national constitutions; for example, it occurred in France in 1946. However, some of these rights have still not yet found their practical implementation even today; for example, the right to work.

Extract from the Declaration of Philadelphia The first article of the Declaration states that “labor is not a commodity” | The third article calls for “An extension of social security measures to provide a basic income to everyone in need of such protection, and comprehensive health care;” | “Adequate protection of the life and health of workers in any occupation;” | “Child welfare and maternity protection;” | “Appropriate nutrition, housing, and means of re-creation and culture;” | “Equal opportunities in the educational and professional fields.” On the other hand, some periods were marked by an expansion of the Capitalist logic; this occurred, for instance, in many Western countries from the 1980s onwards. Liberal economics often uses fables or stories to demonstrate its theoretical assumptions. The famous story of “The Tragedy of the Commons”, written by Garrett Hardin, illustrates the theoretical hypothesis that the collective management of resources and the lack of clearly defined property rights inevitably lead to wastage. This story “justifies” the private ownership of former collective property, by taking into account the example of the pastures that were jointly

managed by shepherds. The shepherds grazed their cattle as much as possible; this would inevitably lead to the overexploitation of common property, such as the land used for pastures. The assimilation of material wealth to achieve greater good and happiness is one of the key elements of the fable about unlimited economic growth. The definition of human development could be described as the increase in potentially unlimited happiness through the accumulation of material wealth. This “Western adventure” is now facing ecological and social challenges. According to liberal economists, abandoning economic growth would be heretical as it would imply compromising happiness. Thus, these ecological limitations must be overcome through technological developments. This means that we require further growth to reduce the effects of growth on the environment... Finally, the relationship between happiness, good living, and material wealth is a fundamental assumption of this fable. Many studies attempt to demonstrate that these elements are not related, and suggest other indicators of well-being based on a number of other non-economic forces, such as the indicator of Social Health, developed in 1980 by Marc and Marque-Luisa Miringoff; the BIP40 indicator of inequality, developed in France by the Inequality Alert Network in 1999; the Human Development Index (HDI) of the United Nations and the United Nations Development program; or even the ecological mark that keeps a record of people’s demand for nature’s “ecological services”. One characteristic of these indicators is that, starting from a certain threshold of economic wealth, an increase in wealth does not lead to increased wellness; in some cases, it can lead to a reduction in wellness. Excessive consumption can generate negative side-effects (obesity, pollution, stress, deterioration of the ecosystems) that greatly outweigh the positive effects.

2 The story of the economic man The wild pursuit of profit and wealth accumulation is based on a very specific concept of man. It attempts define the universal nature of man, which derives from the Western way of thinking, but was consolidated with Capitalism. It supports the idea that man is driven by selfinterest — economic interests in particular. The relationships developed with others are nothing more than instruments to achieve their own objectives. This rather simplistic Western conception of human nature is not new; however, it took a peculiar twist during the Enlightenment period. In order to achieve its purposes, “selfish” men rationally calculate the “pleasures and pains”

[j]

(Jeremy Bentham) implicit in each action. This pessimistic view of man was notoriously theorised by the famous enlightened English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Man is viewed as a selfish and rational being; before producing something good,, he would check that his profit gains would outweigh the production costs (i.e. raw materials and wages). Similarly, workers would decide to freely offer their labour power and become employees, because this form of employment is more enjoyable, allowing them to earn a living and avoid starvation... This definition of Man is known as homo Ĺ&#x201C;conomicus. The liberal thinkers believe that the pursuit of personal interests would lead to material prosperity for all rather that leading to a state of anarchy and social disorder,. Many stories written by liberal thinkers in the 18th century illustrate this idea and are a powerful communication channel that reaches the public. The most famous story was written by Bernard de Mandeville (a Dutch writer of the late 17th century). In 1714, Mandeville published a book that created true scandal in England: The Fable of the Bees, or private vices that become public property. This story described a thriving beehive where selfishness and the pursuit of individual interests prevail; these are defined as private vices. One day, stricken with remorse, the bees decide to ban the private vices in the hive. As a consequence, the prosperity disappeared and the bees became honest but starved and were bored. Excerpts from The Fable of the Bees, Bernard Mandeville. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The thriving hiveâ&#x20AC;?

[...] Moral of the story. Stop complaining: only fools want to make a great hive honest. Enjoy the amenities of the world, being respected in war, but living in comfort. Not having great vices is an empty Utopia centred in the brain. Dishonesty, luxury and pride are essential If we want to benefit from the gains. Hunger is certainly a terrible inconvenience But would satiety or good health exist without it? 39

Is wine not provided to us by the evil vineyard, that is dry and wrenched? If the vineyard is left to grow without any care,| it would destroy other plants and would become a small forest; But it started providing its noble fruit, As soon as its branches were tied and cut by us. So it is evident that our vice is beneficial When it is pruned and restricted by justice; Yes, if a population wants to become a great one, Vice is as essential to the state as hunger is for its people to feed themselves. Virtue alone cannot enable nations to live in greatness; those who want to see Another golden age, must also be willing To eat acorns, rather than live honestly. Marshall Sahlins, an American anthropologist, states that:

[k]

â&#x20AC;&#x153;[...] Man is a wolf to man himself. This expression reflects the darkest of human impulses and after Hobbes, it was used by Freud in reference to one of the aphorisms of Plautus in the 2nd century BCE. Freud, however, wondered how animals accepted such a threat to their own 40

species. It was a huge insult to these gregarious wolves, who know the meaning of respect, intimacy and cooperation and where their sense of constant order is positioned! After all, we are referring to the ancestor of ‘man’s best friend’. Not even monkeys, cousins of the human species, give into ‘the desire to acquire more and more power, a desire that only ceases with death’, and consequently with ‘war between all men’. There is nothing in nature that is more perverse than our idea of the human nature. It is purely and simply a cultural invention.” This idea has been questioned by many anthropologists, such as Marcel Mauss in his essay on donation. Anthropologist Marshall Sahlins also argues that this idea of human nature, characterised by selfishness, was an invention of Western culture.

