Piece by Piece: Circular Economy & Repair in the NL
02SEPTEMBER - 21OCTOBER, 2020
It is no secret there are ample forces programming our society to purchase more and more products disguised as needs and that these goods are manufactured with intentionally limited lifespans. Environmental sociologists often refer to this situation as a treadmill of consumption and a culture of consumerism. Many scientists, researchers and students of your generation are working to change the tides of these overwhelming forces by introducing models for a circular economy based on principles of reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling. Listen to the stories of repairers from the International Repair Cafe in Amsterdam (Beautifully Broken exhibited in the TU Delft Library Sept. 2- Oct. 21) and learn more about the curriculum, educational resources, researchers, and students here at TU Delft making, repairing, and pursuing design projects related to the circular economy.
Our recent efforts do not equate to a circular economy. Hear an expert panel of repair professionals and TU Delft researchers present different angles, perspectives, and scales--as well as examining ethics--related to the complexity of developing a circular economy (CE) and issues related to repair. Learn more about different solutions or pathways as it’s certainly not as simple as buying second hand jeans.
Panel also will highlight speakers’ ongoing research, projects, curriculum, and activities ongoing at TU related to Repair and CE. This panel is part of the concluding program for the “Mooi Stuk / Beautifully Broken” Repair Cafe International exhibition.
Moderator:
Bas Flipsen is a lecturer and researcher in the field of circular product architecture design at the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering.
Panelists:
Karel Van den Berghe (Architecture) is an assistant professor of spatial planning and urban economy at the faculty of architecture and the built environment. Currently he focuses on the role of space in a circular economy and why and how the conflict between circular design and circular functioning emerges.
Sagar Dangal (Industrial Design) will present about recent research on product diagnosis by conventional users, titled: “People struggle to diagnose faults in household appliances, and design is to blame: a user observational study.” He will be joined by his collaborator Beatriz Pozo Arcos.
Francesco De Fazio (Philips) is a product designer specialized in design for the Circular Economy and EcoDesign. Alumnus and ex-researcher from TU Delft, he joined Philips Experience Design in 2020 as part of the Circular Design program. His role includes developing new design methods, tools and guidelines for circular design while supporting the development teams and the Sustainability department in designing more sustainable consumer and medical products.
Alma van Oudheusden and Julieta Bolanos (Industrial Design) will be presenting some of their findings from The Sharepair project which aims to decrease the waste of electronic and electric consumer products and increase their useful life, by supporting and scaling up citizen repairs through digital tools. As part of this project, the Circular Product Design department at the TU Delft is researching the possibilities of the use of 3D printing to produce spare parts and support self-repairs and repairs within communities such as maker spaces and Repair Cafés.
Astrid Poot (education) is director and co-founder of The Lekkersamenklooien Foundation, an organization committed to finding the right place of making in our lives and education. Astrid will speak from her vast experience about changing the attitudes of parents and children towards making and repair.
Come hear the founder of Repair Cafe International!
About this Event
The TU Delft Library has invited founder and director of Repair Cafe International to speak in tandem with the ongoing Repair Cafe exhibition, "Beautifully Broken / Mooi Stuk," currently on display. To learn a little more about Martine and her story please read further. The video below will help to "break down" Repair Cafes!
Martine Postma is founder and director of Repair Café International Foundation. She started the very first Repair Café in 2009 and has been spreading this concept of volunteer repair meetings ever since. At this moment there are more than 2,000 local Repair Café groups in 36 countries across the globe. The number of Repair Cafés still grows every day.
Due to current COVID restrictions, this event has a capacity of 30 attendees, safely distanced. Registration required via EventBrite. Please do not arrive earlier than 16.00h. If you have not registered, please do not travel to the campus but watch online as the event will also be streamed (details forthcoming so please check back).
Register via https://beyondrepair.konfeo.com until the 6th of October 2020. Afterwards, you will receive access information for the event.
To a large extent the goal of societal transformation can also be recognized in the
role of Repair Cafés as social movements, which becomes better visible when looking at
the entire Repair Café network. It consists now of hundreds of local Repair Cafes in the
Netherlands, and it is currently quickly growing internationally with over 1200 Repair
Cafés in 29 different countries. (p308)
―
Dr.ir. J.N. (Jaco) Quist,Assistant professor Sustainable Innovation & Transitions at the Energy & Industry Section of the Technology, Policy & Management Faculty, Delft University of Technology
'Design for divestment in a circular economy: Stimulating voluntary return of smartphones through design' by F.A. Poppelaars, C.A. Bakker & J.M.L van Engelen (Journal article in Sustainability) see: TU Delft Repository
