No abstract

The following article describes the ongoing interior design project that accommodates a guesthouse in a historical building located in the city of Coimbra in Portugal. It focuses on the importance of generating new narratives to maintain the original nineteenth century building’s essence, when changing the architectural program, from a pharmacy on the ground floor and residences in the upper floors into a single guesthouse. We present the design-led methodology focused on the importance of generating narratives as a foundation to achieve a common goal while working in a cross-disciplinary team. In this context, the designer not only has the role of the form-giver, but also becomes the mediator between matter and form, the team leader, and the forecaster of the user’s emotional experiences. When adapting client’s brief into a tangible outcome within a team that crosses various areas of expertise (in this case: architecture, design, engineering, archaeology, conservation, and restoration), the importance of generating an open concept that can adapt to the evolving context, becomes key to meet client’s expectations. This article intends to contribute to the discussion of the designer’s elastic mindset as a binding tool between actors and contexts, towards an outcome that acknowledges the importance of the contribution of each one when looking for enriched results. Therefore, it questions what is gained and what is lost by setting aside the classic design fundamental principles and by focusing on design as a managing tool between data and the involved actors for an enriched outcome. As a main conclusion, it underlines the importance of generating a strong narrative with an open outcome to bind all stakeholders to a common goal through the designer as a project leader.

La naturaleza ha estado inevitablemente presente en la evolución humana, definiendo límites, capacidades e imaginación, o en otras palabras, determinando cómo y por qué diseñamos. En este artículo, intentamos ver la naturaleza en sí misma como una narrativa cultural preestablecida (o conjunto de narrativas) y reflexionar sobre cómo estas narrativas influyen en el diseño en dos aspectos muy distintos. La primera mirada es a las narrativas de la naturaleza relacionadas con la poiesis y su potencial para generar referencias emocionales. Mientras que el segundo, se centra en las narrativas de la naturaleza asociadas a su praxis, junto con su referencia procedimental para el diseño, como conclusión buscamos puntos comunes y divergentes entre estos enfoques también con la intención de contribuir a una mejor comprensión de cómo la idea de Naturaleza influye en el diseño.

The following article looks at nature as a cultural pre-set narrative (or set of narratives) and reflects on how it can influence the design process to achieve a concrete result - a product. It describes an ongoing process that intersects intangible (behaviours) and tangible (matter) expressions of nature with the concept of Original-Copy, as the conceptual framework to develop and materialize a lampshade.The inclusion of behaviour patterns presents poetic and imaginative properties to trigger the conceptual phase of a project, while biomatter was chosen to physically materialize the ideas. In this context, the Original-Copy concept works as the archetype on which a new product can be based.The aforementioned approach has been applied and developed through a workshop, which intends to join the three concepts referred to above: behaviours, matter and original-copy.Firstly, a taxonomy of animals´ seduction rituals and courtship behaviours has been developed, which includes various criteria of classification, such as duration, triggers, interaction, or intensity. This taxonomy works as the catalyst of the workshop, to promote imagination and disruption in the design process.In this challenge, the shape of the object is predetermined by an original form (an archetype), in this case, the renowned Constanza lampshade, produced by the Italian brand Luceplan. The poetic dimension is induced by the attempt of translating the patterns of animal mating rituals described in the taxonomy into the characteristics of the biomaterial. The final objective was for the participants to express themselves through the physical dimension (texture, opacity, smell, touch, taste, bias) of created materials, inspired by animal behaviours, and use it to create the reinterpretation of the pre-existing form of the Constanza lampshade.After explaining the workshop methodology, the article presents the main ideas generated. Selected behaviours and the way of their application, composition of the created biomaterials used to materialize the ideas, as well as the final outcomes are described.An important part of the article is the report on the failed attempts of creating the materials and constructing the lampshades, their causes and the impact on the whole process.In the future, further evaluation and development of the proposed approach are anticipated, through the described workshops in different social and geographic contexts. It is awaited the possible creation of collections of other design classics lampshades, based on distinct triggers, for example on endogenous resources, emphasizing different ways how nature can influence design.

This paper aims to describe the ongoing implementation process of the Design Factory Aveiro (DFA) integrated in the Creative Science Park Aveiro Region in Aveiro, Portugal. The DFA is a place for the convergence of diverse subjects and entities to foster innovative and creative projects, acting as an interface that translates the efforts of academia to meet the needs and constraints of the existing socioeconomic, industrial and cultural local reality. The main goal is that, by crossing an experimental platform which promotes research through cultural mediation, based on co-creation and collaboration, will instigate the generation of innovative products and services that might have immediate applicability in the market. Above all, the innovative methodologies that will arise from this interaction, will create a place for radical and disruptive innovation.