3 The story of the market as a great optimiser of human relations Economics attempt to understand how Western society produces and distributes the goods that essential for life and survival. The fact that the study of economics began in England in the late 18th century, clearly has an influence on how Economists will answer this question. In the early years of Capitalism in England, the first economists were committed to identifying the most efficient way to produce the greatest amount of wealth. The answer that classical economists (known today as liberal economists) bring to this question of efficiency has remained the same: the Market is the only organisation

[l]

of production and exchange that can ensure this level of efficiency. The Market? Obviously, the Market provides us with a platform or forum for exchanging goods. We are often told that it has always existed. So where is the problem? If this is such a consolidated organisation, it must be effective... If we refer to the Market without providing a clear definition of what it is, confusion will reign because it is a very common portmanteau, and like all common words, it has multiple meanings. In general terms, the Market is simply defined as a place where goods are exchanged. However, in economics the Market refers to many other things: What follow is is a definition of the Market (admittedly a very inflexible one) found in economics textbooks:

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The market is founded on a system of displayed prices, readily available to the general public, presenting all genres of merchandise with a centralised system to satisfy the supply and demand of each individual.â&#x20AC;? It is therefore a theoretical definition of the Market as it should be, and not a description based on the marketplace as it exists. The shift from the assertion that the Market is an inescapable feature of everyday life, to the theoretical definition of a perfect Market, from what actually exists and what should exist, contributes to the construction of the myth of the Market as a major organiser of society. Consequently, it is essential to distinguish mere exchange, which is an integral dimension of social relationships, and exchange through the Market as conceived by classical economics. The second case is a very specific type of exchange that requires a number of things: A price that can vary freely according to the levels of supply and demand. A demand and supply generated by individuals who pursue the satisfaction of their own needs and nothing more than that, especially not the creation of social relationships. A precise and comprehensive knowledge of all the goods on the market and their prices on behalf of all individuals simultaneously. The ability of everyone to enter and exit the market as they please. Milton Friedman (1912-2006), an American economist who was an extreme believer in neo-liberalism, stated that:

[m]

“Prices [...] are able to coordinate the activity of millions of people, each being aware only of their own interest, and this coordination leads the situation to improve [...]. The price system carries out this task in the absence of a centralised control system, and without the need for people to communicate or care about each other.” A society in which we may not require love and relationships for survival is a counter-utopia. In these highly theoretical conditions, known as “pure and perfect competition”, this theoretical market leads to a mathematical balance of supply and demand. This equilibrium is considered a sort of “harmony” through which all desires of buying and selling are fulfilled through the market price. Nobody is prevented from buying a product, if they have the resources to pay the market price for it. Harmony is therefore restricted to the individuals who have the economic resources to buy or sell. Classical economists believe that the Market is the only social organisation that allows for an “optimal division of economic resources”; in other words, goods and elements of production (labour and capital) are moved in one direction or the other depending on necessity and demands. Accordingly, the Market can self-regulate — the explanation why it is the best economic governance system. All Markets are based on exchanges, but not every form of exchange requires a market. Some exchanges are donations, which are the most common type of exchange even in the so-called “market economies” we live in. Without donations there would be no families or friends, and no cooperation on the workplace. Exchanging gifts maintains social ties that allow external societies to exist. Marcel Mauss said that giving always implies receiving, and this sequence creates and nourishes social relationships. In this type of exchange, the main objective is to create social relation and not to satisfy material needs. As we have separated the concept of exchange through the Market from simple exchange, we must now distinguish real market exchanges — such as those in a town square — from exchanges on the Market as it is defined by economics. In the first case, the street market is a regular occurrence in a town square and there is a physical exchange of goods; it also provides an opportunity for meeting other people. In this type of market, prices are generally determined by usage rather than by the relationship between supply and demand;

[n]

this type of exchange, the purchase and sale of products for everyday living — has always existed. In the second case, what characterises our market society is not the existence of a Market, but the importance that this type of exchange plays in our lives. Contrary to old and traditional societies, market exchange in our society intends to extend to all spheres of society. This intention is can be described by the other two fables of Capitalism, i.e. limitless growth and economic rights. Our marketplaces have become virtual and ubiquitous. The world’s largest markets are the financial markets, that for many years have lacked any physical location. Financial exchanges can take place anywhere in the world and at any time of the day and night, and any human whim can lead to market exchange. The economic theory does not dictate any limits to the market, since it is considered to be the only foundation for a “harmonious” society. A proposal to extend the market could threaten all other forms of exchange; the fable states that in order to achieve the “greatest happiness for everyone”, all exchanges must become market exchanges. However replacing donations — that create social ties — with mere market exchanges – for the individual accumulation of goods — would lead to the breakdown of society. Do we not frequently see new techniques and books on personal development, advising us to manage our lives like businesses? We are all told to act like entrepreneurs in our lives.

“The company itself is a conception of man and a daily lifestyle that is based on entrepreneurial behaviour. Rather than asking themselves ‘What can I do to help others?’, people are being encouraged to ask themselves: ‘How can I achieve my goals?’ And ‘How will I upgrade my life?’. Each individual should therefore adopt a strategy of personal development based on their strengths, desires and choices.” In this story we could all be entrepreneurs managing our own lives; we could participate in the great market of the

pleasures and pains of life. We should then consider our relations with others — even with our loved ones — as market exchanges,. Social relations are therefore transformed into collateral instruments in this non-society, rather than being the main objective, and this generalised market may become a condition of our freedom and our happiness. It is ultimately a condition of our alienation from the market, of our social isolation and, as Hannah Arendt writes, even of our “desolation”...

Clearing the space

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Architecture for Everyday Life Pierre Duffau 2011

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“This reflection focuses on the environment, viewed in relation to any type of living space. It revolves around assumptions that attempt to redefine reappropriation of space by the user, against a context of a more densely-populated city and in consideration of previous socioeconomic analyses. As Daniel Roche stated in his book ‘History of Everyday Things’, when referring to autonomy, the emergence of consumption in the 17th — 19th century must be taken into account: ‘The economy for everyday living is linked to the empowerment of our private lives, and how it is organised in relation to the various environments, for work or leisure purposes.’” 1 Reclaiming one’s own environment Numerous components — small and large — are required for the organisation of one’s own environment; a few examples follow: there are the relationships with other family members, with guests, with neighbourhoods, the relationship with the houses, and finally with the city. Let us begin with a quick analysis of the city. Although the phenomenon of urban sprawl, or “diffused city” is now very common, with “fragments” of the formal identity placed side by side with no apparent consistency, the approach adopted in architecture is not always the same. The interaction between “empty” spaces and “full” spaces should be the driving force of architecture. These irregularities, based on technical and interpersonal human diversity, are the starting points

that allow us to live together in a modern city. The objective is to position diversity at the centre of these “fragments” to link all our environments — living, work, education, health, leisure and culture — into a dense network. The diffused city is imperfect, diverse, unexpected and incomplete; heterogeneity determines its ordinary beauty, its daily function, actions and reactions. Intervention in this context means identifying ways to develop sustainable projects that will reveal the quality of the local environment within a global perspective. Consequently, an architect must try to satisfy the diverse needs for urban living. The individual is positioned at the centre of all projects and this contributes to defining the boundaries between public and private spaces; so, how can people reclaim their living environment? Architecture should focus on this issue, in its quest to create new living spaces that, as we mentioned previously, must always make allowances for the creation and maintenance of social — and not solely commercial — relationships. Stratification of the apartment and the definition of the space

