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Creating knowledge about the future isn't enough. How can we use it to act and innovate?
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Energy is the lifeblood of every life-cycle—from conception to disposal.
Given the primacy of energy and its rising costs due to global demand, it is imperative to design things that require minimal energy input.
This involves not only reducing the direct energy consumption but also optimising the energy used across the entire process, including production, transportation, maintenance, and disposal.
By decreasing our energy footprint faster than the rising cost curve, we can create things that are both economically and environmentally sustainable.
The era of cheap credit, abundant energy, and global stability is waning.
As geopolitical and economic landscapes shift, reliance on global supply chains has become increasingly precarious. Future things should prioritise local and regional sourcing of key inputs, reducing vulnerability to global disruptions and enhancing the resilience of the production process.
Localised supply chains also contribute to lower transportation emissions and foster regional economic stability.
Complex and exotic materials often come with high costs, both financial and environmental.
Simplifying material inputs not only reduces production costs but also makes recycling and end-of-life processing more feasible.
By designing with more readily available and sustainable materials,
products can be more accessible and easier to repair, reuse, or recycle, thus contributing to a more sustainable life-cycle.
Currently, only about 8.5% of materials in the global supply chain are recycled, with the rest contributing to waste.
Future things must aim to significantly increase this percentage by incorporating circular design principles. This includes designing products for longevity, easy disassembly, and recycling, as well as creating systems that allow for the continuous reuse of materials.
The goal is to move towards a closed-loop system where waste is minimised, and materials are kept in use for as long as possible.
Technologies and products should be designed not just to minimise harm but to actively contribute to the regeneration of natural systems.
By integrating regenerative principles, new products and services can, where possible and appropriate, contribute to the restoration of ecological balance and the replenishment of natural resources, ultimately benefiting both the environment and human society.
The true cost of a product extends beyond its price tag—it includes the environmental and social impacts often excluded from economic calculations.
Future things must account for these ecological externalities by internalising the environmental costs of production, use, and disposal.
This involves designing processes that minimise damage to ecosystems, reduce harmful emissions, and prioritise sustainability, ensuring that our technologies and tools serve both human needs and the health of the planet.
Innovations often come with unintended consequences.
It's crucial to evaluate the potential 2nd, 3rd, and nth-order effects of introducing a new product to the market. This involves a thorough analysis of how a technology might interact with existing systems, potentially creating new problems or exacerbating existing ones.
By anticipating these outcomes, designers can mitigate risks and create solutions that are not only effective but also safe and sustainable in the long term.
For a new technology, product or tool to have a meaningful impact, it must be accessible to a broad audience.
This means designing things that are affordable and scalable, but with a balance that recognizes the limits of exponential scaling.
Technologies should be adaptable to different contexts and environments, ensuring they can be implemented on a local or global scale without losing effectiveness or becoming prohibitively expensive. The aim is to create solutions that are inclusive, benefiting as many people as possible.
The world is facing futures marked by material, energy, and resource constraints, climate extremes, and geopolitical shifts.
New technologies and tools must be designed with these realities in mind, ensuring they are relevant, resilient, and adaptive to emerging challenges. This involves creating products that are not only suited to today's needs but are also capable of evolving as conditions change.
The things we make should be forward-looking, preparing society for a future that is more localised, diverse, and unpredictable.
At their core, things we produce should serve to meet basic human needs and improve the quality of life for all living beings, not just humans.
This principle emphasises the importance of designing products that contribute to the betterment of society and the environment, rather than simply creating temporary pleasures or superficial benefits.
Specifically, alongside performing their function well, technologies should be measured by their ability to enhance well-being, promote equity, and sustain the health of the planet and all life hosted on it.
OUR DESIGN PRINCIPLES
These principles guide the design of all our adaptations because we believe they embody core elements of the futures we want to realise. Some of the principles will be more applicable than others to a particular adaptation, and not all adaptations have to satisfy all of the principles.
They draw from lessons learned and best practice discussed in the fields of biology, ecology, systems thinking, architecture and product design.
PORTABLE WIND TURBINE
Generates renewable energy by harnessing wind, providing a reliable and portable power source.
SOLAR STILL
Provides a reliable and sustainable source of clean drinking water by using solar energy to purify contaminated or brackish water.
TERMITE VENTS
Automated venting system designed to expel hot air during the warmest parts of the day.
NEURAL COOLING HEADBAND
A band which stimulates the brain's temperature regulation centres to create the perception of a cooler environment.
SOLAR-DESICCANT AIR CONDITIONING
Provides effective cooling using solar power to operate desiccant materials.
PHASE-CHANGE SKULL CAP
A breathable cap made of PCM microcapsules that absorb and release heat to regulate temperature.
WATER HARVESTING BOTTLE
Extracts moisture from the air and condenses it into clean, drinkable water.
PORTABLE CLIMATE DOME
Creates a controlled microclimate around the user, providing an adaptable shelter in extreme heat conditions.
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ANTICIPATORY ADAPTATION DATABASE
Use the filters on the left hand side to explore our designs for adaptations to a range of emerging risks. Click on them to see more details on their function, materials and design.