I don’t know what is right and wrong.
I only know I have to make a decision,
and then make it the best for me.
- my old dancepartner
The past is gone.
The future doesn’t exist.
Life is now.
- my Chilean roommate’s girlfriend
Monday, February 4, 2008
Thoughts on Sustainability, Roommates & Reality
It’s been a while since the last posting, but as I’ve mentioned before, the last few Januarys haven’t been the best for me. The second half of this one ended more intensely than the first, and was probably the most stressful of the last three years. But I want to begin this posting in chronological order, so here goes…
Tuesday, January 15th, was an early start to that week of classes, lead by a full day of lectures by Ezio Manzini. The week seemed promising. I think at that point, I really begun to understand the theory behind his lectures. Summarized, it seems to be this:
The world is transitioning into its next technological/economic/social form. And like any transition period, there are always many ideas and visions about what could be created, and what experiments and choices need to be made. (One of these that I’ve really supported was that of the “Leapfrog Hypothesis”: the idea that not-yet fully industrialized societies can shift straight towards an advanced multi-local society (Eg: what China is trying to do right now)).
Four promising directions in this transition have been regarded as “promising”: Cosmopolitan localism (multi-cultural communities that are not global “melting pots”, eg. Istanbul); Distributed systems (from the energy to manufacturing industries); Collaborative networks (Eg: Web 2.0); Creative communities (Grass-root organizations that practically address specific local issues of well-being (Eg: the Slow Food organization in Italy)).
However, while these directions are being taken, they are moving relatively independently from one another. The job of a Strategic Designer is therefore to connect them in the effort to increase their effectiveness in presenting viable models of alternative visions of a sustainable world.
…
Ok. But at that point, I also started to look at this theory through the eyes of a pragmatist. How do designers do this? And more importantly, who will pay them for it? That’s the mystery and the initial reason why since that day, I began to believe that the goals of sustainable development and other “life projects”, as in much traditional art and design, are in themselves not a real business or means to an end. Rather, they’re something that outside universities and a hand full of other organizations you can only do “as a hobby”.
Also, I’ve come to look at something else differently. There are many opportunities that entice the Curious to “make the world a better place” through them. But these opportunities can be dropped, changed, or altogether determined as unsuccessful or even counter-effective (the “rebound effect”) once completed. Not only that, but more notably, they make the goal of sustainability seem something of a highly specialized topic. One that only the true technocrats of the world can understand. However, this is not and cannot be true. It has to accessible by everyone, otherwise it would not be “sustainable”. Furthermore, (and this something I think most people understand easier than full-time or part-time academics) any projects consciously thought of as good or bad, should NEVER be given priority over things that matter most in life, like relationships with neighbors, friends, families and lovers…
(If this last paragraph seems a bit out of place, it’s only because this posting is so long and was written in many stages. There was a point at which I really became emotional about this topic, of which the last paragraph is the result of. It is something I hope never to forget, and that which others can not only learn from, but truly understand for themselves.)
…
The rest of that week had me researching programs at TU Delft (a technical university in the Netherlands. The MIT of Europe), and listening to lectures on product and communication strategies, product design and business plans (all really interesting). In terms of formal education, it was one good week.
That weekend saw a sushi lunch with Adriano as we practiced our languages, the return of one of my German friends from salsa and my revitalized return to the dancefloor (yeah!), and a Sunday of celebrating Christmas with my Eritrean churchgoers.
Sunday also began a really intense stage of my work for the Shanghai firm, which kept me busy until Tuesday. My only real break was that of Tropicana. Classes Wednesday through Friday were the exact opposite of the week before, but I’ve gotten used to this inconsistency.
Friday evening was aperitivo with my roommates and my Chilean roommate’s girlfriend. She left the next day to go back to Chile. One of my Latvian roommates and I decided to call it a night earlier than the others and returned to the apartment on foot from the center of Milan. A good one and a half hour walk. It was good though, because it gave us time to talk about a lot of household matters that would soon prove to be vital to life in the apartment.
