Sustainability and Ethics

A Designers Manifesto
:
Location Club Pulse, Goldsmiths University

Name Jamie Oxtoby

Programme Year 2 BA Design

“The future is no longer what it was thought to be,
or what it might have been if humans had known
how to use their brains and opportunities more
effectively. But the future can still become what we
reasonably and realistically want.”
Aurelio Peccei, 1981

Sustainable Design, a concept that present day designers are all too
familiar with, and unfortunately something that had to be created
because of what has happened before us. We designed, we created,
we consumed, then we designed, we created, and consumed again.
But recently we are beginning to see the error of our ways, that
something that was lost in our haste. A sense of limits, and an
awareness of the importance of the earth’s resources. The last two
thousand years brought an extraordinary increase in wealth, in
food supply, in scientific knowledge, in consumer goods, in physical
security, in life expectancy and economic opportunity. But is this all
beginning to fall?

We are at a point in existence when we need to suddenly act

differently, and take responsibility for what has come before.
Through my research I have become tangled in a mass opinions
and ideas on how it went wrong, whose fault it was and how we
can change. But from this I believe I am beginning to generate an
idea of what the future of design is, and how we can implement
our knowledge into sustaining the planet. Not by rising up on a
grand scale waging war on the overuse of fossil fuels and mass
consumption, but by making more from less. Design must become
an innovative, highly creative, cross-disciplinary tool for the use of
all of man. A big part of it is about sharing information about pre-
existing solutions that have been proven to work. Design practice
these days is about adapting solutions found in one context for use
in another.
For my location I chose a local
gym. Firstly for my love of sports,
but secondly because the concept
of a gym draws many parallels
with the natural environment. It is
a place where we go to burn fuel
from our bodies, in order to gain
something in return – good health.
We are ‘recycling’ what we have
consumed to produce another use.
However it is also an environment
that is completely unnecessary in
that everything that is paid for in
a gym membership, can be done
everyday, any time, in almost any
location free of charge. Each piece
of equipment is a mechanical
extension of the natural
environment that we are graced
with already on this planet, yet
we are not satisfied with this and
instead we use natural resources
to create an artificial environment
of it. Which in a sense is a hugely
confusing paradox. I myself have
been a victim to this concept but
it underlines how as a species we
are never content with what we
have, we always want more. The
natural environment was the first
ever ‘product’ made available to
us, but we got bored of it or did
not see its potential so we made
more products to enhance our
lives and the vicious cycle of mass
consumption began. However
consumption is both an integral
and natural facet of human
behaviour. Human behaviours are
at the motivational core of today’s
production and consumption
cycles, and as a designer, you avoid
them at your peril. In this respect,
‘asking people to stop consuming
is a pointless endeavour, when
what we should be pursuing is
redirecting behaviour, which steers
consumers to more greener and
more sustainable alternatives’ in and just use your legs, as well
(Gant, N. 2007). Just as the as similar machines just for your
response to the AIDS pandemic, is arms. There are two more rowing
not to try to stop the world from machines facing each other on the
having sex, but rather to think wall furthest from the windows,
about safer ways to go about it. and another mounted TV in this
corner of the wall.
My location is the Club Pulse
Gym located on the Goldsmiths I can hear Capital FM radio
University site, which is available playing on speakers around the
to both students and the public. facility despite most of the users
Upon entering the gym there is wearing headphones. The TVs
a reception desk where there is a have Sky Sports News playing from
sign-in book. To enter the gym you them with no sound on. The air is
must then swipe your card to get very close as to be expected in a
through a turnstile to use the gym. sweaty gym.
The bottom floor has an array of
strength training equipment based For this particular manifesto I
around the outskirts of the room, wanted to concentrate on the
including weight benches and particular elements inside the
multi-gym appliances, as well as gym that could be reconciled and
dumbbells on a rack next to a large therefore make the gym something
mirror. There is a sofa next to the that is sustainable and ethically
reception, which is where I sat but worthy. But I also wish to touch
it was also used for people wanting on some things that are brought to
to fill in forms and sign up. the gym by its users and thereby
become part of the gym.
Taking the stairs in the centre of
the room to the next floor, it opens
up into a larger cardio and exercise
area. Straight in front of the stairs
is a mirror that covers the entire
wall, in front of this a matted area
for floor workouts with exercise
balls and medicine balls located
next to it. Nearer to the stairs is
three rowing machines facing the
mirrors. Down the left hand wall
are large windows that show the
college green on the other side,
in front of these windows are 6
treadmills facing out to the green,
and the opposite wall is another 6
treadmills facing a wall but with
a TV mounted on it. Around the
oval balcony that looks down to
the bottom floor are various bikes,
which can be used like a standard
bike or some that you can sit back
First of all I am going to comment on the exercise bike, however the
points I want to raise on it, can also refer to all the machinery that is
used in the gym. An exercise bike is a device with saddle, pedals, and
some form of handlebars arranged as on a bicycle, but used as exercise
equipment rather than transportation. A common bicycle is used also for
exercise as well, however originally its use was to get you from point A to
point B. The fact that the bicycle has been developed to serve more than
one purpose is an underlining positive to sustainability. In this case the
design has dedicated itself to, ‘nature’s principle of least effort, in other
words minimum inventory for maximum diversity or, doing the most
with least.’ However in the case of the exercise bike, we have produced
something that looks like a bike, with pedals that move like a bike, but
it does not travel. I am sure that avid athletes can tell me that there are
benefits of such a product such as using it in any weather. But we are
seeing an object that was intended initially for transportation, and now
it has been remanufactured into a totally new object by discarding the
most important use. The bicycle is already a long lasting, multi-functional
product, but we felt the need the produce something ‘better’ or with a
different use, despite losing the most beneficial use from the old.