furnishings

lighting

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load-bearing structures

228

184

Hauteur: 2,26

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Hauteur: 2,26

403

397

316

Hauteur: 2,26

Chambre Surf:12,01 m²

Chambre Surf:12,06 m²

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PL Surf:1,90m² 331

WC Surf:1,38 m²

Dégt Surf:5,23 m²

238

140

553

Séjour Surf:26,54 m²

SdB Surf:5,06 m² 204

Hall Surf:7,14 m² 100

hsp : 2,60 m

236

142

149

MLL

178

Cuisine Surf:8,35 m²

316

299

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Chambre Surf:10,96 m²

Hauteur: 2,26

Hauteur: 1,26 2

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At the time of writing, when a person buys or rents an apartment, she or he is offered a surface in a particular location, possibly in a desirable neighbourhood or with a stunning view. Consequently, his/her life adapts to the existing functional organisation of the flat. Each apartment is affected by these drawbacks, as it will not be possible to change or even partially modify the functional organisation of then individual living environment. We will examine one apartment by way of example; we will dissect it to highlight offshoot issues from the traditional ways of designing and building. We feel that this type of apartment is not the reflection of how individuals want to live their own lives; the apartment has simply been transformed into a product. It corresponds to the standardisation of living spaces and finishes, that are directly linked to a process of industrialisation based on mass production and commercial objectives. We are observing a race downwards and to hide it, at the time of writing most companies pretend to be ethically active and, in the best case scenario, advertise their sustainable development strategies such as energy savings or the HQE (High Environmental Quality) certification. Consequently, the product being sold is standardised and inflexible. So what can we do when apartments become too small, or when the surface area and the way the contents are arranged no longer suit family life, which will have inevitably evolved over the years? Should we change our ways? The solution often comes with change; we can sell our apartment to buy another one, we can change neighbourhood and neighbours; we will risk losing the relationships that had formed and consolidated over time. The pattern is always the same: I take possession of something, I use it, then I discard or leave it, etc. The bonds that develop in a particular

neighbourhood eventually disappear, and even the concept of relationships between individuals in the city will also vanish. In the final stages of our lives, we may end-up living in an area that we do not know, without our long-standing network of close friends and neighbours. The main features of such an apartment are as follows: its outer contours consist of solid materials; this shell is perforated more or less extensively, depending on the purpose of the individual rooms. Then, there is a series of thin vertical walls that divide the space into several rooms: the living room, the kitchen, the bedrooms, the bathroom, the toilet, the hallway, etc. Plant systems are installed throughout the apartment from one side to the other; to deliver or eliminate waste fluids and supply energy; a multitude of small networks pass through ceilings, floors and walls and prevent any subsequent developments to the apartment, due to the complexity of the work required. Even the furniture is positioned in a predetermined place. We have come to the conclusion that nowadays it is impossible to take ownership of space; we can only adapt to the way the space has been organised. In order to avoid adapting to the existing and avoid having to fit into an environment or framework that is imposed on us, we must focus on our priorities while designing not a “residential unit”, but more generally a “residential building”, and approach this problem from a different angle. We must reconsider the role of the individual in the development process for collective housing. What will the role of individuals be in 5, 10, 15 or 30 years’ time? How will their living environment adapt to the changes in their pace of life, to accommodate an increase or decrease in the number of occupants, or to correspond to the changes in their mobility? For this reason we must belong to an institutional framework which legislates the construction act; this will highlight the fact that today’s regulation totally contradict the development of lifestyles. The dimensions for each room are actually determined by law. Little innovation has been observed in housing development since the Modern Movement, a period that spanned from the early 1920s to around the 1980s. This is undoubtedly a consequence of the 1977 French law on the funding for social housing, undeniably groundbreaking legislation at that time. At the time of writing, building larger apartments is not possible without rents being affected; as a result, the construction of larger units with more space will financially penalise the tenants. We are in favour of the introduction of multiple systems that can be managed on a number of different levels, as this will contribute to overcoming the constraints apparent in non-progressive housing. It is a matter of eliminating the housing format detailed above, by highlighting the following organisational levels:

Is there a specific way in which an apartment should be organised? | Are there inflexible elements? | Is there any way several occupants could share their space, whether in an apartment or a building? | Can we add an extension to the facade of an apartment? | What is the relationship between the facade and the exterior of the apartment? | Does it act as a filter, a barrier, a form of protection, or is it an extension of the apartment?

2 Emptiness Clearing the space

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It is therefore essential to manage the empty spaces, which are now an organisational parameter of our living environment. Clearing the space is therefore an important matter, but what is the objective? What is the purpose of these empty spaces? In most cases, designers are committed to designing the perfect apartment for a person that they have never met and do not know. So here we have one answer to the first question. However, there is reason to think that each of us has a particular mental picture of the spatial arrangement we feel most comfortable in, and therefore everyone has the ability to re-organise their living space and modify it to suit their needs. While remaining within the framework that obliges control and regulation of the surfaces, we are now in a position to predict the obstacles, the elements in an apartment that cannot be ignored, namely the rooms — kitchens, bathrooms and washrooms — that require specific plant for drainage and water supply. Each of these rooms can be positioned on an open plan platform, creating greater flow, with the conversion of the space occupied by the hallway. This would also allow structural modification of the apartments with the creation of large convertible platforms to be changed as desired.

Empty spaces can be arranged to allow greater freedom in the flow of the living spaces. Smaller places can be created and can be occupied by each individual according to the specific personal needs.

3 An extra room: is this an impossible dream? At some stage in our lives, we will all have wished for an extra room in our homes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to be used as an office, a bedroom, a playroom, to extend the liveability of our homes. This can be achieved through cooperative group projects, and is clearly a strongpoint in this type of approach. From the planning phases of these projects, it is stipulated that these specific operations will be implemented in the future, and may take the shape of time-space distribution, or future extensions subject to communal rules. However apart from the problems associated with living in a community, the question is how is it possible for an individual or a small group of people to create the additional room they need. Living quarters

Sleeping quarters

living room

bedroom 1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3

kitchen

washrooms

entrance

AS* bedroom living room kitchen bathroom

Passageway /corridor

AS* entrance hallway bathroom kitchen

bed AR* bed 2

bathroom

bed 1

* AS Additional Space * AR Additional Room

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There are two aspects to consider: The first one [a], has no effect on the outside or façade of the building; re-arrangement of the apartment interiors or repositioning of one or more rooms may be permitted to a large extent, treating the facade as a membrane or external skin of the building,. The facade acts as a primary filter or non-obstructing membrane. The second aspect [b] involves the physical extension of the building by adding elements or by reducing the thick walls of the facade. It is not simply a matter of adding temporary unheated space that can be used on a seasonal basis, but involves the construction or permanent rooms to be lived in. Basic solution

Division of the spaces Organization of radial covers Linear organization for two similar apartments Standard apartments

[b]

Maximum versatility

The same “technical” organization in different spaces

Processinf interior and exterior connections

The facades are freed of constraints, and may have multiple functions. They have major importance from the early stages of the projects; they are no longer the reflection of a type of apartment, but the reflection of the life behind their walls. Consequently, they express the relationship of the building with the public domain of the surroundings. Facades are no longer based on traditional compositions, typical of the 17th century; they are no longer the negation of the core of the building, nor do they fall into the retransmission of this function, but are now considered to be a living, polymorphic element. The rigid and immobile composition of the facade disappears, as it will be released from its restrictions... It becomes an active element, with a operational role in function and the satisfaction of human needs.

