sustainable design Articles
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Product attachment and replacement: implications for sustainable design
This research investigated a number of main areas of attachment in order to determine how consumer-product relationships are formed and to identify whether these feelings influence replacement decisions. Primary research comprised of interviews with consumers to discuss the topic area in relation to three possessions selected for their attachment qualities. The research highlighted how ...
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Designing value through less by integrating sustainability strategies into lifestyles
The article argues for a need to overcome a conventional notion of product design. In this regard, the article offers an integrative and systemic approach to sustainable design. Instead of focusing on objects, a user–centred perspective is adopted. A sustainable design of products and services requires the integration of production–orientated (efficiency and consistency) and ...
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Towards sustainable design in the sports and leisure industry
The sports and leisure products industry, like most of the consumer products manufacturing sector has been operating very much on a disposable commodity basis. Indeed, many sports products require high levels of energy to manufacture, they exploit low-paid labour in the developing world, and they are conceived typically with little consideration of recyclability and reusability, or sustainability ...
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A generalised exergy-based framework for sustainable design of IT systems
This paper proposes an exergy-based approach to evaluate the sustainability of different Information Technology (IT) systems. We suggest the need for metrics that include a second-law component as well as a life-cycle view in evaluating sustainability. Having identified such a metric, we demonstrate applicability of the framework for a sample IT system. We conclude by reflecting upon additional ...
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The role of human factors in the adoption of sustainable design criteria in business: evidence from Belgian and Dutch case studies
A growing number of companies are faced with the challenge of implementing sustainable design. Although theory and methods are available, practice shows that the implementation process of sustainable design is not straightforward. In this paper, different cases are described based on an empirical study of Flemish and Dutch firms that are implementing sustainable design. The emphasis is put on the ...
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Extant objects: designing things as they are
This paper describes a design exploration that addresses the re-use of low-value, discarded mass-produced objects. The exploration is an attempt to deal with a variety of sustainable concerns associated with contemporary mass-produced material culture. Two rather distinct, but interrelated approaches to sustainable design are recognised and discussed. One contributes to improving product design ...
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DEEDS: a teaching and learning resource to help mainstream sustainability into everyday design teaching and professional practice
The DEsign EDucation and Sustainability (DEEDS) project, funded by the European Union's Leonardo da Vinci Programme, comprises a partnership of five institutions from the European design and sustainable development communities that embraces higher education, research and practice. This paper outlines the background, evolution and outcomes from the project which currently include a set of core ...
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Key concepts of radical innovation for sustainability, with complementary roles for industrial design and engineering
This paper presents a synoptic review of sustainability literature currently available. Distillation and synthesis of this research enabled the development of Key Concepts of Radical Innovation for Sustainability. They are presented here as diverse strategies of sustainable development/sustainable product design (SD/SPD) needed for truly radical innovation. The key concepts are of major ...
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The Rouge Goes Green: Ford showcases sustainable design in revamp of historic River Rouge plant
From Engineering News-Record Architect William McDonough claims he first heard about Ford Motor Co.’s $2-billion makeover of its River Rouge production plant in Dearborn, Mich., on May 4, 1999, the same day that Ford CEO William Clay Ford Jr. called a press conference to announce that McDonough would lead the design team. Picking McDonough, a wry Charlottesville, Va.-based iconoclast who ...
By Arcadis
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Form beyond function: practice-based research in objects, environment and meaning
This paper presents an overview of practiced-based research conducted over the last four years that explores new directions in product design. The research addresses the challenges of sustainability, including localisation of design and production, as well as substantive values and deeper, enduring understandings of human meaning. The approach iteratively combines scholarly inquiry, reasoned ...
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Sustainable lightweight vehicle design: a case study of eco–material selection for body–in–white
Sustainable product development when applied to an automotive structure requires a balanced approach towards technological, economic and ecological aspects. Current paper investigates the main input parameters and the different measures for the vehicular structures design for sustainability (DFS) in general and its material selection for sustainable lightweight design in particular. This study ...
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Design education for sustainability: a design studio project on the re-contextualisation of the wind-up radio
The drive towards globalisation has not only environmental and social implications, as there is a marked effect also on designers and the design process. Today, the mass production of electronic and electrical products is typically outsourced, and it is apparent that most end up being discarded while still functioning properly. With the intention of raising a critical discussion and promoting a ...
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The spirit of design: notes from the shakuhachi flute
This paper examines how human values associated with meaning and spiritual development can affect the design of a functional object and in turn, how the use of such an object can reinforce such values. These factors are considered in terms of their connections to contemporary discussions about sustainability. A particular artefact has been selected, the Japanese shakuhachi flute, which is ...
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Thermal comfort, indoor air quality and acoustics: a conceptual framework for predicting occupant satisfaction in sustainable office buildings
The authors propose and test a conceptual framework that delineates occupants' satisfaction with thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and acoustics conditions via post-occupancy evaluation (POE). A self-administered, internet-based, POE questionnaire was administered in two office buildings that were designed and operated as county service centres in a Midwestern state. A series of multiple ...
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Developing and sustaining creative cities: a sustainability tool for designers, planners, and public administrators
A creative city will be made up of many distinct characteristics within the five domains of sustainability: environmental qualities, socio-cultural conditions, technological applications, economic patterns and vitalities and supportive, democratic public policies. All of these characteristics are dependent upon sustainable design, sustainable planning and responsible urban administration for the ...
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Product recovery oriented approach for fastener selection during conceptual design
Product recovery and life extension are critical activities in the cradle to cradle life cycle philosophy. These activities are very much dependent on the product's ability to be effectively disassembled into its component or even material constituents. Among the elemental task of disassembly is fastener removal. Thus, when considering the design for disassembly (DfD), many fastener associated ...
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Strategy-based approach to eco-design: an innovative methodology for systematic integration of ecologic/economic considerations into product development process
This paper shows how Rieter Automotive is approaching the integration of environmental considerations in product development process by providing an overview of all the involved elements playing a role in eco-design implementation, organised in a logical framework. A methodological approach is summarised, that integrates cultural aspects, product innovation issues and product strategic vision. ...
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Insights from guiding material development towards more sustainable products
Faced with current challenges in society, many companies will need to develop more sustainable products in order to continue operations in the long term. Therefore, ways of identifying important sustainability considerations already in the early stages of material or product development are of importance. The article is based on action research in a material development project. The article ...
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Lightbulbs and nappies: sustainable development and customer perceptions
Recent interest in 'green' versions of everyday objects has led to a market presence for energy-efficient lightbulbs and the re-emergence of reusable nappies (diapers). Given their ease of use, one might think that 'green' lightbulbs would become far more popular than reusable nappies and the associated inconvenience. However, this is not always the case. The paper takes a novel approach to ...
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Sustainable urban design: principles to practice
This paper attempts to make the connection between the theory of sustainability and the practice of urban design. In doing so it draws from a wide body of literature to establish ten universal principles of sustainable urban design. These it relates to some of the widely accepted precepts of sustainable development. In linking theory to practice, consideration is given to how these principles ...
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