Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

This paper discusses exercises undertaken within a graduate level, interdisciplinary design thinking studio course. The intent in these exercises is to allow students to identify potential resources within a given locality that could then inspire nonprofit, sustainable service design opportunities. These exercises build off of theoretical notions in design thinking, coupled with Ezio Manzini’s ideas on enabling solutions. The main technique is called ‘scripting’ which entails a photography exercise that is used to identify interesting features of a given location that could be potential resources to serve that community. Students must complete a random, thirty minute walk, stopping to take photographs every five minutes. Using the photographs as inspiration, students are then required to identify resources that could be utilized within a nonprofit service design context to enable and enhance sustainable solutions locally. Students then pivot off of the resource identification, to conceptualize, structure and detail a potential service design intervention that could follow through on the initial inspiration. The intervention service designs may be permanent or temporary, depending upon the needs and resources identified. Such interventions are intended to support and enhance resource sharing, health, community engagement, urban and community conviviality, and foster community connections. An underlying tenet of the work, is that such solutions are often emergent, and arise from a creative, and unexpected, perception of local features as potential community resources.