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Design can also be considered as a strategy similar to a recipe, a pragmatic comparison that can be applied easily to the interior of our homes. Currently, there are many different materials, good quality components and semi-finished products that can create excellence and relevance: ceilings, lighting, doors, interior walls and surfacing are products used in the showroom sector. They are strategic elements that add quality to the designs for our living environment. As in cooking, these elements represent the quality ingredients of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sharingâ&#x20AC;? recipe that initiates its research in the available semi-finished products to create our own living environment: by amplifying the range of choices, we simplify issues related to usage. They set up a new logical definition to support the creation of typologies, defining a new language and a new logical orientation of choice and development. This procedure leads to powerful cutting edge project innovation, which is economical, and can lead to good quality research. It provides the people who implement it with desirable aesthetics in addition to functional flexibility and sensory synesthesia in the creation of artificial surroundings that we associate with natural environments, when they come into contact with certain rituals. Whether apartments are places for reflection or for life-style mantras, they are all designed as and transformed into multifunctional entities.

III hackerspace & fablab

craftwork

laser cutter

small and medium enterprises

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rapid replication

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In the direction of open standard cooperation Nathalie BruyĂ¨re 2006

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The diffusion of the production chain and digital broadcasting, and the sustained development of the Internet enables us to exploit a different operating framework for object creation. This leads to the redefinition of the roles played by the user and the creator, of diffusion and distribution, and also establishes of a shared culture.

1 The reappropriation of design How and on what basis can we promote stable relationships between people using a specific object? One way to immediately create relations is through design, often representative of a certain trend and style, that changes regularly and rapidly becomes obsolete. We can change and modify the appearance of our mobile phones by applying adhesive stickers to them; we can change the cupboard doors in the kitchen encouraged by the major brands... By creating new styles of decor, we can increase the desire for rapid change in the elements of our surroundings, to continuously align them with the new lifestyles... But how have we arrived at this situation? Let us take a brief look back at the relationship between power, representation and decoration. Before the industrial age, decoration was a means that expressed the dominant classes and their platform of power. The styles of Kings, Empires and nobility developed through representation, tangible ornamentations decorated by large manufacturers and their master craftsmen: this expertise has been preserved in the decorative traditions developed for the elite classes. At that time, folk art revolved around the necessities that were decorated in simple styles according to local traditions, known as popular culture. This culture contrasted with the more elite or avant-garde cultures, which affected only a small portion of the educated population. These decorations are the mainstay of many cultures because they are an easily understandable set of signs and fixtures that can be detected on a the surface of an object or in space; and just as we write words on a sheet of paper, decorative art forms are the expression of shapes and colours. Decoration becomes a reflection of a societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture, in the same way as an author writing a book. The precision of the movement and the command of the know-how behind the creation become the banner, the symbol of the decorative style. The banner then becomes the standard, and highlighting this shift is crucial to understanding how design has been transformed into an instrument of profit. Design has its roots in the early industrial era, when the industrial processes generated a new form of economic practice: mass production. This new production power promoted the ideology of creating happiness.

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Jean Baudrillard explained that this myth is embodied by modern society, it is embedded in The consumer society, in its myths and its structures.

“From a social and historical perspective, happiness derives from the idea of joy as a binding medium, an ideal that is associated with the elusive entity of equality in modern societies. [...] The fact that, from the outset, happiness was assigned this meaning and ideological function, is relevant in terms of its content: in order to be the promoter of equality, we must be able to measure happiness. Well-being must be quantified through objects and the indicators of ‘comfort’.” At the end of the 19th century, companies increased in size. Craftsmen and the workforce were concentrated in factories. At the turn of the 20th century, heavy industry lacked opportunities for the workforce as social inequalities were still too great. This marked the beginning of a period of doubts and concerns in correspondence to the progression of industrial production; there were questions asked about the development of mass production and about the diffusion of this new industrial culture. The comparison of the industrial culture and the traditional artisan crafts provoked lively discussions. On the one hand some people, like William Morris, argue that through craftsmanship men would become masters in a specific task or in a particular type of work; consequently this seemed to lead to quality production.. In addition to this, artisan expertise supplied the local population with cultural roots. On the other hand the early ideas of industrial design, with compositions based on an artistic language, provided a foundation for the bourgeois culture. The bourgeoisie gradually took over the power through their involvement in the factories. This debate is the reflection of a changing society, or in Michel Ragon’s words:

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“The development of trade and the growth of the heavy industry are the two foundations of the capitalist society, which exercised absolute power in the Nineteenth century. This resulted in two closely related disasters: the collapse of the Medieval society due to the pressure of the market-driven towns, and the advent of urban proletariat. From the moment in which the bourgeoisie began exercising power, its profit-driven philosophy brought into question the entire previous balance of society.” Eventually it would be taken over by the architects and the future designers; they would have a humanist approach that would enable them to create coherence between some of the technical requirements of production, usefulness and the formal aspects. Decoration also underwent these industrial transformations; but why have its symbols become the standard? The English word “standard” itself refers to logos, emblems, and signs. Decoration was abandoned from the beginning of the industrial age onwards, because it was increasingly considered to be an addition production cost. Decorative embellishment is almost impossible to industrialise, and it was viewed solely as a costly adjunct. “Generic” objects drove the development of industrial products and this further strengthened the power of the bourgeoisie. At the same time, designers, such as Peter Behrens, started reflecting on the shape of industrial products; these studies continued through the artists of Bauhaus in Germany. Given the industrial development, ideas from Adam Smith — a enlightened Scottish economist and philosopher, founder of liberal economy — became the cornerstone principles of society. The principles of freedom, responsibility, ownership, self-interest and competition became essential. How did the traditional artisan culture deteriorate? How did we lose the entity that influenced numerous decorations and created the mass culture?

