Futures

Go Backwards and Gain

The question I ask is the one mentioned at a lecture (6th March) on Futures. Can we design for the future? Indeed, can we design the future? To improve for the future in order to create a better future is on the mind of every designer. Much has been said and written about this topic. This is why I intend to use my last blog to turn this ‘upside-down’ and ask a question: Can we design (for) the past?

At first, this seems to be impossible. Even Sam Hill commented on this at the same lecture. However, if more thinking is applied to this topic, interesting answers or thoughts can be found.

‘Is it still possible to live in a cave nowadays, with no electricity?’ (Fischli&Weiss, 2006) Responding to the blogs on ‘Slums’, this is actually a very topical quote. To live in a cave without electricity does not seem to be possible nowadays. However, how different is this description to the living conditions in slums? Sometimes, a cave would actually give a better shelter than a shanty. As for the electricity, it is not always the solution to light and heat whereas fire (in a cave) delivers heat and light as long as one has matches and some wood. Which one is better then?

One big difference is that ‘a cave’ is associated with the past left far behind whereas ‘slums’ is something with which we still have to live, something that will probably remain with us as we go towards the future (based on economy of a relevant country).

‘How should I decorate my tree?’ (Fischli&Weiss, 2006) Ethically, to think like this is wrong. Nobody wants (anybody) to live in trees or (as already mentioned) in a cave. However, the quote above brings to life many potential projects for a designer. This approach takes the designer ‘out of the box’ and helps him come to interesting solutions for the future. Therefore, to pretend that we could go backwards (towards the past) in our future could be seen as a gain.

This relates to Michel Serres and his idea of ‘harmony’ (or ‘disharmony’ to be more precise). According to him, the planet is not perfect. There are imperfections. Consequently, there is not only good and evil; there is the grey area in-between. If we accept this and start from here as suppose to seek the ‘harmony’ we may come to a better understanding of current problems. This approach is evident in a life of a multicultural city. It develops naturally and when a structure is applied, suddenly it is thrown out of its balance. This structure is foreseen as a ‘parasite’, as something extra.

We for some time now ‘parasite’ over our planet. We do not live alongside nature. We want to rule it and with any attempt to change our habits, both humans and nature suffer. Therefore the option of designing (for) the past deserves some thought. At this point, it is only fair to round up by saying: ‘Is life a strange system of caves?’ (Fischli&Weiss, 2006).


Fischli, P., Weiss, D. (2006), Will Happiness Find Me? (quotes translated by Catherine Schelbert), Koenig Books, London
http://tcs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/19/3/1