Systems Oriented Design

Wicked problems revisited

Thursday, 17 March 2011 19:42

Many designers refer to design in genral as dealing with wicked problems. Re-reading Horst Rittels famous article is really worth the read. It makes me realize that the general statements that design problems are wicked problems is simply not true. Designing a chair is not a wicked problem as Derek Miller (one of our lecturers) stated in a discussion today. Reading Rittels article will clarify the issues. It also refers to the shortcoming of hard systems thinking and makes it clear why we use the approach of Systems Oriented Design combining not just any design practice with any type of systems thinking, but combining advanced design practice with mainly soft system thinking. Read Rittels article again! It is called "Dilemmas in a general theory of planning"
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More experiences from Istanbul

Thursday, 17 March 2011 19:31

Here a film made by Giacomo Neri. Nice impressions from our tour.

Industrial Ecology

Wednesday, 16 March 2011 14:59

bjrg_workshop_picture_whole_class

Björn Frostell from the institute of Industrial Ecology at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm had a lecture and workshop at AHO. Industrial ecology is and will be important even in what we call the knowledge economies. After all the material economies will be equally important in the future and they are also the source for the problems of sustainability.

Immaterials

Wednesday, 09 March 2011 22:00

Talking of the immaterial flows of energy and signals and talking of visualization:
We have some pretty cool colleagues here at AHO.
It makes you think what else you can do by bringing the diagram out into real life world. The project is by Timo Arnall, Jørn Knutsen, Einar Sneve Martinussen

YOUrban weblog: http://yourban.no/2011/02/22/immaterials-light-painting-wifi

Touch weblog: http://www.nearfield.org/2011/02/wifi-light-painting

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timo/sets/72157626020532597/

Istanbul City of Complexity

Wednesday, 09 March 2011 21:14

We just came back from a study trip to Istanbul. The reason for the trip was to experience and immerse in a city that has an infinite layering of complex systems, each neighborhood being economically culturally and socially different. Where else would you stumble upon this glad gang I spotted in the Istiklal Caddesi one late night, dancing around a bag pipe player.

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Planned Obsolescence

Tuesday, 01 March 2011 15:29

The darkest moment in the history of industrial design might be the invention and promotion of Planned Obsolescence by industrial designer Brooks Stevens and others, contributing to a totally unsustainable developing. The principle of making products psychologically and functionally short-lived is still main stream. Only few alternatives have been suggested, eg the PSS approach to sustainable products. Also Systems Oriented Design intends to produce alternative thinking adressing the severe challenges untamed consumerism has brought to us.

There is a lot of work to do to change the attitude.

Watch the video Pyramids of Waste to learn more:

http://www.vimeo.com/17750184