That Sunday was the beginning of my workweek once again, only this time I didn’t finish my work until 6am Wednesday morning. Even with breaks, it was tough. During one “break” I decided to see Ezio Manzini give an extra lecture to an international group of students working on a “sustainable” vehicle design for India. It turned out to be a really important event for me as well, because it made me see my efforts in attempting to “make cars that don’t pollute” seem useless. Long story short, the world doesn’t need more cars (even those remanufactured). No matter how efficient they could be or what fuel they could use, it doesn’t address the consumption and use of them in a way that will systematically contribute to actual environmental sustainability.
Yes, I did think about that before, but I guess I just didn’t want to believe it. But now, when the man who influenced me to travel to China and pursue a dream of sustainability says “don’t make cars”, it leaves me in state of confusion similar to when I first discovered that “car design” is nothing more than car styling. However, this time around, I feel I have fewer roads to take from here, which is good. Dreams can indeed die, but again, that need not be bad news.
…
I missed all my classes that Wednesday so I could go buy train tickets and reserve two rooms for my cousins that were coming down from London that weekend. Some classmates and I had already made plans to go to Venice that weekend for the Carnivale, so it was ironic when one of my cousins wrote to say they were coming down to go to Venice as well. It really gave me something to look forward to. However, before any of that could happen, things at the apartment just had to take the turn for the worse.
My Chilean roommate had been looking for a new place since the new year, and had finally come to a breaking point on January 22nd, when after a very emotional email and a non-stop internet search he had become determined to leave as soon as possible. The heart of the matter seemed to be more a personality clash with one of the Latvians than the cultural clash I felt during the first couple of months living with him.
That Thursday (after a class field trip to many famous design studios and showrooms) I had a meeting with the landlords to explain to them the situation. My Chilean roommate returned to the apartment at night after receiving news that the latest apartment he had looked at was given to someone else. That night, all of us roommates had a meeting where I presented the new rules of the house, derived from an earlier talk with my Chilean roommate where I convinced him to stay. Consequently, that night began what I think will be a long period of tense emotions.
The following day, February 1st, just before leaving for school, my Chilean and Latvian roommate exchanged some aggressive words, and it became clear that my role as the peacekeeper for this group would soon be ending. From that point on, my Chilean roommate took on a new attitude about the situation: “If I go, he goes”, with the intent of using the newly established rules as a basis for unleashing his discontent with the Latvian. I tell you, it’s getting pretty crazy over here.
…
In the evening, after some final arrangements and packing, I left to meet my cousins at Milano Centrale. I took them to the same hostel I stayed in at the beginning, and then from there, we traveled back to the centre to see the Duomo. It was from there that our experience became interesting. Upon looking for a place to eat, we came across an older Italian guy who took us to his favorite, non-tourist restaurant. There we shared whole dishes of seafood, everything from octopus to shark (I’ve never eaten shark before). Claiming to work in the insurance industry all over Europe, with an office also in Miami, he treated all five of us to the dinner (something like 500 Euros!). That’s crazy! Where do these people come from?
After that, we all called it a night, despite having made plans to go clubbing. I don’t think anything could have topped the dinner. Anyway, a few hours later we would meet once again to catch the 7:15am train to Venice.
By coincidence, we ended up in the same car as my classmates, which was nice. The trip there turned out to be a mix of sleep and conversation. I got to know my cousins a bit better, and made plans with my classmates for the day.
Tuesday, January 15th, was an early start to that week of classes, lead by a full day of lectures by Ezio Manzini. The week seemed promising. I think at that point, I really begun to understand the theory behind his lectures. Summarized, it seems to be this:
The world is transitioning into its next technological/economic/social form. And like any transition period, there are always many ideas and visions about what could be created, and what experiments and choices need to be made. (One of these that I’ve really supported was that of the “Leapfrog Hypothesis”: the idea that not-yet fully industrialized societies can shift straight towards an advanced multi-local society (Eg: what China is trying to do right now)).
Four promising directions in this transition have been regarded as “promising”: Cosmopolitan localism (multi-cultural communities that are not global “melting pots”, eg. Istanbul); Distributed systems (from the energy to manufacturing industries); Collaborative networks (Eg: Web 2.0); Creative communities (Grass-root organizations that practically address specific local issues of well-being (Eg: the Slow Food organization in Italy)).