The rowing machine or treadmill also convey this misuse of our resources
and further isolate us from the natural environments and terrain of
the world, serving up an ethical dilemma. This is a perfect example of
not making do with what already works, so to conserve materials and
resources. Instead of producing a product that already exists in abundance
such as the bicycle, why not situate one in a gym if needs be, making it
stationary. The electronic stats and figures on the exercise bike is perhaps
what is most valued from it, but are they unnecessary. There are smaller
cheaper more efficient ways of keeping track of your rates and distances.
Or failing that get out in the open air and ride a bike there!
As discussed earlier, the gym and
sustainability relate greatly between
energy, and use of, as well as fuel.
Particularly in the cardio area, vast
amounts of electrical energy are
used to run the machines, and vast
amounts of human kinetic energy
are used to exercise on them. Yet
these two energies seem to be
unrelated in the gym scenario, thus
creating a dilemma. The energy we
burn to use the machines could be
used to run machines themselves
or even the air conditioning or
lighting of the gym (below left).
By re-appropriating the energy we
can make the exercise machines
more sustainable and energy
efficient. Now this could become
really sophisticated and involve the
swipe cards to calculate how much
energy you produce (right), and
rewards of membership discounts
for high-energy producers.
Whether this is cost effective or
technically possible, I cannot
say, but perhaps by what Victor
Papanek believes is the future of
the designer:

“Designers and students have to familarise

themselves with many other fields, and by knowing
them, redefine the relevance, of the designer to our
society. The insights of the social sciences, biology,
anthropology, politics, engineering and technology
and much else must be brought to bear in the
design process.”
Victor Papanek, 1985
Something that instantly hit me
when I went upstairs was the
humidity of the gym; it reminded
me a lot of being in a greenhouse.
Now this got me thinking that
this man-made atmosphere could
perhaps help the growth of plants
in the gym, serving a dual purpose
to the environment. Tracking my
mind back to GCSE biology, this
growing process could recycle
the carbon dioxide in the room
and produce oxygen that the gym
goers could then use to respire.
Plants are also known to have
de-stressing effects on the mind.
The green colour that the plants
possess relaxes the mind. Projects
like MetaboliCity have shown the
benefits of using recycled computer
wiring as climbing frames from the
plants. A small intervention but
one that could have a great effect
on the overall environment of the
gym.
When observing the gym, I felt
that there was always a great
competitive edge to the users.
Further how the layout of the
gym lends itself to competition.
Treadmills are lined up
accordingly, rowing machines
placed face to face so that you can
see whose moving more frequently.
And the weights are designed so
that the bigger the weight looks the
heavier the mass, so it is easy to see
if someone is lifting more than you.
This has led to awkward tensions
around the gym, perhaps feeling
emasculated if you are not as fit
or strong as someone else. Envy
is something that is common in a
gym. It is a feeling that we might
be something other than what we
are – a feeling transmitted by the
superior achievements of those
we take to be our equals – that
generates anxiety and resentment.
If we are small and live among
people who are all of own height,
we will not be unduly troubled by
questions of size. But if others in
our group grow so much as a little
taller, we are liable to feel sudden
unease and dissatisfaction and envy
– even though ourselves we have
not diminished in size. Particularly
on the weights, this can lead
to a ‘dual’ of strength. Dueling
symbolizes a radical incapacity to
believe that our status might be
our business, something we decide
and do not revise according to the
shifting judgments of out audience.
For the dueler, what other people
think of him will be the only factor
in settling what he may think
of himself. So how can design
enhance these etiquettes, or can
we design new ones for the gym
environment?
If you’re doing multiple sets on a
machine, it’s common courtesy to
let others work in during your rest
periods. This may not always be
practical, but could mean that there
is less need for so many machines
in a gym? By working out in shifts
it enables communication between
users and allows for teamwork or
more friendly competition. The
layout of the gym could lend itself
to an efficient total workout and
sharing the equipment around
evenly, such as small circuits or a
path to follow around the gym that
works all of the body if required.
Gym clothing and textiles have a big impact on the environment. When
working out, we get sweaty, which is not always accepted in a gym. So
we get home and wash our clothes, but the fact is that the energy needed
to wash clothes in their lifetime is six times that needed to make them.
Just by washing clothes half as often, energy consumption is reduced by
50%. Alternatively, gym clothes could be rented out and handed in at the
end to be washed for the next user. Now this is not a mainstream design
solution but it engages with the issues of sustainability in a new way.
The constantly changing relationship between design and culture means
that novel products or ways of working are not likely to come from the
mainstream. Instead we need to start looking to ad hoc projects.