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The late 18th century experienced the emergence of a working culture that revolved around the production industry through trade unions, allotment gardens, fanfares. This culture resulted from a combination of traditional cultures through the mass migration of workers from rural areas to the cities. The Ferry law (1881) gradually highlighted the importance of schools as educators; schools then became the medium for providing knowledge to a much greater number of people. However the inequalities persisted and led to the 1929 crisis; during this period, the working class fought against the bourgeoisie, and the middle class still did not exist. Entrepreneurs enjoyed increasingly greater benefits from the high-productivity generated by the consumption of the “poor”. Daniel Roche explained this very well:

“The consumption of goods by the poorer classes led to excellent economic performance, because individuals and households with little money powered a rapid recovery of the productive cycle and guaranteed its permanence: mass consumption, for products such as bread and clothes, had an immediate impact. In contrast, the consumption of the wealthier classes was slower and more cumbersome, highlighted by their use of property; luxury consumption can be linked to this.” Consumption gradually developed into mass consumption from World War II onwards; and decoration and crafts faded away as a consequence of industrial production. It was only after World War II, during the economic boom, that a middle class emerged. It was a reflux period of the conflict between the classes, it was the beginning of mass consumption and of the leisure time civilisation. The “Hochschule für Gestaltung” (College of Design), in Ulm (Germany), commonly known as the School of Ulm, is an icon of this period as it established the methodologies of industrial design. Thanks to the availability of education for the entire population, and to the mass accessibility of consumer goods,

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the population’s culture developed considerably. However, it has largely been reclaimed and made profitable to create a “culture” of mass products. Relevant examples of this are the recovery of several relatively well-known works, or of more or less familiar codes broadcast by logos. Television was the main vehicle that transformed the popular culture into a culture of mass production. This manipulation of desires is based on the fact that the popular culture is basically “accessible to everyone”.

As decoration is difficult to separate from shape, how can free decorative expression be established? By free decorative expression we mean non-compliance to trends, but a correspondence with certain codes; this enables the creation of relationships and interaction between individuals. For users and developers to co-create new decorative representations, initially it is essential to devise an educational plan to enable the development and understanding of the various possible forms. The design becomes the medium of expression and sharing for collective creation that is based on practices. During the Novela

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Festival in 2011, a brainstorming event held in Toulouse, we used a workshop in a first experimental phase. This public workshop was held over a weekend in the Espace Bonnefoy facility in Toulouse, with the project supported by Claudia Raimondo and Giacomo Giannini, assisted by Riccardo Pascusso, Philippe Casens and usinette.org.

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This project focused on the digital revolution, and was related to the world of open source in which design, production, sales and the use of products are all based on the principles of common ownership. Based on the idea of creating a new popular language, the workshop proposed the installation of a 3D â&#x20AC;&#x153;RepRapâ&#x20AC;? printer for the realisation of printed plastic sheets (ABS); initially geometric and figurative patterns created by the participants were printed, and then the participants interpreted their drawings by personalising them even more using the materials at their disposal.

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The question was, would it be possible to produce decorations in this same way outside of the studio environment? The work involved the creation of a digital interface, enabling participants to draw patterns using a digital format; these patterns were subsequently used in various production modes: ceramic decoration, laser cutting of various support materials, 3D printing... Once the pattern was created, the various designs were observed in relation to the places or modes of production.

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2 Shape and use Shapes are essential to the definition of a more social form of design. Changing the design of our apartment and its appearance — for example, a sleek modern interior design will portray an image of ourselves as modern people — is a driver of immediate profitability, as it assumes that we need to change coffee tables, chandeliers, and furniture on a regular basis. We forget that design should be a support component to use. As we have seen in the past, in order to produce something for a large number of consumers, a new industrial language developed, constructed around the important principles of shape and function. What distinctions and principles were implemented to make this happen and what were the reasons? The first important aspect is that shapes have become more functional, to the detriment of their use. By “use” we mean the things that are compliant with social practices. The term therefore relates to attitudes, to established and frequently-adopted behaviours that have none of the moral boundaries normally observed by the members of any given society or any social group. And here lies the problem: responding and adapting to the use of things involves a wide variety of possible responses by the individuals in a given society, in particular situations... Functionality is related to a specific element which results from a certain task. A small spoon has been designed for specific purposes: stirring sugar in a cup of coffee, eating small pieces of food... It has been created on the basis of its function, thanks to a specific structure designed for a preset result. Because the spoon is small, its handle is small; it will be easier to hold; its bowl is also small, so that it can fit inside a cup... This common, international, simple and practical language was not immediately understood; however, it has now become part of an important cultural background that highlights the simple and functional aspects of objects. These ideas appeared initially in the early years of the School of Bauhaus, and were subsequently developed further by the School of Ulm. So how can we create a form that would give a meaning to modern usage? Let us take a closer look at how standard, functional and universal languages have become the “abc” of forms. The considerations made by the School of Bauhaus in 1919, in relation to the creation of a function-dependent form and of a universal language, were essential to the development of an ideal model of modern man. This new framework was influenced by the very artists who used it as a new design language and as a cultural reference. The School of Bauhaus merged art and technique, with artists dedicated to the aesthetics of a new representation of modern society. The contributions made by the industry and by science peaked in 1927, and at this time the architecture section was created

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[t]

by Hannes Meyer. His developments composed a pure simple language, designed around a form of mechanisation based on a subjective and artistic approach. The first results of the period of Weimar related to formal representation; it was broadreaching and simple, with forms that reflected the symbolic expression of the meaning of modern forms. This representation would be the basis of the architects’ work and would lead to modern architecture as we know it today. As Michel Ragon wrote:

“It is only through their artistic intuition, and not through scientific reasoning, that they were able to destroy the three-dimensional optical space of the Renaissance, an Euclidean space which seemed so logical that any other understanding of space appeared to develop from the naivety of primitive artefacts, or from the madness of the mentally-challenged people.” This sort of artistic work will enhance crafts through art. The economy could be revalued through the contribution of the arts and crafts, and driven by this system, culture should acknowledge the cultural progress of the population.

[u]

“Gropius diffused the hope for revolution in the education of art and also supported the recovery of the economic capacity of craftsmanship, trade and the industry to increase prosperity through aesthetic innovation.” Technique is exploited as a simple tool for formal creation. For example, the “spiritual” element provided by the very essence of art, and evident in the work by Johannes Itten

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[v]

(artist and professor with the School of Bauhaus from 1919 to 1923), was used to establish a simple, pure language with the production of high symbolic quality.

“All minor details are subordinate to a major and simple formal representation, that ultimately leads to the symbolic expression relative to the profound meaning of modern forms, once the final forms have been identified. [...] Their immediately obvious and recognisable appearance highlights the technical complexity of their body. Technical and artistic forms therefore merge in a single item.” Bauhaus emerged from a revolutionary and moralist period when thought was subjected to rationalisation to provide a common language for everyone; we will not eliminate Bauhaus’ responsibility of wanting to develop a global system, of merging things to create a model of “ideal life” for modern man, in search of:

[w]

“The human scale, the human function, in the attempt to identify human needs. Essential human needs are few and they are the same for everyone, as all people have developed in the same way as far as we are aware. The ‘Larousse’ dictionary provides us with definition of Man and uses three images to dismantle his structure before our eyes; it describes the whole body, its frame, its nervous system, and its blood system — these are 77

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exactly the same in each and every one of us, with no exceptions. The essential needs are also the same for everyone, as we all need to nourish ourselves through the consumption of reinforcing elements, because nature is indifferent to us, it is inhumane (non-human) and inclement; we were born naked and unprepared to face the world.”

