sergio antonio salvi, life cycle design approach (lecture extract)

LIFE CYCLE DESIGN APPROACH

Sergio Antonio Salvi

LIFE CYCLE DESIGN


The position of a designer in relation to environmental emergency (adapted by Salvi, 1997-2012)

The environmental emergency made us to understand that a designer must approach in a new way to the development process for a new product. This new attitude is necessary to prevent the problems that the population increase involves (together with a wrong management of environment).

The more relevant issues that a designer, by means of her/his action, can help to solve concern the decreasing of the consumption of:

1.1 water;1.2 food;1.3 raw materials for industrial production;1.4 energy resources;

and she/he can help to counteract:

2.1 pollution and global warming;2.2 deforestation, hunting, intensive fishing and breeding;

and above all help to suggest:

3.0 new development models, based on the concept of “sustainable development”.

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A solar-electric propelled “sustainable” product prototype from NASA (2003)

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“Sustainable development” definition according to WCED (Brundtland commission, 1987), compared with the “biocentric” point of view

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“Sustainable development” is a development which meets today’s needs without placing the ability of future generations to meet their needs at risk, in other words, the preservation of the resources.

From the “biocentric” point of view (cfr. Naess, Singer etc.), we should understand that the needs of the generations of today and of the future must also be referred to other living beings… In this way we will be able to talk about “environmental sustainibility”.

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“Biodiversity” is a precondition for sustainable development: we cannot have a future without them… (American Museum of Natural History)

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Governements’ and communities’ laws to lowering the product environmental impact, in accordance with the “sustainability” idea In order to approach in a new way the environmental emergency,

and in accordance with the “sustainability” idea, some new concepts have been suggested, often becoming new laws. Among these are: “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR; the producer is responsible for the whole product life cycle: for example the producer must “take back” the empty packaging once it has been used); “Shared Responsibility” (SR; other actors of the product life cycle are involved in the process: for example the organizations of trade must contribute in the material recuperation; furthermore, as known, also the citizens are asked to recycle their waste).

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An italian law promotes the institution of consortiums to recycle plastic, in SR way, since 1988 (L. 475): nowadays it is not enough…

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LCD approach to develop new industrial products

The Life Cycle Design (LCD) is one of the several methods–sometimes just ideas– (including: “Eco Design”, “Environmental Design”, “Green Design”, “Sustainable Design” etc.) that have been suggested to address the environmental crisis, in terms of product design.

The LCD method is based on the “Life Cycle Assessment” (LCA). This means that, before you design a new product, it is necessary to verify the assessment of its entire lifecycle, extending the assessment to what precedes and follows the smaller industrial process. The so-called "assessment" must indicate and solve critical points from the perspective of (environmental) sustainability.

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LIFE CYCLE DESIGN



Flows of matter and energy in the whole product life cycle (Turner, Pearce, Bateman, 1994; adapted by Salvi, 1997)

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1.1 Targets of LCD compared to water needed

A designer may help reduce the water needed for:

1.1.1 agriculture processes (e. g. the water consumption to wash vegetables);

1.1.2 industrial processes (e. g. the water consumption in galvanic procedures);

1.1.3 directly induced consumption (e. g. the water consumption of a shower head, incorrectly designed, that causes a waste of water) or caused by induced behaviour (e. g. lawn irrigation system sold as suitable for irrigation of vegetables).

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1.1 Targets of LCD compared to water needed: an automated vegetable washing plant (the water will be reused?)

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1.1 Targets of LCD compared to water needed: a well designed shower head can save water

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1.1 Targets of LCD compared to water needed: a “drip” irrigation system saves a lot of water

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1.2 Targets of LCD compared to food needed

A designer may help reduce the food needed for:

1.2.1 directly induced consumption (e. g. the consumption of food due to a portion which exceeds the required, when that portion is “designed”) or caused by induced behaviour (e. g. the advertising of foods that are not needed for certain categories of people, such as for children).

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1.2 Targets of LCD compared to food needed: sometimes a large portion is not consumed…

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1.2 Targets of LCD compared to food needed: a well designed food packaging can help to save food…

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1.3 Targets of LCD compared to raw materials needed for industrial production A designer may help reduce the raw materials needed for:

1.3.1 products production (e. g. the material used for unuseful parts; e. g. the material wasted because not “recyclable”);

1.3.2 products packaging production (e. g. the packaging not needed for some products, like some fruits or vegetables);

1.3.3 directly induced consumption (e. g. design of disposable products, when it is not essential, like instead for medical use or to preserve drink and food) or caused by induced behaviour (e. g. design of containers to collect specific kinds of material who can be recycled).

