Non-human Design
Workshop with the Institute for Postnaturales Studies
Domaine de Boisbuchet, Lessac, France, 2021
Instituto Europeo di Design, Madrid, 2022
Nowadays, and more than ever, we need to understand nature as a complex and political subject that can no longer be romanticized. The way it has been represented has led us to believe that it is something separated from us, resulting in the contradictory dichotomy between Nature and Culture.
When we think of Boisbuchet we think of designing with and in agreement with the territory it belongs to. Boisbuchet's landmark for example, the Sequoia tree in the middle of the Domaine, has a postnatural history that reflects on the political and botanical dynamics between Europe and the Americas. Yet it is not an isolated case. There are many others such as the Japanese bamboo garden or the man-made lake in the terrain. Such places will become the focus of our attention during a week-long creative process.
Our perception will need to shift if we want to respond to the needs of contemporary ecologies. Design has always been about problem-solving and we believe it is time to shift its axis by making the process the solution itself. Let’s design by displacing the human from the center of our theoretical and practical approach, by forgetting about social, ergonomical or other anthropocentric production modes. How can we design for a non-human entity? What kind of necessities do we respond to when designing for or with a forest, a river, or a lake? Let's break new ground to explore desirable futures of coexistence.
When we think of Boisbuchet we think of designing with and in agreement with the territory it belongs to. Boisbuchet's landmark for example, the Sequoia tree in the middle of the Domaine, has a postnatural history that reflects on the political and botanical dynamics between Europe and the Americas. Yet it is not an isolated case. There are many others such as the Japanese bamboo garden or the man-made lake in the terrain. Such places will become the focus of our attention during a week-long creative process.
Our perception will need to shift if we want to respond to the needs of contemporary ecologies. Design has always been about problem-solving and we believe it is time to shift its axis by making the process the solution itself. Let’s design by displacing the human from the center of our theoretical and practical approach, by forgetting about social, ergonomical or other anthropocentric production modes. How can we design for a non-human entity? What kind of necessities do we respond to when designing for or with a forest, a river, or a lake? Let's break new ground to explore desirable futures of coexistence.