Aaaaaargh!… I can do nothing in this kitchen!!!

However this idea would suggest that we forget what things are used for and and consequently their relation to social practices; it means trying to eliminate local practices. The definition of the “unique” Man is the basis of a dehumanising industrial system that is in direct conflict with nature. What sort of relationship can be established between the local and the global? The kitchen is one perfect example of a standardised space. The structures of mass-produced modular elements were designed to maximise their transferability, their production time, and their storage capacity of processed food. The plans for an object are universal tools that are easily communicated and understood. Diffusion using the Internet allows users to select the mode of production that is most suitable for them: a form of DIY that avoids spending is formulated on the basis of recovery system.

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3 low-level oven unit | 60 × 60 × 90 h

2 11

2 low-level corner unit + swivel storage unit | 90 × 90 × 90 h

4 low-level three-drawer unit | 60 × 60 × 90 h

28 2

62 5

5 low-level corner unit + with swivel storage unit | 90 × 90 × 90 h 6 sink with three drawers | 60 × 60 × 90 h

70 1

40 10

6 10

80 9 Vue 2

2 11

7 waste disposal unit | 60 × 60 × 90h

28 2

10 two door wall-unit 4 3 | 80 × 35 × 70 h

63 2

5 Vue 1

28 5

28 60 3

60 28

6 Vue 1

8 62 60 5

9 door wall-unit | 40 × 35 × 70 h

8 Fridge-freezer | 60 × 60 × 211 h

Description 1 low-level three-drawer unit | 80 × 60 × 90 h

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Components/assembly of a kitchen cabinet Basic elements A 22 millimetre melamine | side panels with 32 perforations| internal facing B 3 millimetre PFL | back panel C Melamine 22 millimetres | supports and load-bearing components for the worktop D Melamine 22 millimetre | lower panel E Melamine 22 millimetres | folding drawer F mobile feet (optional) Decorative and modular elements 1 laminate | left finish panel 2 laminate | back finish panel 3 laminate | decorative plinths 4 laminate | front drawer panels 5 handles 6 work tops

6�

12� 8�

8�

30� 2�

2�

4� 4�

6� 2�

6�

2�

12� 8�

8�

30� 2�

2�

4� 4�

C 2

2�

A 1

2�

miscellaneous elements and closure catches

898

798

634

2�

E 4

D 3

798

634

898

5 E 4

D 3

Furniture customized to suit the individual’s needs

4 F

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In this case, the model has been developed on the basis of a number of variables: easily accessible materials and various DIY tools, along with the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DIY expertise. The digital production chain provides a template and files that are immediately usable and appropriate for laser cutting, a digital milling machine and even a 3D printer; users can change the size and materials as they wish. Finally, a model for crafts that exalts the expertise is proposed. Recovering the various modes of production provides an outline of production possibilities.

Client, user

Designer

Project plans and variations to suit the production methods Bricolage

craftwork, PME Fablab & Makerspace

reclaim know-how cut

3D File for digital production

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3 Free time and Sharing How can we create objects and lifestyles for “sharing”, rather than just produce them for profit? The time that has been saved through the optimisation of the industrial process has not allowed us to live in a liberated environment. Free time is also being driven by profitability, fuelled by a control of desire, factors that are deeply-embedded in the production system. Television, communication, advertising and branding have taken over free time to create a mass culture that can be manipulated at will. We must reconsider the role of free time in the light of the relationships people would like to have; there is commitment to sharing, conviviality, discussions about the use of things, about the way hosts meet and greet people, in order to start thinking about reappropriation as a way to support the various uses of things. After World War II, the entire country, the production facilities and the places that belong to the memories of each individual had to be physically rebuilt. The contribution of the manufacturing industry was never questioned, as it was the only way that employment and merchandise could be provided simultaneously and in sufficient quantities. The question lay in the acceptance of a methodology that was completely independent of art, it was know-how that depended on a culture that called on the elements of life to tackle a reality that was common to all.

[x]

“At the Hochschule für Gestaltung / College of Design in Ulm, Germany, they were not fighting to support the ‘work of art’, but they were battling to demonstrate that the theme of modern culture is life in its entirety.” 82

A redistribution of the working time of people and machines was envisaged to generate free time for leisure activities. The School of Ulm created the figure of the industrial designer, of the architect who worked with industrial elements, and also the specialists, a group of creative, efficient employees operating in many areas — they had the scientific and technical expertise on certain aspects of industrial production.

Number of hours spent at work In 1890, 2600 hours/year In 2011, 1600 hours/year Number of hours spent in front of the TV In 2011, 5 hours/day

transform, modify, renew, adapt…

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I am like a trigger; when I walk past, I turn the lights on in the bedroom

Number of hours of advertising viewed in a lifetime 6 years, 24 h/24

[y]

“In addition to its specific approach (i.e. its rational analysis and the definition of designers as ‘neutral scientific collaborators’), ‘the Ulm 83

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methodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; outlines a number of objectives along with the working methods and the scientific tradition of the German industry.â&#x20AC;? In this context, it is not really necessary to specify what types of methodologies had been designed by the representatives of the various artistic disciplines that were involved in the School of Ulm. The aim was to develop a form of standardisation that would create scientific and technological revolution: objects, architecture, signs, and standardisation to release people from their work and to create a relaxing and liberating environment.

