Workshop 1.0 - Day 1
17th March, 2022
Embedded Files
Day 1 is made up of two main parts: lecture and hands-on learning.
Students learn the basics of the Circular Economy and the concepts of Circular Design in the lecture in the morning.
In the afternoon, the hands-on learning encourages the participants to make connections with the material in their hand, their ideas and what they have learnt in the lecture to better understand Circular Design.
1. Lecture (10:00-12:30)
1. Lecture (10:00-12:30)
Contents
Linear VS Circular Design
Circular economy system (butterfly diagram)
Circular Business: Product→Service Design
Circular design strategies
Examples of Circular Business and Design
The lecture was given using Google slides in the kitchen area.
The slides were bilingual (JP&EN) and shared a day prior for participants to become accustom to the vocabulary of circular design.
As information on Circular Economy and Circular Design is still vastly in English, we chose to hold the lecture mainly in English. To ensure better understanding of the content, we used Japanese for recaps of the concepts introduced in English through examples of actual business and projects applying Circular Design strategies.
2. Introduction to Design Brief and Material
2. Introduction to Design Brief and Material
After the lecture, the design brief was shared with the participants along with the an introduction of colourloop, the material (WFRP sheets) and the room.
Participants approached the material with curiosity, actively discussing among each other how “it is like leather”, “doesn’t stretch much”. They asked various questions, for example if the material is capable of absorbing water.
3. Concept Building (13:30-14:30)
3. Concept Building (13:30-14:30)
The participants discussed about what they would design for the room. They decided on creating a “Neo-Tearoom” (ネオ茶室, Neo-chashitu ), a space in which all five of them can comfortably spend their time.
💭 Initially, we were concerned about the how long participants will spend on the initial discussion and concept building. The team came to a nice concept of “Neo-chashitu” inspired by the Japanese style room they were provided with. The participants had a shared understanding of the tea culture in Japan to come together while the concept was abstract and open ended enough for them to freely think and create.
4. Making (14:40-17:00)
4. Making (14:40-17:00)
4-1. Rapid Material Research
4-1. Rapid Material Research
They found the materials’ friction will allow them to assemble pockets for wall-organizing without any additional materials such as glue.
A participant brought a handy heat-cutter to test it on the WFRP sheets.
Boiling WFRP sheets to test molding with heat and using a vase to test.
The shape didn’t hold.
4-2. Rapid Prototyping
4-2. Rapid Prototyping
Participants making and testing a prototype of a zabuton (座布団), a Japanese cushion for sitting on the floor, seeing potential in the flexibility and resistance of the WFRP sheets.
They found the flexibility and resistance of the WFRP sheets was not enough for the cushion, but was enough to keep the 3D shape of a box with minimal construction.
The idea and prototype for the lamp was born by the end of day 1.
Participants disassembled this prototype to create the final and refined version for the exhibition as material resources were limited.
Rapid prototyping to create a water proof seal with a method they had come up with using a handy heat-cutter.
4-3. Progress Sharing
4-3. Progress Sharing
Wrapping up the day with presentations of the days findings and process.
💭 Additional observations
💭 Additional observations
Repairing
Participants were already practicing repair at the end of the day with a technique they developed!
Good Teamwork
A lot of discussions were taking place throughout the workshop.
💭 At the end of the day, we found that the structure of the workshop was failing to lead participants from approaching circularity in a holistic way. They were highly excelling at material research and prototyping and even designing patterns for zero-waste.
However, they were not stepping back to have a holistic view on circularity; how will these products be produced? How will they be distributed? How will they be collected?
💭 To help the participants take a step back and think of the flow, services and loop of their products, we decided a add an excise on Day 2 named “Draw a Circular Flow Map”.
You can read more in the next report!
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