However, while these directions are being taken, they are moving relatively independently from one another. The job of a Strategic Designer is therefore to connect them in the effort to increase their effectiveness in presenting viable models of alternative visions of a sustainable world.
…
Ok. But at that point, I also started to look at this theory through the eyes of a pragmatist. How do designers do this? And more importantly, who will pay them for it? That’s the mystery and the initial reason why since that day, I began to believe that the goals of sustainable development and other “life projects”, as in much traditional art and design, are in themselves not a real business or means to an end. Rather, they’re something that outside universities and a hand full of other organizations you can only do “as a hobby”.
Also, I’ve come to look at something else differently. There are many opportunities that entice the Curious to “make the world a better place” through them. But these opportunities can be dropped, changed, or altogether determined as unsuccessful or even counter-effective (the “rebound effect”) once completed. Not only that, but more notably, they make the goal of sustainability seem something of a highly specialized topic. One that only the true technocrats of the world can understand. However, this is not and cannot be true. It has to accessible by everyone, otherwise it would not be “sustainable”. Furthermore, (and this something I think most people understand easier than full-time or part-time academics) any projects consciously thought of as good or bad, should NEVER be given priority over things that matter most in life, like relationships with neighbors, friends, families and lovers…
(If this last paragraph seems a bit out of place, it’s only because this posting is so long and was written in many stages. There was a point at which I really became emotional about this topic, of which the last paragraph is the result of. It is something I hope never to forget, and that which others can not only learn from, but truly understand for themselves.)
…
The rest of that week had me researching programs at TU Delft (a technical university in the Netherlands. The MIT of Europe), and listening to lectures on product and communication strategies, product design and business plans (all really interesting). In terms of formal education, it was one good week.
That weekend saw a sushi lunch with Adriano as we practiced our languages, the return of one of my German friends from salsa and my revitalized return to the dancefloor (yeah!), and a Sunday of celebrating Christmas with my Eritrean churchgoers.
Sunday also began a really intense stage of my work for the Shanghai firm, which kept me busy until Tuesday. My only real break was that of Tropicana. Classes Wednesday through Friday were the exact opposite of the week before, but I’ve gotten used to this inconsistency.
Friday evening was aperitivo with my roommates and my Chilean roommate’s girlfriend. She left the next day to go back to Chile. One of my Latvian roommates and I decided to call it a night earlier than the others and returned to the apartment on foot from the center of Milan. A good one and a half hour walk. It was good though, because it gave us time to talk about a lot of household matters that would soon prove to be vital to life in the apartment.
That Sunday was the beginning of my workweek once again, only this time I didn’t finish my work until 6am Wednesday morning. Even with breaks, it was tough. During one “break” I decided to see Ezio Manzini give an extra lecture to an international group of students working on a “sustainable” vehicle design for India. It turned out to be a really important event for me as well, because it made me see my efforts in attempting to “make cars that don’t pollute” seem useless. Long story short, the world doesn’t need more cars (even those remanufactured). No matter how efficient they could be or what fuel they could use, it doesn’t address the consumption and use of them in a way that will systematically contribute to actual environmental sustainability.
Yes, I did think about that before, but I guess I just didn’t want to believe it. But now, when the man who influenced me to travel to China and pursue a dream of sustainability says “don’t make cars”, it leaves me in state of confusion similar to when I first discovered that “car design” is nothing more than car styling. However, this time around, I feel I have fewer roads to take from here, which is good. Dreams can indeed die, but again, that need not be bad news.
…
I missed all my classes that Wednesday so I could go buy train tickets and reserve two rooms for my cousins that were coming down from London that weekend. Some classmates and I had already made plans to go to Venice that weekend for the Carnivale, so it was ironic when one of my cousins wrote to say they were coming down to go to Venice as well. It really gave me something to look forward to. However, before any of that could happen, things at the apartment just had to take the turn for the worse.