[z]

â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the factory, in the office, at home, in town, in the context of all these products and places of social cooperation, many of our peers feel isolated, diminished, alienated. They feel that their own environment is beyond their control, that it fights against their will day by day, and eventually turns against them. To overcome this alienation we must create a living environment that, like all great tools, multiplies the power and freedom of man. We are still the victims of our surroundings but we can move to an emancipating environment, and this is the challenge that we must face in this scientific and technical revolution. In other words, given the critical condition of a large part of our heritage, 84

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we must revitalise and integrate increasingly large sections of the living environments, labour, services, culture, leisure facilities and transportation through entirely new structures.â&#x20AC;? The projects are developed through a broad-reaching and complex scientific and technical system. Generally, the system-based methodologies developed at that time are still being used today, and are implemented in various production sectors. social problems locally-sourced materials

know-how, skills and local industry

know-how, skills and local industry economics social and business networks

networks

social and business networks

Using free time used to develop skills and knowledge, tweaking and learning; many sources already exist for this purpose, such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Arduinoâ&#x20AC;?. The use of electronic tweaking is well-documented on the internet, for example through Make, Instructables, Thingiverse, Ponoko... which are communities for knowledge sharing. Some of the communities for thought-sharing are listed below:

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Arduino Arduino, one of the earliest examples in the world of open source electronic platforms, was created in 2005 to simplify the process of electronic prototyping. Three different entities carry the same name: an electronic card, a software, and a community. From a physical perspective, Arduino is a small electronic card produced in Italy; it makes the learning of programming easy and accessible through a micro-controller, a small computer. Arduino is also a software that enables the user to program this card; its older sibling is Processing.org, an open source software developed by MIT Media Lab. Third and most importantly, Arduino is a community. With an ever-increasing number of users, this forum is the playground of the site. It is the true expression of the enthusiasm associated to the card. | www.arduino.cc Snootlab Snootlab is a French company founded in 2010 by two members of Toulouse Tetalab, the hackerspace of Toulouse. As part of the Do It Yourself movement driven by Hackerspaces and Fablabs, Snootlab designs and trades expansion cards for the Arduino platform. By granting access to its plans, diagrams and sources, and by providing qualified support to the user community of Arduino, Snootlab developed a virtuous circle whereby an idea presented by its engineers, for a commission or a community project, leads to the creation of a DIY kit that is developed and marketed by Snootlab, which consequently self-finances its activities. Given that all users have access to the sources, the kit itself can be modified and developed further, and this ultimately benefits both the community and Snootlab, thanks to the sharing of improvements and new ideas. The reappropriation process of industrial products by the users is clearly illustrated against an entrepreneurial and market context. After having tested this model with the general public and in teaching institutes, Snootlab offered its electronics

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expertise to companies, and promoted the process for industrial systems through its Snootdev branch. This approach also ensures the long-term sustainability of complex systems. The availability of resources would unquestionably lead to the demise of the concept of economic profitability, defined as the conservation of profits by the creator; it also guarantees the long-term maintenance and evolution of the systems, and the emergence of ecosystems where enterprises, user communities and standards can develop. | www.snootlab.com Usinette Usinette is a reflection of both fablabs and hackerspaces. Usinette is not a “turn-key” workshop, nor is it a small factory franchise that systematically offers the same machines. On the contrary, its approach ensures that it develops to suit specific local needs; it relies heavily on easily accessible resources (e.g. human, raw materials, and secondary resources). In Usinette, members and users are fully involved in the production process and stretch beyond their roles as consumers and workers. They are free to imagine, design, prototype, and improve virtually any type of object or service; they can even choose from a catalogue of “common – property” objects that they may be asked to complete and ascribe new purposes, improvements, and documentation. It is a place of production and knowledgesharing facilitated by an Internet platform. Objects, machines and procedures are protected by a free license (e.g. GPL or Creative Commons). This legal framework is essential for the existence of a certain type of freedom which is the key component for the transformation, evolution and innovation of socio-technical processes. Tetaneutral.net The Internet is a global IT network, often referred to as the network of networks. It is the cause of many major social and political issues, and counts approximately two billion users worldwide; it implements science and technology at an advanced level. The Internet is a decentralised network based on operators who agree to exchange data according to the IP standard, i.e. the “Internet protocol”. To promote a better understanding of the Internet and its implications on behalf of the public, the tetaneutral.net association has decided to become a full member of the network, operating simultaneously as a non-profit Internet access provider, host, and operator.

Concentration, polarization, competition

Networks, exchanges, sharing, use, freedom of expression

With the invention of printing, Books created the class of the elite. People who were able to read and write ruled the world. Those who were illiterate had no option but to believe what was written â&#x20AC;&#x201D; controlled by faith or superstition. My position in society depends on my ranking in the vertical hierarchy. I can read, therefore I am *. With the invention of the television, consumerism created masses. Financed by advertising, television is the driver of the consumer society. My position in society depends on my wallet. I have, therefore I am*.

With the advent of the Internet, diffusion of the networks created crowds. The masses have dispersed, the niches now rule the world. Created by hackers, the network is open, free and almost totally lacking censorship. My position in society depends on my position around an autonomous horizontal axis. * Pierre Cattan, “La Vie Share”, Usbek & Rica, No 2, Spring 2012. I share, therefore I am. This is the “Share” life.

Our design philosophy: To build a user-friendly tool and emphasise a “giving” society. Nathalie Bruyère Mireille Bruyère Pierre Duffau

2011

•

IV This is not simply a global economic crisis that is founded on the fables; we are in the midst of a crisis of civilisation, affecting the Western world in particular. The economic crisis is a fallacy, as we have never been richer; this is a social and ecological crisis based on the polarisation of wealth. It is partly the result of the cul-de-sacs which have enclosed us within The three Fables of Capitalism; growth is not endless as it will eventually collide with the limits of our ecosystem; the market is not a self-regulating organisation that leads to harmony for everyone 95

IV â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the frequent financial crises are proof of this; people cannot be defined solely through their selfish interests â&#x20AC;&#x201D; this myth destroys society and fuels the emergence of inequalities. By assessing the scale and extent of the crisis, we can formulate new concepts, create new representations and practices that can guide us towards a simpler and more united future. It is essential that we place three key concepts at the heart of our professional practices, ideas that contrast directly with the three Fables of Capitalism: people are social creatures, their most basic and 96

IV important need is to build stable and supportive relationships with their loved ones. Irrespective of whether they are related to design or architecture, our professional practices should be based on this assumption when we are creating new objects or new living spaces. And these spaces must always create and maintain non-marketdriven social ties. Economic growth is limited and is not a goal in itself. Our practices should aim to create new objectives that focus on quality and quantitative sobriety, enhancing the autonomy of individuals and communities, 97

IV rather than reinforcing their dependence on the global market. To achieve this, our practices must be based on the analysis of how objects and places are used, and examine the relationships between production and consumption and the ecosystem, rather than being based on an analysis of economic profitability forecasts. These practices will consequently integrate the thoughts and opinions of users into the creative process. Social relationships are not exclusively market-driven; in actual fact, the majority are not of a commercial nor financial nature. 98

IV Nevertheless, they can produce a large number of very useful goods and services. Our professional behaviour must therefore guarantee mutual aid and giving practice, even when they aim for market or financial appraisal. And more importantly, this valuation must never suffocate non-market relationships.

i [a] http ://fr.wikipedia.org/

I [d] Plato, The Republic

wiki/branding [b] Andrea Branzi, What is

design?, in collaboration with Marilia Pederbelli, French translation, Ed. Gr�n, 2009, p.223 & 274

[e] Kenneth E. Boulding, an American economist and philosopher of the 20th century, quoted in Jump the Curve with Jack Uldrich, 2008 [f] Karl Marx, Capital, Volume I,