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1.3 Targets of LCD compared to raw materials needed for industrial production: many components, like a car spoiler, can be unuseful and just a marketing strategy (in many cases it does not work at all!)

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1.3 Targets of LCD compared to raw materials needed for industrial production: sometimes nature designs packaging for itself…

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1.3 Targets of LCD compared to raw materials needed for industrial production: disposable products are not always essential…

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1.3 Targets of LCD compared to raw materials needed for industrial production: thinking to design containers to collect waste materials a designer can induce “sustainable behaviours”, helping this way to save materials

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed

A designer may help reduce the energy needed for:

1.4.1 collection or extraction of raw materials;

1.4.2 transformation of raw materials into industrial materials;

1.4.3 production of the components;

1.4.4 assembling of the product (if not monocomponent);

1.4.5 packaging of the product;

1.4.6 material, components and product transportation and distribution;

1.4.7 use of the product in terms of duration or induced directly (e. g. a product that, because of its brief life, must be substitute in a short time; e. g. the energy consumption of a lamp) or caused by induced behavior (the energy consumption due to a pot designed without lid).

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: offshore oil and natural gas extraction is energetically very expensive and critical, especially for the catastrophic environmental damage that may occur…

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: the timber can be produced by planning the growth of trees, that grows by itself –without energy addition–, and can be planted near the site of transformation, this leads to other benefits for the environment

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: production, transformation and recycling of many metals need a great amount of energy

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: production, transformation and recycling of many polymers need a little amount of energy, above all if processed by means of “low pressure” and “low temperature” technologies

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: a complex product architecture involves high energetic cost due to the assembly operations

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: a “net shape” product, thought with a simple architecture, saves much energy because many assembly operations are avoided

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: transportation and distribution may be energetically expensive

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: even if impactive, the quarry where the stone is extracted can be located next to the construction site, and that means low energy costs for transportation, as well as the ancients knew

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: packaging is a product architecture extension, in other words components to produce, and energy consumption…

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: a “fashion watch” induces “overproduction”, because its life is very brief (fashion often counteracts the sustainability…); watch is a kind of product that has been transformed into a “consumer product”…

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: a solid stainless steel nutcracker can last for ever, and it means that its substitution will be very far in the time, saving energy…

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1.4 Targets of LCD compared to energy resources needed: thinking to design a LED lamp, instead than a lamp with the old technology, a designer can drive the users behaviour, and at the same time help to save energy…

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2.1 Targets of LCD compared to pollution produced and global warming

A designer may help counteract the pollution produced and the global warming acting as follows:

2.1.1 indicating materials and processes not polluting when he/she designs a new product;

2.1.2 taking part to the design development of products that do not produce uncontrolled pollution (e. g. every kind of product well designed and produced in accordance with current “environmental” norms) and do not induce behaviours that could produce pollution (e. g. products that can be used in an inappropriate way, from the environmental point of view).

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2.1 Targets of LCD compared to pollution produced and global warming: some products can be produced by means of polluting processes because the country they come from do not act in accordance with the international “environmental” norms

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2.1 Targets of LCD compared to pollution produced and global warming: an “inappropriate use” of the products, above all at product life cycle end, can determine every kind of pollution…

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2.2 Targets of LCD compared to deforestation, hunting, intensive fishing and breeding

A designer may help counteract deforestation, hunting, intensive fishing and breeding acting as follows:

2.2.1 indicating sustainable woods when he/she designs a new product (e. g. referring to the FSC –the Forest Stewardship Council – and asking the producer to emit the related specification, in order to obtain the material certification);

2.2.2 indicating the environmental advantage achievable chosing a product made with sustainable wood (e. g. the graphics of the packaging that comunicates this point);

2.2.3 teaching indigenous people to use better their resources (e. g. suggesting them to use simple but valuable tips, like cooking using pots with their lids…),

2.2.4 avoiding to design hunting weapons, intensive fishing and breeding equipments… (these should be individual conscious choices).

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2.2 Targets of LCD compared to deforestation, hunting, intensive fishing and breeding: the FSC mark guarantees that the wood comes from “well managed” forests

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2.2 Targets of LCD compared to deforestation, hunting, intensive fishing and breeding: simply teaching indigenous peoples use the lid you can counteract deforestation

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3.0 Targets of LCD compared to new development models

A designer may help suggest new development models acting as follows:

3.0.1 what is obvious: designing products that are “sustainable”, that will be made in accordance with current –and future, if possible– “environmental” norms;

3.0.2 participating in research campaigns, and related conferences, on the “sustainability”, promoted by associations, schools, universities etc;

3.0.3 writing news… articles, books etc;

3.04 teaching Life Cycle Design…

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3.0 Targets of LCD compared to new development models

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