Positive Pathways
Building Partnerships from the Doing in the South: A Pluricultural and Decolonial Approach towards Collaborations between Artisans and Designers in Latin America View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Cesar Lucho, Licia Silvana Torres Rebaza, Juan Giusepe Montalvan Lume
This paper presents the methodology applied by an interdisciplinary team with experience in industrial design and anthropology to foster mutual understanding and collaboration between designers and artisans in a Latin American context. The research team aimed to understand the processes by which handcrafted objects are produced, traded, and used by artisans, local vendors, and consumers by conducting a research project in two cities in Peru - Lima and Cajamarca- as a case study. During said process, the team recognized the implications of the traditional definitions of 'design' and 'artisanship' and the impact of these concepts on individuals, communities and other contexts. Furthermore, by reusing the original methodology from a product-oriented approach to a systemic approach, the research team understood the need to redefine such concepts to ensure intercultural and horizontal collaboration between artisans and designers.
Design for Circular Manufacturing: Common Knowledge for Made in Italy and Sustainability in European Waste Management Frameworks View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Viktor Malakuczi, Carmen Rotondi, Luca D'Elia, Sabrina Lucibello, Lorenzo Imbesi
Designing and manufacturing with circular materials is still a major challenge, despite various waste exchange platforms and LCA tools. The present research aims at providing advanced digital tools for the extremely fragmented supply chains of Made in Italy industries, exploring how designers may transform practices by leveraging on local waste streams, with a greater awareness of availability and impact. More specifically, by addressing the need for sustainability in production and design, this contribution focuses on establishing a link between Italian production codification (ATECO) and European Waste Catalogue classification (EWC). Understanding these relations is crucial for providing designers with the necessary quantity and quality of relevant information on possible circular alternatives. Through the data collected via web, the research identified those EWC codes that are potentially related to regional producers, distinguishing those that are responsible to collect and process waste materials and those who are responsible for its production. These stakeholders were then interviewed to determine the effectiveness of this relation. Following a Qualitative Analysis of the responses, the Research provides initial insights on the common knowledge base producers and manufacturers have about waste management within the Made in Italy production chain. Results will be ultimately used to facilitate the exchange of relevant information, as well as the construction of a widespread and scalable network for stakeholders related to production of products and transformation of waste materials.
Geobacter Microbial Fuel Cells for IoT System Support: Microbial Fuel Cells in Marine, River and Coastal Environments
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Efren Trevisan
The research focuses on the aquatic, marine, and coastal landscape, where through the use of "Geobacter Sulfurreducens" microorganisms[1] found in lagoon and marsh sediments, it is possible to produce electricity through a determined Microbial Fuel Cell system. Such electrolytic capabilities offer a twofold result, firstly in the production of renewable energy from organic substances (particularly iron oxide), and secondly in the bioremediation of water. Analysis and field testing have aimed at the development of a regenerative system for marine renewable energy production. The paper is divided into an introductory part in which the energies involved in the project, the bioelectrochemical principles behind the operation of a MFC (Microbial Fuel Cell) and an MFC in an open environment are explained. In addition, the introductory part explains the characteristics of geobacteria and the various places where they can be found, with a focus on the structures studied so far. Then experimentation is addressed focusing on service design, public sector, IoT, and sensing and then conclusions are drawn and the real possibilities of application in different scenarios related to aquatic and coastal scenarios. The research project uses in part the methodologies of biomimesis and bio-inspired design that start from the understanding that biological systems are like databases of sustainable design solutions and innovations (Benyus, 2002; Langella, 2007) that can be used in flood monitoring and forecasting. These, enabled by IoT, combine AI, IoT and big data for advanced flood analytical research (Negi, Harendra Singh et al., 2020).