[c] Ibid., p.274

Section VIII, Chapter XXVII [g] Thomas More, Utopia, English

philosopher and humanist of the 16th century, 1516 [h] Speech by George W. Bush [i] From the Declaration of Philadelphia, 1944 [j] Excerpts from The Fable of the Bees by Bernard de Mandeville, “The thriving hive”, 1714 [k] Marshall Sahlins,

The Western Illusion of Human Nature, American anthropologist, Terra Cognita collection Edition The Shine 2009 [l] Bernard Guerrien,

Dictionary of Economic Analysis, Economica Collection, Discovery Edition, 2005 [m] Milton Friedman, Free to

Choose, A personal statement, New York, Mariner Book, p.5, 1990. American economist 1912 -2006, zealot of neo-liberalism [n] Bob Aubrey, presentation of the book by Business Digest Entreprise de Soi, Flammarion Edition, 2000. Australian consultant in staff development

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[o] Daniel Roche, History of Everyday Things, The birth of consumption in the 17th-19th century, Fayard Edition, p.29, 1997

[q] Jean Baudrillard The consumer society, its myths, its structures; Folio Edition, essay, p.60 / 61, 1970

[r] Michel Ragon, History [p] Sharing recipe

of modern architecture and urbanism (Volume I | Ideologies & Pioneers 1800 -1910 ), Casterman Essays Edition, p.21 / 22, 1986 [s] Daniel Roche, A History of Everyday Things, The Emergence of consumption in the 17th and 19th Century, Fayard Edition, p.27, 1997 [t] Michel Ragon, History of architecture and modern urbanism (Volume 2 | The emergence of the modern city from 1900 to 1940), Points-Essais Edition, p.71, 1984 [u] Jeannine Fiedler & Peter Feierbend, Bauhaus, Knemann Edition, p.30, 1999 [v] Ibid., p.17 [w] Le Corbusier, “Typical Needs, Typical Furniture”, Decorative Art Today, Paris, G. Grès & Co., 1925 reprint, Paris, Flammarion Edition, p.69, 1996 [x] François Burkhardt,

The School of Ulm: Text and Manifest, the School of Ulm & the German tradition of Sachlichkeit or “objectivity”, Centre Georges Pompidou Edition, p.10, 1988 [y] Ibid., p.9 [z] Claude Schnaidt, The School of Ulm: Text and Manifest, Architecture & technical & scientific revolution, Centre Georges Pompidou Edition, p.11, 1988

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Mireille Bruyère Mireille is an Economist, born in Toulouse, France, in 1969. She studied Economics at the Université de Toulouse I, and was awarded her doctorate in 1998. She currently works as a researcher at the French Observatory on Economic Conditions in Paris, and at the Regional Employment and Training Observatory of the Midi-Pyrenees. She has lectured in Economics at the University of Toulouse II and has been a member of the CERTOP – CNRS laboratory since 2006. She is also a member of the Scientific Council of ATTAC and of the Consortium of Économistes atterrés. Nathalie Bruyère Nathalie is a Designer, born in Toulouse, France, in 1968. After studying Interior Architecture at the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Toulouse, she continued her training with an International Master’s at the Domus Academy in Milan, Italy. In 1996, she opened a design studio POOL Products with Lorenz Wiegand. Their projects feature a unique design approach involving the development and implementation of simple solutions in the creation of objects and spaces. Their buildings are radically simplified, and their optimal use of materials aims to create useful products with high performance and versatility. She lectures in Design isdaT / institut supérieur des arts de Toulouse and coordinate research projects, such as Global Tools. www.duffau-associes.com | www.design.isdat.fr Pierre Duffau Pierre is an architect, born in Mont-de-Marsan, France, in 1964. He began working while he was a student, and this allowed him to acquire a wide range of experience with various architectural firms; his work as an independent architect began in 1994, after he graduated in Architecture in the late 1980s. He has worked on projects such as the Clément Ader plant in Toulouse (Airbus), and on a number of hotels, clinics, etc., with the Arca agency. He co-founded studio “Cactus”, and his work has been published in various journals: Amc, L’Express, Le Moniteur, Archi-crée. Through his professional experience, he has developed a unique mind set and his own architectural language. His style is apparent in projects such as the Childcare Centre in Roques sur Garonne. However, his work reflects on the relationship between the “diffused city” and the boundaries between public and private spaces, to ultimately create an architectural project where the meaning of construction is expressed in full. www.duffau-associes.com Study materials Claudia Raimondo is an architect; she was awarded a PhD in Industrial Design by the Milan Polytechnic. Finishing touches and colour are the common themes in her design activities, developed through constant experimentation in the fields of culture, design, interior architecture, and architecture. www.claudiaraimondo.com

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Graphic Design Perrine Saint Martin | www.perrinesaintmartin.fr Photography Credits Giacomo Giannini | www.giacomo-giannini.com Illustration Charlotte Martin | www.autrementditcharlotte.blogspot.com http://youtu.be/Se_75oxsQMw English translation Lisa Messina HOM-m-E Project Novela 2011, Philippe Casens, Claudia Raimondo, Giacomo Giannini, Usinette. Thanks to Espace Bonnefoy of Toulouse for their hospitality, and to those who took part in the workshop. Thanks also to Our familly, Marc, Nicolas, Mireille, Marcel, Mariuccia and our girls Tess and Ava. Massimo Banzi | www.massimobanzi.com Luisa castiglioni | luisa@press-office.co Frédéric Jourdan | www.snootlab.com Alexandre Korber & Ursula Gastfall Usinette | www.usinette.org Laurent Guerby de Tetaneutral | www.tetaneutral.net Philippe Casens | www.disopra.com/cvs/cv_phil_fr

This book has been designed with open source fonts available on GoogleFont, the Neuton Regular & Light de Brian Zick & Passion One d’Alejandro Lo Celso. For further information, please visit the following link www.ultra-ordinaire.com

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The current economic crisis questions the political leaders, and all citizens whose professional activity contributes to the greater socio-economic system. The authors of this book believe that these questions must be answered through an integration of knowledge and a hands-on approach. Consequently, an economist, a designer and an architect attempt to intersect their knowledge and their approaches. From this meeting, a common orientation is observed based on the analysis of the most problematic principles of capitalism. Producing architecture and design in an economy of sharing means constructing opportunities that are open and available to everyone; it means taking a step back from the proprietary system to open the doors on new principles similar to those of the most widespread open-source system in the world. The Internet; it means defining the boundaries of an economy of sharing on the basis of projects for living environments or habitats designed according to an open standard subdivided into scenarios that span from the local to the global. Finally, visual communication has been thought to be appropriate to the philosophy of our project, working collectively on this item with a photographer, an illustrator & graphic designers. The book is the result of an effort coordinated by Duffau & Associates.