My Chilean roommate had been looking for a new place since the new year, and had finally come to a breaking point on January 22nd, when after a very emotional email and a non-stop internet search he had become determined to leave as soon as possible. The heart of the matter seemed to be more a personality clash with one of the Latvians than the cultural clash I felt during the first couple of months living with him.
That Thursday (after a class field trip to many famous design studios and showrooms) I had a meeting with the landlords to explain to them the situation. My Chilean roommate returned to the apartment at night after receiving news that the latest apartment he had looked at was given to someone else. That night, all of us roommates had a meeting where I presented the new rules of the house, derived from an earlier talk with my Chilean roommate where I convinced him to stay. Consequently, that night began what I think will be a long period of tense emotions.
The following day, February 1st, just before leaving for school, my Chilean and Latvian roommate exchanged some aggressive words, and it became clear that my role as the peacekeeper for this group would soon be ending. From that point on, my Chilean roommate took on a new attitude about the situation: “If I go, he goes”, with the intent of using the newly established rules as a basis for unleashing his discontent with the Latvian. I tell you, it’s getting pretty crazy over here.
…
In the evening, after some final arrangements and packing, I left to meet my cousins at Milano Centrale. I took them to the same hostel I stayed in at the beginning, and then from there, we traveled back to the centre to see the Duomo. It was from there that our experience became interesting. Upon looking for a place to eat, we came across an older Italian guy who took us to his favorite, non-tourist restaurant. There we shared whole dishes of seafood, everything from octopus to shark (I’ve never eaten shark before). Claiming to work in the insurance industry all over Europe, with an office also in Miami, he treated all five of us to the dinner (something like 500 Euros!). That’s crazy! Where do these people come from?
After that, we all called it a night, despite having made plans to go clubbing. I don’t think anything could have topped the dinner. Anyway, a few hours later we would meet once again to catch the 7:15am train to Venice.
By coincidence, we ended up in the same car as my classmates, which was nice. The trip there turned out to be a mix of sleep and conversation. I got to know my cousins a bit better, and made plans with my classmates for the day.
When we arrived and were out of the station, a girl who had come along with us (from the same department but not the same class) and I got lost (typical of me, isn’t it?). We toured both the crowded tourist streets and the vacant residential alleys as we began to get to know each other and enjoy some ice cream. After some time, we arrived in Piazza San Marco (the largest square in Venice) to meet with the rest of the group. Although the number of people there, not to mention the city as a whole, was way beyond our imagination (and probably at least part of the reason why Venice is sinking at the rate that it is), we managed to find the group fairly quickly. We had a picnic lunch together, and then were off once again. But before the two of us knew it, we were lost once again (completely by chance, if you can believe that). Walking along the street nearest to the sea, we shared a crepe, got our faces painted and tried on carnivale masks. It took us a while to find the group this time around, but after that, we didn’t lose them again. And to make sure, the two of us hung on to the other’s backpacks until we made it to our next destination.
The rest of the night, and the following morning was filled with a lot of walking and dancing in the cold winter rain. I learned a lot from the whole experience. The girl I got lost with was from China, and spoke fluent Italian. I told her a lot about my experience in and ideas about China, and she asked me the same question I had been asking myself about the adopting another culture and language. One of the Indian guys from my class asked me about my work and told me why research inherently deals with policy (something I’ve been trying to avoid as much as I could since my time with APRIG). A bit of a reality check once again. After talking to them both, I began to think that I may have give up my job with the company in Shanghai once my classes are over, and pursue an internship with a firm doing design research. However, right now, the job I have is a good fit with my studies, and there is still time to answer the questions I have about the future.
At 5:19am the next morning, we were already on our way back to Milan. We all slept the whole way, but when I arrived at the apartment, I first thing I did was get myself ready for a skype meeting with my boss. After working a few hours that day, I welcomed my Chilean roommate back in the evening, after not having been in the apartment for almost three days.
Today, thanks to a change in my department’s schedule, it was back to school. The whole day’s lecture was given by a Canadian-Italian on new product strategies and development. Very, very interesting. I reconfirmed my belief in the idea of design research once again.
The day ended with rain that flooded the streets. I turned down all options for going out at night so I could exercise, cook from the book, and finally get around to writing this. It’s been a long January.
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