Steve Michel's Journal of Lateral Modernism********************** Vol. VI No.11 November. 2006

Designing for Durability

by Steve Michel

When we hear of green design we think of the use of recyclable materials and socially responsible designs. This is not entirely far from the truth. The prevailing logic right now is to look at design in terms of life cycle management from cradle to grave. That is to say, the components, which make up a design -be it architectural, or industrial consumer product design- should be accountable from the date of their manufacture to final disposal and re-use. The green design community is promoting this concept, right now. It is a wise approach if we are to avoid drowning in our own waste. The truth is, when it comes to man made objects, nothing last forever. So we must insure that proper design allows re-use and/or recycling waste back into the manufacturing stream. But unfortunately this approach is not completely foolproof: energy costs are increasing and every manufacturing process uses energy. What’s been missing in the green design equation is durability. If manufactured products are used and kept longer, we can reduce the waste stream volume to a manageable rate. Indeed, in the French language, development durable is the term in French used to describe the concept of sustainability. But, durability has yet to be the centre of green design trends.

Designing for durability is a seldom-discussed aspect of design that I believe will gain ground in the coming years. It is simple as it is obvious in concept and execution. It makes good sense to keep products away from the dump by creating products that last. But what defines durability may be surprising and complex. While wear and tear will bring a design closer to the waste bin, true durability is more than the extended usefulness of a design.

Beyond the physical properties of an object in resisting wear there is the psychological user response to design and consumer behaviour to certain objects that cannot be fully tested and quantified. For example a designer branded product is more likely to be durable and, more importantly be kept, by the consumer. To illustrate the point: while visiting an in-law relative, I noticed they had some Eames chairs outside on their patio; these chairs where worn with threadbare upholstery, but still usable for outdoor use –and, because of its branding, was kept longer and may never see a waste site. No one would throw away an Eames: he or she were expensive to begin with and well designed. Yet countless similar chair designs of the same materials have ended up in the trash. Thus brands and perceived value improve durability. This is a loaded subject and the most intangible aspect of durable design. We can say durability is directly proportional to higher perceived or real value. A design is durable if the first purchaser keeps and uses the item beyond normal wear. Some examples come to mind: vintage cars are more durable by that definition, so are antique wood furniture. This is a combination of the rarity and demand for the item.

Unfortunately, modern expectations prevent the vintage and antiques market from supplying the entire consumer market. What was in vogue once long ago might not be the case in the present. Creating durability from scratch requires careful design and market strategies. The cachet of brand is a body of quality work and successful marketing over time. For the green designer, however, durability of design and brand can begin by producing designs that have better than average overall quality and performance of complete system, service and parts.

What can the designer do to insure durability in green design?

1.Design with physically more durable components. For example, in outdoor equipment or designs including architecture, stainless steel or galvanized fasteners instead of cheaper steel fasteners offer better corrosion resistance. Consumer satisfaction with unknown brands will focus on such details.

2.Produce designs that can be maintained easily: ease of disassembly for maintenance and/or part replacement.

3.Provide above average warranty protection providing free part replacement, service and repair.

4.Create and maintain customer support and information channels.

5.Create designs that can be easily upgraded in a post-consumer setting. .i.e. when design has surpassed warranty, and support, allow part/system replacement and/or upgrade. For example most PC computers allow interchangeable circuit board replacement -some closed box computers, like Mac computers, would require disposal to upgrade.

6.Avoid using toxic processes, or materials. Old buildings that used toxic asbestos have needed expensive cleanups. Asbestos before the 1970s was not suspected to be toxic. Today many ‘commonly accepted’ materials are under review and may become unacceptable in the future. Also the information that accompanies a design –via marketing, or documentation- can affect product retention and success. For example an iPod made of recyclable corn plastic will have better market appeal than petroleum plastic –but only if that information is available to the buyer. As a rule natural materials tend to be retained longer than synthetic ones. For the purposes of durability use materials that resonate with end-user(s). This is a complex issue involving temporal trends and fashion as well as timeless design values. A synthetic laminate that resembles wood or stone will not have as high a ‘quality’ as the natural materials themselves even if synthetic materials perform better. It can be a matter of balance and marketing in selecting materials. Wood- especially solid wood, even when dinged and scratched- is less likely to be discarded than a metal chair with equal amount of wear. Why? There is an intangible dimension to materials. Consumer perception plays a role -natural materials are perceived as more authentic and valuable. Yet some synthetic materials perform better and have not natural substitute. Common sense should be employed here.

