[Themaintainers] Talk: Rebecca Steiner "Happily Ever After? How to Design for a Neverending Story" Maintenance & Philosophy SIG Sept 19 18-1915 UTC+1

[mark young]

Dear All,

We’d like to announce the next session of the SPT Maintenance and
Philosophy of Technology SIG this coming Thursday. In this session, we’re
excited to welcome Rebecca Steiner (Nottingham Trent University) who’ll be
sharing her research on the significance of repair and maintenance in
product design alongside the shifts in perspectives and skills required of
consumers for achieving sustainable futures. As Rebecca’s work draws on her
background in the jewellery industry, this will be a great opportunity to
hear how critical design theory can be enriched by practitioner
perspectives and hands-on knowledge. If you'd like a link for the talk,
please email me at mark at markthomasyoung.net,

Best,
Mark

*"Happily Ever After? How to Design for a Neverending Story"*

Rebecca Steiner (Nottingham Trent University)
Thursday September 19th 2024 1800 -1915 UTC+1
*Abstract:* The world is a closed-loop system, yet within design the myth
of a ‘finished product’ persists alongside a neglect of maintenance, repair
and post-use planning, leaving us in a state of environmental crisis
(McDonough & Braungart 2002; Fry 2010, Perzanowski 2022). Conscious
craftspeople and creatives  are picking  up the pieces of our
overconsumption, 'mining the Anthropocene' in attempts to stem the tide of
overproduction, waste and subsequent environmental harm (see Astfalk 2016,
Bartley 2013, Baker-Brown 2018 amongst others), yet resulting ‘finished
products’ can often only postpone a journey to landfill – repair delays
rather than bypasses an inevitable end-of-life. This talk questions a
linear narrative and explores the potential of regenerative design which,
rather than seeking to mitigate harm, instead aims to proactively nurture
and restore social communities and environmental biospheres through
holistic systems thinking. I’ll share a number of case studies which
explore regenerative design and demonstrate its key requirements – namely a
connection to physical place and space and acknowledgement of
interconnected human and environmental flourishing. These material
encounters necessarily engage with the ongoing-ness of material, its
changing forms and its relationship to us as we create, use, maintain and
restore material from and to our environment.  These are projects which
value not longevity but ephemerality, demonstrating an understanding of the
cyclical and connected nature of the materials we collaborate with. Drawing
upon Bennet (2010)'s philosophy of 'vibrant matter' and Andy Clarks'
embodied mind this paper shares projects that respect the agency of
material and acknowledge the full impact it has on us. Or, as Clark puts
it, how 'environmental engineering becomes human engineering' (Clark
2008). In these scenarios customers become empowered to repair and to
maintain, tempering an anthropocentric world view and dismantling the
barriers between ourselves and our 'stuff'.
(In order to avoid confusion regarding the timing of the talks - the
following table clarifies when the talks begin in different locations)

Amsterdam 7:00pm
London 6:00pm
Toronto (New York) 1:00pm
San Francisco 10:00am
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