Browsing by Subject "Environment, sustainability"
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Item Restricted Algae bioplastic : relevance, challenges and solutions(2018) Arndt, Christina; Hillmann-Regett, Jan; Krupka, Katrin; Faculty of Architecture and Design; Berlin International University of Applied Sciences"The main research question is whether algae plastic in its current development is a suitable replacement for traditional or crude oil-based plastic. I stipulate that algae plastic can be used to make more sustainable products that have similar if not equal material qualities to non-bio plastic. Plastic is detrimental for the planet and the way we consume it is far beyond careless. Designers and researchers alike have long identified the problem and have put more focus in the last decades on creating sustainable products and working more and more in unison. Lately bio-plastics have become popular in both design applications and research studies, but they have many issues from recycling, to CO2 emissions to sourcing. Most use crops as their base influencing food availability and price. Cultivating algae does not compete with crops as it can grow in specialized bioreactors, or can be directly harvested from the ocean, sometimes even as algae bloom, which is potentially harmful for the environment. Algae and micro-algae are one of the fastest growing natural resources, so once demand rises and there for production methods are more sustainable and economically viable it will be significantly cheaper than crude oil-based plastic. Right now, due to its novelty algae-based plastic is not commercially available to the full extent that it could be. In my research I will determine the challenges and suitability of algae plastic by secondary research, case study and expert interviews and its value for material development in product design. A product development process will determine the stability of algae bioplastic with the help of CAD simulations. The aim is to find a practical and eco-friendly solution-based design innovation replacing a crude oil-based plastic material product with a biopolymer from seaweed, ideally creating a solution that is cradle to cradle, with a strong investigative focus on products for the aquatic environmentItem Metadata only Circular thinking in capsule coffee waste : a design to accelerate responsible co-actions of the capsule coffee producer and the millennials consumers(2018) Sprenger, Michelle; Ave, Masayo; Hillmann-Regett, Jan; Faculty of Architecture and Design; Berlin International University of Applied Sciences"The upcoming millenial consumers appear more aware than over of the impact of their habits, in which national and international systems are being redefined by values of sustainability. We still throwing away 21 billion capsules a year in Europe alone. Which steps, if any, have been undertaken towards making our capsule coffee habit more sustainable? And as designers, how can I contribute to this process? This paper aims to answer these questions. As part of my objectives, I wish to paint a realist portrait of the environmental implications of coffee capsule consumption. I seek to highlight the top-down and bottom-up initiatives aiming to lower environmental impact of coffee capsules that have already gained momentum and spaces worth watching. I propose a design project which to accelerate sustainable co-actions of Italian giant producer Caffitaly and the upcoming consumers, aiming to provide an effective next step for both producer and consumers."Item Metadata only First recipe is desire : the global problem of food waste and involving the consumer through design(2018) Kurukafa, Yiğit; Ave, Masayo; Tibus, Alexander; Faculty of Architecture and Design; Berlin International University of Applied Sciences"21st century thus far is marked by humanity's struggle to find lasting solutions to problems that go beyond national boundaries. To name a few, among these problems are depletion of fossil fuels, local famine events, mass migration, global warming, extreme weather events, draughts, loss of arable land, etc. However, it is mind boggling to think that while we face problems such as draughts, loss of arable land and famines, food waste is up on the list as a bigger problem than ever before. According to The UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 'roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year - approximately 1.3 billion tons - gets lost or wasted' (2018). Meanwhile, 'some 815 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on earth' (WFP 2018). The irony speaks for itself. But how do we make sense out of this disparity? Does it simply signify that our food distribution networks are too disorganized or dysfunctional and thus the oneword solution is 'redistribution'? Or is it that well-off consumers are unaware of the damage they are causing, so the solution is a thorough awareness raising campaign. As it will be demonstrated in the respective sections of this paper, the aspects leading to such staggering food-waste margins are cross-cutting. They are dispersed across production, packaging, consumption and recycle methods. In addition, available data shows that the environmental and human cost of food waste will become only more prominent. If we don't act now and come up with creative ways to alter the food economy in our favor, we may soon find out that it is too late. 'Food waste presents a threat to the environment because of greenhouse gas contributions and the wasted resources used to produce, process, market, transport and refrigerate food' (Farr-Wharton et al. 2014). If we follow a 'business as usual' scenario, global food security is only going to get worse as demand grows with increasing population and wealth, while the productivity begins to diminish due to unfavorable climate conditions. The world market price projections of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) show that world grain prices will increase a further 30 to 50 percent over the period 2005 to 2050, while meat prices in the same period will increase an additional 20 to 30 percent beyond the levels seen in 2007/2008' (Msangi and Rosegrant 2009, 58). In this practice oriented thesis, I will adopt a design thinking perspective in order to come up with a creative product that attempts to solve a specific issue regarding the global problem of food waste. In order to do so in a theoretically and practically informed manner, I will first conduct a literature to demonstrate my knowledge of contemporary discussions. Secondly, I will introduce a number of analytical tools that informed my understanding of the issue. Thirdly, I will focus on a couple of practical examples that inspired my final project - this part will involve both individual products and mechanisms introduced to decrease food waste. Lastly, I will talk about my project how it addresses certain issues that perpetuate the problem of food waste."Item Restricted Parametric Design for the Circular Economy Within the Build Environment(2021) Fischer, Jan; Huneck, Karsten; Martín, Javier; Interior Architecture / Interior DesignMACHINE-GENERATED SUMMARY NOTE : Presently, the world is facing the severe problem of climate change. Means, the increasingly occurrence of extreme weather conditions. While some areas and their inhabitants on this planet are affected by extreme flood events caused by heavy rain falls, others suffer of unexpected heat waves and droughts (European Commision 2021). One of the main causes is the increasing emission of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, which causes a gradual rise in temperature. In the middle of the 20th century the world emitted approximately 6 billion tons of Co2. With the vast development of the industry and the growth of global markets, the emission quadrupled by 1990 up to 22 billion tons. And nowadays, the worlds emission is at over 36 billion tons per year (Ritchie and Roser 2019). The building and construction sector in 2019 accounts for 35% of the world wide's energy consumption and simultaneously is responsible for 38% of the above- mentioned global CO2 emission (Hamilton , and others 2020). Simply, to meet the demand of a steadily growing world population (Roser, Ritchie und Ortiz-Ospina 2019). This demand also includes an increasing exploitation of ecosystems for raw materials acquisition. In 2018 the global raw material production was at 90 gigatons. It is expected to rise to 167 gigatons by 2060 (OECD 2018), which at one point eventually will go to the landfill anyway. In Germany alone, the construction sector accounts for 60% of the total volume of waste. This is a shocking number, in consideration that 99% of the entire anthropogenic material stock is also generated in the construction sector. (Müller, and others 2019). The take-make-dispose system of the current linear economic model is a one-way-street that not only leads to material scarcity, but also destroys ecological habitats and thus deprives humanity of its livelihood. From an economical point of view, this extensive waste production in correlation with raw material exploitation makes it necessary to question the current linear economic model. To separate economic growth from environmental repercussions, the future model of a circular economy as a new paradigm is considered as a possible solution. This would mean a shift from "take-make & dispose" to "reduce, reuse & recycle" (Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2013). While this puts the building and construction sector under substantial pressure, it is facing a great transformation fostered through the ongoing digitalization. The topic of the industry 4.0 is committed to fully interconnect all planning and fabrication processes as well as the entire lifecycle (Braun, and others 2015). Focal point of this concept is the availability of all relevant data in real time (Morlet, and others 2016). This access to real-world data can be used to efficiently influence design decisions at an early stage, when the decisions have the greatest impact on the desired outcome. The new parametric design methodology is an excellent tool for processing such dataItem Restricted Passive Solar Design : Improve Living Conditions and Sustainability(2021) Hua, I-Fan; bachelor thesis in Interior Architecture/ Interior DesignAs a result of human activities in recent years, along with the non-stop advancement and subsequent expansion of our society. Humanity has had a significant impact on the environment that we rely upon. That is not to say that technological advancement has only led to negative consequences, yet climate change is one of the undeniable outcomes. (He and Silliman 2019) And it is an ongoing process which every individual will have to deal with, especially in the fields of interior architecture. When constructing a building one usually starts with reviewing the project site, for instance the surrounding sceneries, native vegetation, neighboring buildings, lighting conditions just to name a few. These are all important yet freely available resources that come with the site. If utilized correctly they could have a substantial impact not only on the building itself but most importantly for the residents occupying the structure. Nowadays with better building materials and numerous mechanical systems to heat up or cooldown the structure. We tend to disregard the importance of the natural environment, and incline to think that one can overcome most of it with technology. However, I would argue that instead of actively fighting against the given circumstance, we ought to take advantage of the environment. With the help of natural energy sources, it is possible to achieve a desirable interior climate without exhausting large amounts of energy. The result not only benefits the environment, but most importantly saves cost, which is usually the biggest constraint in a projectItem Restricted Save the Hive : Identifying and bridging information gaps in order to encourage environmental design initiatives, such as bee survival in Berlin(2021) Hillmann-Regett, Jan; Schroeder, Süheyla; Product DesignMACHINE-GENERATED SUMMARY NOTE : Bees, due to their vital role as pollinator agents, are one of the most important living beings found in nature. Life as we know if depends on them, yet they are in grave danger. Human beings have a major role to play in their current predicament, and it is up to us to save them. Big cities like Berlin have proven to be safe havens for bees, and will play an important role for their long-term conserva- tion. Berlin in particular is apt for this task; but even though the potential and resources exist, city dweller's lack of knowl- edge on the topic is impeding large-scale action. This can be attributed to information and communication gaps present between conservation initiatives and the wider pop- ulation. This thesis explores, identifies and effectively bridg- es said gaps, in order to encourage widespread bee con- servation efforts from a grassroots approach. By conducting extensive research and identifying the problem, a design solution is proposed: a digital tool that will give ordinary city dwellers a friendly, straightforward way to learn about bees and help them as a communityItem Restricted Sustainability and its Role in Graphic Design : A look into the use of existing sustainable methods and how they affect education, role, and identity of graphic designers(2021) Vose, Noel; Hillmann-Regett, Jan; Tibus, Alexander; bachelor thesis in Graphic Design and Visual CommunicationThe world is a somewhat overwhelming place right now, with a global pandemic, increa- sed social inequality, political polarization, and the ever-present issue of climate change. Extreme weather conditions are increasing, sea levels are rising, and biodiversity is reportedly declining by the minute. Thus, having been left with a world in a climate emergency. This paper will closely examine some of those reasons as to why graphic design is an active contributor to this issue. Furthermore, what that means for the identity of future designers; how one can have an impact by applying the already existing sustainable methodologies, driving change within the design industry; and what still has to be done to enable designers to lead by example towards a more sustainable future