7.Develop branding strategies that enhance the products perceived value: transparency of process, documentation, artistic origins and marketing tactics are ways by which the item becomes something worth keeping.

8.Avoid the need for disposable components. A vacuum cleaner that requires the use of disposable bags is not as durable as a design that uses an easily cleaned dust receptacle. Disposable designs are ruled out. Thus a Zippo™ lighter is ‘greener and more durable than a disposable Bic™ butane lighter.

9.Design products that use less energy to use. This is an obvious design strategy that is transforming entire industries and creating new innovation. Construction and automotive markets are hungry for products that cost less to operate and run. Toyota is leading the automotive sales with increased demand for hybrid cars. Energy star appliances are another example. Many ‘old’ appliances are being discarded as part of ‘upgrades’ for energy efficient models. There is a real demand for low energy products and greater end-user satisfaction with such products –because the savings, in some cases offset the procurement costs. With rising energy costs, an energy efficient design is more ‘durable’ –it be will kept longer and, not require replacement or upgrade.

10.Green design durability needs to be affordable. Making a durable green design affordable makes it a solution. Overpricing green designs divert environmental concerns away from the mainstream practice. If durability is to be part of a green design strategy, it must be accessible and compete with conventional designs.

11.Take back the discards. Companies should have disassembly departments to recycle back all salvageable parts of their products. Besides saving companies manufacturing costs, this maintains the durability of a design longer by keeping it in circulation longer. E.g. I return my old computer and I get a new upgraded one from the same company.

What can the consumer do?

1.Be wise. Know the difference between your needs, technology and marketing hype. If everyone discarded old appliances into the waste dump to upgrade to newer models we would have an ecological disaster. The truth: this is happening daily. Many old home computer monitors fill waste dumps when flat screen offer the benefit of lower electrical consumption and look more high tech, but are no better in performance than cathode ray tube monitors and, offer minimal energy savings. A gas guzzling car used in combination with a bus pass has a lower fuel consumption than the newest expensive hybrids. For durable design to be durable, we need to sort out our values collectively and strike a balance between our needs and wants.

The rigorous application of these design strategies can only result in durable products that will be used longer, as mentioned previously, by having better than average overall quality and performance of complete system, service and parts. Perhaps, more importantly, these designs, by being kept longer and easily maintained, are kept away from the waste stream.

Your Personal Greenhouse Gas Reduction

I periodically get trees planted (One click tree) to offset my carbon emissions from energy use (car, heating etc). 12 trees are required to compensate for the excess greenhouse gas created by a car in a year. I plan on three times that amount in true engineer fashion as a safety factor.

According to carboneutral.com, a tree at maturity can weigh a metric ton, half of which is carbon. I have done the calculation and the site corroborates with my result.

TheUnited Nations UNFCC makes it possible for entrepreneurs to implement carbon offset greenhouse reduction projects to then sell or trade the carbon credits to anyone. Anyone wanting to do this will find the paperwork staggering. Stringent monitoring methods are required and the bureaucracy is prohibitive. Suprisingly, even if aforestation is the only method that actually removes CO2 (80% of greenhouse gas emissions) from the atmosphere, it is not widely used. Most UNFCC CDM projects are for industrial green house gas reduction projects. Nevertheless some are waking up to the potential of aforestation to offset excess fossil fuel use.

Private companies like CarbonNeutral are selling green portifolios to those in the West who want to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. These include tree planting projects in U.K. (which has less than 1% of its original forest growth) and in Bhutan India.

I prefer Kenya's robust civil society approach which guarantees the trees are for conservancy and cost less: a $1.00 per tree.

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