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Multi-Disciplinary Design College of Architecture + Planning University of Utah
375 S. 1530 E., Salt Lake City, Utah 84112
Jim Agutter, Director, Assistant Professor agutterja@arch.utah.edu
Elpitha Tsoutsounakis, Assistant Professor Lecturer elpitha@arch.utah.edu
OUTDOOR PRODUCT STUDIO Spring 2014 Report
DESIGN.UTAH.EDU @uofu_design
PHOTO BY DEVAKI ANANDA MURCH
MULTI-DISCIPLINARY DESIGN PROGRAM The Multi-disciplinary Design (MDD) program is a new approach to design education. This new program at the University of Utah has a focus on products, processes and experiences and offers undergraduate students a minor in design or a Bachelors of Science in Design. The MDD program is only a year old. We currently have one class of 17 students and will accept another class of 17-20 students by the end of May to begin study in the program in the fall. Students complete a curriculum that is focused not only on design, but also examines business, manufacturing, human factors, graphic communication, marketing and research. The program is developing a curriculum that explores health and wellness though medical and healthcare design as well as recreation and outdoor products. We believe the outdoor industry is a field that impacts health and wellness through activity and potential therapeutic aspects, but also becomes a way to teach students about ecological balance and environmental ethics. Many of our students are passionate about and active in the local landscape and hope to pursue careers in the outdoor industry. Our approach to curriculum in the MDD program takes careful consideration of the potential careers that students will pursue and how we prepare them for working in the professional world. We educate designers who are also researchers, problem solvers, innovators and entrepreneurs. In the early stages of building this program we are interested in developing relationships with industry as a way to inform how we educate students and to provide a more seamless integration for students in their future careers.
MDD OUTDOOR PRODUCT STUDIO Spring 2014 Report / MDD PROGRAM
PHOTOS BY DEVAKI ANANDA MURCH
SPRING 2014 OUTDOOR PRODUCT DESIGN STUDIO Our design studio this semester is exploring the concept of designing products or experiences that enhance an experience or understanding of nature while minimizing human impact. The students were assigned readings on ecology, the relationship of man and nature, and cradle to cradle practices. After a studio camping trip to the Valley of Fire, they were tasked with exploring a particular theme in regards to research and precedents – energy, shelter, transport, waste, food & water and storage – and developed their own problem statements in response to their observations and insights. The students are currently designing and testing prototypes while also considering life cycle, target demographic and business model for their product or service. The studio addresses the following learning objectives: 1. Student proficiency in conducting in-depth precedent analysis 2. Understanding concepts related to synthesis of design research information 3. Communication of design research to a variety of stakeholders 4. Identification and communication of key design opportunities 5. Translation of design opportunity into tangible products, services or processes 6. Refined product, service or process that clearly addresses design opportunities 7. Understanding of business case for product, service or process PHOTOS BY DEVAKI ANANDA MURCH
8. Understanding of impact (environmental, business and engineering) of designed solution 9. Ability to compile all material from course into a comprehensive and understandable package 10. Ability to work in interdisciplinary teams Reading List: William McDonough, Michael Braungart , Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
William McDonough , Michael Braungart , The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability--Designing for Abundance Howard T. Odum, Environment, Power and Society Morris Berman, Re-inchantment of the World Lewis Mumford, Art and Technics
Manuel Delanda, A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History
F. Giudice, G. La Rosa, A. Risitano, Product Design for the Environment: A Life Cycle Approach Alan Weisman, The World Without Us
MDD OUTDOOR PRODUCT STUDIO Spring 2014 Report / SPRING 14 STUDIO
Each camper was given 10- 20 beans upon arrival to the campsite. These beans symbolize the embodied energy in our activities. Students were required to ‘pay’ for activities with their beans, and once they ran out, they had to complete specific tasks to get more beans. At the same time, our collective bean stash for the campsite was limited, and while some beans could be reclaimed from activities, there was a percentage that went into the ‘expired waste pile’. The beans in the expired waste pile will be usable again in approximately 10,000 years. There was a bean jar at each of the following locations with in the campsite; the percentages for each dictate the portion of beans that must be expired to the waste pile. The students were given a bean usage diagram that related to the energy flow diagrams in the Odum reading. Tasks to get more beans were assigned, as general work was needed around the campsite, or students earned more beans by
PHOTOS BY DEVAKI ANANDA MURCH
doing jumping jacks and ten-minute dance parties.
BEAN STOCKPILE
18 Campers
OUTHOUSE
70%
WATER JUGS
50%
KITCHEN
50%
FIRE PIT
100%
COMPOST
10%
TRASH
100%
BEAN STOCKPILE
EXPIRED WASTE
EXPIRED WASTE
OUTHOUSE
70%
18 Campers
PHOTOS BY DEVAKI ANANDA MURCH
CAMPING TRIP + BEANS
In order to really understand (first hand) the energy flows Odum talks about we would have to go back to primitive practices on a site completely ‘off grid’. Since the studio was camping at an organized campsite with infrastructure and modern conveniences, we designed a game that to help the students understand their own energy consumption and their impact on a closed system of resources. The students were very positive and cooperative through out the camping trip. They seemed to enjoy the challenge and began identifying new bean trading opportunities in relationship to our forms of energy consumption. They tended to take the game quite literally and this led to ways in which the students tried to manipulate the rules. Students started to hoard trash in their tents and back backs to avoid bean payment, but were much more aware of their use of water. Overall we believe the bean game became a powerful metaphor for discussing energy, consumption, waste and environmental impact.
MDD OUTDOOR PRODUCT STUDIO Spring 2014 Report / CAMPING TRIP + BEANS