Crafting sustainability: approaching wicked environmental problems through high–low tech practice

Abstract

Wicked environmental problems are complex, illdefined and constantly shifting. Analytical methods alone are typically under-equipped to address these problems. High-low tech is a craftmaking and design practice that encourages makers to merge high-and low-tech materials, processes and cultures. We explore how high -low tech practices can create new ways of understanding wicked environmental problems and lead practitioners towards new ways of approaching them.Through five examples of high -low tech practices, we explore the qualities of these practices-an embrace of complexity, a transdisciplinary approach to work and a maker ethos-that make high -low tech practices particularly well suited to addressing wicked environmental problems.

Making “Making” Critical: How Sustainability is Constituted in Fab Lab Ideology

“…On their side, the Fab Lab organizers were unable to maintain Waste-lab's engagement, even if their strengths in ad hoc, experimental processes were desired (see Figure 2). This would appear to confirm emerging research that indicates maker communities are divided in their sustainability orientations and knowledge, and they may need scaffolding to be able to engage robustly with important sustainability issues (Fleischmann, Hielscher, and Merritt 2016;Kadish and Dulic 2015;Kohtala and Hyysalo 2015).…”

“…On the other hand, the very openness embedded in Fab Lab ideology and the competence in open design processes has facilitated sustainability-oriented experimentation in spaces such as the Valldaura Lab. Open design fosters transdisciplinarity, commitment and willingness to accept complexity (Tamminen and Moilanen 2016), conditions that Kadish and Dulic (2015) argue are ripe for addressing wicked environmental problems through digital craft experiments. Quilley, Hawreliak, and Kish (2016) further suggest that such open peer production offers openings for alternative, eco-oriented, postgrowth political economies, if maker culture can sever its links to the current consumerist growth economy.…”

Framing Open Design through Theoretical Concepts and Practical Applications: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Several studies on making, particularly from the field of design, espoused the empowerment potential (and at times sustainability potential) of craft and materiality, invoking the legacy of William Morris (e.g. Kadish & Dulic, 2015).…”

“…One of the main intentions for such an emphasis on localization was to establish the availability of and accessibility to technology through openly available design solutions (Redlich et al, 2016), hence establishing technology independence for different localities (Pearce & Mushtaq, 2009). In the papers, this was also related to the accessibility of resources and fabrication capabilities through the rise of digital fabrication labs (Redlich et al, 2016) and the ability to create 'high-low tech' solutions addressing sustainability issues in these environments (Kadish & Dulic, 2015). Openly available technology can be utilized to address social issues within communities (Phillips,…”

“…Among the latter, local production through local initiatives or in digital fabrication labs was a common theme (e.g. Kadish & Dulic, 2015;Malinen et al, 2011). Transitioning towards cleaner energy sources through local efforts was also a concern (Malinen et al, 2011).…”