Creating Sustainable Outcomes, Wellness, And Performance By Using Industrial Design

Design affects product sustainability in multiple ways. Products with greenfield design for sustainability may use less material or replace high-footprint virgin materials with lower-impact recycled or biologically based alternatives. In industrial design, the product life cycle is a recurring term. The four stages of the product life cycle are manufacturing, transport, use, and disposal. This Cradle-to-Cradle concept imagines a new life for the product and its components once its current one ends. This involves designing product upcycling, recycling, or reuse possibilities for the product and/or its components as a part of the product design. In this approach, the products fit into a circular economy, which is a sustainable alternative to the linear economy model. So why aren’t we using this in the building & construction industry?

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this presentation, you should be able to:

• Identify important factors to consider in product upcycling, recycling, or reuse possibilities, and learn how these factors can be better addressed through the design process.
• Outline the barriers to implementing a circular economy in the building and construction industry.
• Understand how to ensure a product’s lifetime emissions are considered during its design stage.
• Outline current & practical examples of Cradle-to-Cradle concepts.

(Competency codes: PC 28, PC 35, PC 45, PC 60)