Dear colleagues:
The questions raised by Jean about social design have started me
thinking more about the topic, particularly in terms of research that
I would like to do. For years I have been collecting documentation
about intermediate technology and related topics and have grouped it
under the heading of 'alternative design.' I thought of it in terms
of the 60s and early 70s rather than as a type of practice that
relates to the larger and longer history of development theory. I
don't want to fall into the Papanek trap of marginalizing the
subject. In fact, some of what Papanek considered alternative design
in the early 70s has now become much more mainstream: design for the
handicapped has become universal design; design related to the
environment has become ecodesign or sustainable design. There is
still little mainstream work on design for development; that is,
design which is particularly relevant to the needs of developing
countries. Some interventions have been made at the hi tech level:
computers, cell phones. But this doesn't really address the issue of
a broader strategy for development with design as a major player.
There is also the experience presented by Lubomir of research in
architecture on habitability and other topics. This is not directed
specifically at affordable housing though. In looking at some of the
literature that might go into a bibliography of social design, there
is not yet a distinction between design related to developing
countries, and thus part of the discourse on development, and design
for developed countries that democratizes or deepens existing design
processes. The Byker housing of Ralph Erskine, for example, is most
notable for its emphasis on resident participation in the design
process rather than in the creation of a new typology of low-cost
housing. The same is true of Lucian Kroll's work in Belgium. I would
be interested in anyones thoughts on how we might sort out these
different tendencies to develop notions of social design without
having to include everything. Of course, we can say that Jock
Kinnear's signage system for the British motorways is social design,
which it is, as is the street furniture for Amsterdam's Damrak. What
I am trying to move towards, though without much clarity at the
moment, is the development of a research agenda that would be
directed towards some notion of social value. Perhaps the first
question is to discuss the way notions of social value are
constructed.
Victor
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