Each second, minute, hour of our day is conducted by the culture that we inhabit. In our western society time organizes even constricts our lives, we manage our time by what’s happening right here, right now and we tend to focus on the individual rather than the wider community; according to our western economic thought ‘time is money’. The book ‘Eternally Yours’ begins to question whether this in tern effects how we disconnect ourselves from long-term sustainability.
It is undeniable that we live in a throw away culture, which is reflected in the way our culture approaches time. “We can see the past but we can’t influence it. We can influence the future but we can’t see it”[1]. This example illustrates how we don’t design for the future but for now, and as consumers we demand and push this cycle. Design for the other 90% looks at ways we can make a small sustainable intervention into a less developed country or society. However have we ever stopped to question that they survive by being sustainable; where as we survive by designing the next throw away item. Perhaps it is time we took some of their practices and reflected them into our culture.
One sustainable project that was implemented in small communities in southern Africa looks at children’s ‘play time’. “The zero energy pump is specifically designed playground roundabout that pumps groundwater from boreholes into sealed tanks”[2]. This intervention is powered by the children having fun and turning the roundabout. It raises groundwater as much as 1400l an hour. The programme is funded by the advertising for public health companies which also encourages local businesses. This example illustrates how time links hand with fun and produces a sustainable object, and ultimately benefits a community.
Is it time that we let ‘the other 90%’ design for us. If they are capable of living along side nature, then we can too. Time and sustainable design go hand in hand; if we were to change our ideals of time then perhaps sustainable design will just become that of the norm, rather than a fashionable commodity.
[1] Hite, E. (2004) Eternally Yours Time in design. olo publishers, Rotterdam.
[2] Cumberlidge, C and Musgrave, (2007) Design and Landscape for People, Thames and Hudson, China
Image: http://www.tablarasagallery.com/assets/images/playpump.jpg
It is undeniable that we live in a throw away culture, which is reflected in the way our culture approaches time. “We can see the past but we can’t influence it. We can influence the future but we can’t see it”[1]. This example illustrates how we don’t design for the future but for now, and as consumers we demand and push this cycle. Design for the other 90% looks at ways we can make a small sustainable intervention into a less developed country or society. However have we ever stopped to question that they survive by being sustainable; where as we survive by designing the next throw away item. Perhaps it is time we took some of their practices and reflected them into our culture.
One sustainable project that was implemented in small communities in southern Africa looks at children’s ‘play time’. “The zero energy pump is specifically designed playground roundabout that pumps groundwater from boreholes into sealed tanks”[2]. This intervention is powered by the children having fun and turning the roundabout. It raises groundwater as much as 1400l an hour. The programme is funded by the advertising for public health companies which also encourages local businesses. This example illustrates how time links hand with fun and produces a sustainable object, and ultimately benefits a community.Is it time that we let ‘the other 90%’ design for us. If they are capable of living along side nature, then we can too. Time and sustainable design go hand in hand; if we were to change our ideals of time then perhaps sustainable design will just become that of the norm, rather than a fashionable commodity.
[1] Hite, E. (2004) Eternally Yours Time in design. olo publishers, Rotterdam.
[2] Cumberlidge, C and Musgrave, (2007) Design and Landscape for People, Thames and Hudson, China
Image: http://www.tablarasagallery.com/assets/images/playpump.jpg
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