In this interview, architect/designer Cameron Sinclair talks about the humanitarian designers obligation to fully consider social contexts when solving design problems. He stresses the need for true sustainability and designer for future needs and not solely the present.
He brings up a strategy known as "leapfrogging", where in a post disaster situation, outdated technology (like telephone lines) is substituted with newer technology (like wireless) in countries with a less developed infrastructure. Sinclair also mentions using low tech solutions in more developed countries in the case of a blackout or other technological fallout. I thought this was a good example of a postmodern approach to design, drawing across time periods (and cultures) for potential design solutions.
Several of the design solutions discussed in the interview have actually gone into production and been used allover the world. So is this postmodernism thing really so unfocused that it can't have real world impact? Or are AFH and other humanitarian design groups still searching for unrealistic results.
Maybe he's just stating that designers need to incorporate a little more foresight into their inputed solutions beyond the equation of the problem itself.
ReplyDeleteSo after you've created a solution, contemplate a little of what might happen down the road. Post Modernism is just an inevitable occurance.