Drink holders are common in gym

apparatus, however there lacks
any recycling facilities in this gym
for such items. You would think
that being in an environment
that plastic bottles are a common
place that a bin would be on site,
alternatively something that could
sanitize the bottles (left) to be used
by others in the future would be
a welcome feature. The benefits
of recycling bottles are evident in
Nike’s most recent international
football shirts that are made from
eight recycled bottles (above), and
sold in re-used plastic bottles to
the public. Perhaps we need more
mainstream companies to set that
type of example, to know their
responsibility to particularly the
youth of today.
Throughout the analysis of the gym location I hope that a few of
my ideas on sustainability and ethics have come through. Designers
have been blamed in the past for the not dealing with the global
environment situation or even making it worse. Whatever your
feelings on this, we must take responsibility for the future of the
world through our design decisions. Someone has to redesign the
structures, institutions and processes that drive the economy along.
Someone has to transform the material, energy and resource flows
that, unchecked, will finish us. Most elements of a sustainable
already exist. Some of those elements are technological solutions.
Some are to be found in the natural world, thanks to million years
of evolution. The majority are social practices, some very old ones,
learnt by other societies in other times. Which leads on to another
of my points – the importance of multi-disciplinary teams. With this
element we can really design in context for everyone and everything,
we must appreciate and take in as many fields of study as possible,
so that we know we are making the right move. A more durable
kind of design thinking sees the product as a link between man
and his environment. In reality, we must think of man, his means,
his environment, and his ways of thinking about, planning for and
manipulating himself and his surroundings. But sustainable design
is also about making small-scale changes, for a bigger impact, as well
as making more with less. That means consuming less, using things
longer and recycling materials. There are many ways to sustainable
design, and by no means is it all figured out. Essential debate
continues to question and explore the most effective ways and means
of working with it. It is an iterative and ongoing process.

“Man is like every other species in being able

to reproduce beyond the carrying capacity of
any finite habitat. Man is like no other species in
that he is capable of thinking about this fact and
discovering its consequences.”
William R. Catton, 1980
 Bibliography :
Books
Gant, N., Designers, Visionaries and Other Stories: A Collection of Sustainable Design Essays, London,
Earthscan, 2007

Hinte, Ed Van., Eternally Yours, Rotterdam, 010 Publishers, 2009

Papanek, V., Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change, London, Thames and Hudson, 1984

Toffler, A., The Adaptive Corporation, Pan Books Ltd, 1985

Meadows, D., Beyond the Limits, London, Earthscan, 1992

Max-Neef, M., Real-life Economics, Routledge, 1992

Catton, W.R., Overshoot: The Ecological Basis of Revolutionary Change, University of Illinois, 1980

De Botton, A., Status Anxiety, Penguin, 2005

Kotsko, A,. Awkwardness, Zero Books, Hants, 2010

Wann, D., Deep Design: Pathways to a Liveable Future, Island Press, Washington, 1996

Weblinks
Metabolicity. [online] Available at http://www.metabolicity.com/ [Accessed 23 March 2010]

Images
Nike Recycled Bottle Shirt, 2010 [photograph] Available at: http://www.soccerbible.com/news/football-shirts/
archive/2010/02/26/nike-world-cup-2010-football-shirts-write-history.aspx [Accessed 23 March 2010]