Abstract
Free spaces can serve as a blank canvas for the projection of desires and the exploration of possibilities – but these spaces can also create uncertainty or friction due to the potential for various interpretations and outcomes. This friction can be exploited – because it generates questions that help to reflect on our actions in design teaching, theory, and practice, and can thereby generate new ways of thinking. In the context of the great challenge in design – designing in the context of the emerging climatic catastrophe of the Anthropocene - these exploratory questions can be of major importance. Therefore, this paper uses the metaphor of empty space to outline, in three arguments, how the image of empty space can influence our thinking about design in the context of sustainability.
Keywords
Sustainable design, Sustainable futures, Posthumanism & design, Ecological design, Post-anthropocentric design, Posthuman design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2023.119
Citation
Quadflieg, S.(2023) Spaces for friction? Using the concept of free space as a starting point for sustainable and desirable futures, in Holmlid, S., Rodrigues, V., Westin, C., Krogh, P. G., Mäkelä, M., Svanaes, D., Wikberg-Nilsson, Å (eds.), Nordes 2023: This Space Intentionally Left Blank, 12-14 June, Linköping University, Norrköping, Sweden. https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2023.119
Conference Track
exploratorypapers
Spaces for friction? Using the concept of free space as a starting point for sustainable and desirable futures
Free spaces can serve as a blank canvas for the projection of desires and the exploration of possibilities – but these spaces can also create uncertainty or friction due to the potential for various interpretations and outcomes. This friction can be exploited – because it generates questions that help to reflect on our actions in design teaching, theory, and practice, and can thereby generate new ways of thinking. In the context of the great challenge in design – designing in the context of the emerging climatic catastrophe of the Anthropocene - these exploratory questions can be of major importance. Therefore, this paper uses the metaphor of empty space to outline, in three arguments, how the image of empty space can influence our thinking about design in the context of sustainability.