IN-PERSON New Schools of Thought

Abstract

Today’s design students are learning in a world where understanding the design potential of sustainable materials is crucial in the face of the climate crisis. As academics and practitioners in the design fields, we face the task of how to frame learning, that encompasses both the scientific and technological aspects of a material as well as its artistic and formal potentials, in order to promote a holistic approach to material use. These conditions have given rise to a first-year project for design students at the Royal Danish Academy where we, as tutors, ask them to investigate the characteristics of self-made biopolymer plastics. A structured attitude to questioning, setting up and recording of the tests represents a scientific approach, and a focus on the ‘softer’ qualitative results and their potential in the field of design represent an artistic method. The experiments provide insights specifically for designers rooted in ‘material potential’ and that allows students to incorporate materials in their design projects from the outset, rather than as a secondary concern later in the process. This paper reports on our observations as tutors in this experimental approach to design teaching with our key findings occurring at 2 scales. At the scale of the individual, we observed students learning the value of unexpected results and an openness to where new findings might lead in their design propositions. At a broader scale we discuss the value of an artistic perspective into the development of materials that is often considered a scientific or ecological concern.