Showing posts with label sustainable design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sustainable design. Show all posts

3.22.2011

!! what kind of future you want ? ?

URBAN MOBILITY NOW AND THE FUTURE

Living in a place such as Macau for 20 years I could see a lot of differences. More land, new structures, less green spaces, more buildings, more cars, more motorbikes, more people.
On the bright side, streets got cleaner, traffic were some how more organizes, laws were applied and are followed more precisely.

What happened in Macau, I believe it has happen to the whole world.
We are growing up in a world that people are ambitious to have more, in greater quantities and careless about others but themselves.

People are busy all the time. Busy to care, busy to stop, busy to appreciate and look around. Like everyone says and knows, ‘time is money’. The question is, how far and how much of a follower a person wants to be of this saying?!

I believe that if the society doesn't start caring about simple moments in life and appreciate more one another, the world will keep going down…

Therefore in my future perspective, I can talk about the future with a contradicted position towards what the world tend to be in case change doesn't occur.

1-    A busier future
2-    A better future 

For n.1: A busier future

I see people talking less to each other, building an individual society- people commuting on individual vehicles that are already designed ‘for the future’.
By consequence, new infrastructures are going to be built. Holes will be drilled to construct tunnels in order for the cars to commute. People will have a smaller horizon view, due to all the bridges built for people to cross from one side to the street to another.
And if they get an opportunity to ‘cross the street’ and I mean, by walking, I guess that will be a privilege. Designers are developing vehicles that ‘saves people time from walking’ to transport them from their domiciles to the public transportation.
Men are getting smarter with all the education provided until today, but the problem is with what goal will they show to the world what they know?
Men kind with all his knowledge will find a way to his ambitions.
But what will be his ambitious about?!

With up to 80 percent of the world’s humans projected to live in cities within a few decades, their mobility needs will rank high for automakers. Academics and theorists have long predicted that new modes of urban transport would emerge to meet those needs.
 
Here is an example, called PUMMA (Personal Urban Mobility), combining electric drive with both vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications and autonomous driving and parking.



 






Result? Well, Pixar movies already predicted in an animated motion movie, Wall-E, what I believe, a possible future:
Human beings are permanently strapped into car-chairs, and plugged into computer messages. In the film’s futuristic world, people have ceased using, or being able to use, their legs for mobility.


 
For n.2: ‘A better future’

This I believe is if the world truly starts paying attention to what is happening in the world. How Mother Nature is responding to everyone’s behaviors.
Of course, buildings and infrastructures are still going to rise from the ground, holes will probably be done in consequence for a better commuting system for the new population predicted.
But we can make it better. Sustainable ideas can be done and used in everyday’s life.

I want to believe in a future that people will need to share their life style, their ambitions and their behaviors.
A future that once a person does something, he or she is aware that a simple action will affect A or B. And I am not only talking about ‘greener actions’, but also society care for example, to support fair trade.
Awareness and care is all what I believe the world needs to focus on.

As a designer, I don’t want to do things to be rich, or famous. I want to do things that I know it will help someone, somewhere.
If I get the blessing of profiting from that, that is a bonus!!
Imagine if at least 50% of the world could think like that…

Tomorrow I'll post some of my ideas, something that I will focus on for this vehicle design project ;)

Beijinhos xxx
tchau

12.21.2010

surfers, if u really love the sea...

Much is spoken of recyclable or green boards in the surfing world. 
But nothing compares to product developed for the e-board. Everything has been thoroughly studied and developed with professionals in various fields of engineering, especially in the area of product
and development.


 The innovation came from the materials engineer, Daniel Aranha, realizing that taking care of our planet is no longer a trend but a necessity. Surfer since childhood and is responsible for design, sensitive to the massive pollution in factories currently a board, he developed an eco-resin water-based and, in his studio is located in Vila Madalena, Sao Paulo, the designer creates the e-boards.
The emission of gases released by traditional plates made of polyurethane and polyester is enormous.
All material used on these boards is derived from the extraction of oil, generating an incalculable amount of CO2 released into nature.
The materials used in manufacturing the-board and no longer dependent on oil extraction
or any other raw material of mineral origin. The resin has a characteristic smell, and remaining material is either recycled or organic. Every process of manufacturing and logistics (electricity consumption, spending several transport, waste, etc.) has its CO2 offset program by 'SOCIAL CARBON'   certified CantorCO2e / GPSA, project partners.

Therefore, the e-board is considered the first board in the world to receive a seal carbon free, elected in 2010 by the curators of Alma Surf Festival the most modern surfboard in Brazil.


Advantages: 
Lighter and more resistant to-board and the other is different thanks to higher absorption capacity
impacts, and by their distribution occur in the largest area possible. Do not knead or yellow
with the same ease as traditional. The aging process of the material is thicker than the other planks of the market, slowing the wear caused by exposure
the sun, saltwater and other agents.

LIFE-S ocial 
Who buys an e-board, and helping nature, encourages work and social inclusion
children and adults in underserved communities. The project includes the donation of boards for schools of the surf beaches of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and social work as a sewing workshop held in Canterbury, RJ Hill, with the seam of the e-bags, made of canvas PVC and recycled jute.
for more information, check the website http://www.eboards.com.br/
or Facebook (facebook.com/eboards)
attributes:
surf image•  http://www.surf-shop.org/interesting-bits/88
article• http://www.etno-botanica.com


p.s Even more proud to be Brazilian ;) xxx

12.16.2010

'I NEED THAT BAG'

Bags is definitely something that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!
In this shopping season it has been a huge challenge for me to see all this bags with huge discounts and not 'treat myself' or simply find a 'very good reason' to buy it.

Was stumbling on the internet to find more information for my final paper about sustainable fashion in Brazil and founded these amazing bags by Cavalera made out of cement bags.


 


A brilliant idea by its designer Ronaldo Fraga, after noticing that cement bags were constantly being exposed to sun and rain and were still good.

Back to me, I still bough a bag haha but is a hand made bag by this small Taiwanese company that re-uses materials and fabrics. Felt 'less guilty' :P

x tchau

12.07.2010

sustainable awareness



• While preparing for a final presentation I couldn't stop myself from designing what was on my mind after reading so much about sustainable design ;) hope the world sees it xx •

please share it

11.22.2010

Buying in Brazil x

Fashion Week in Brazil • Runwayscoop.com •






I’m Brazilian but raised up in Macau, China and every 2 to 3 years I go back ‘home’ to visit my whole family that lives there.

Always founded strange and ridiculous that clothes in Brazil and South America were so expensive. Every time that I go there, people can see that I am definitely not a local (I get to be a 'gringo' in my own country lol) just by the way I dress- and trust me, it is not because I have expensive and fancy clothes…

In general manufactured and imported goods are more expensive in Brazil than in the US/Europe ans specially Asia, because of the high burden imposed by taxes…

Hand labor-intensive goods or services are cheaper compares to the US or Europe, due to the very low average salaries. People that come from the outside might find things cheaper and feel in Heaven.
Sophisticated goods and services are also founded in Brazil but at a price that the average population would never afford.
The local population simply works very hard to have a meal by the end of the day.
In São Paulo for example (most expensive city of Brazil), local people makes R$500-R$1500 (with a degree sometimes) per month (212 to 600 Euros)...

You can see clearly the difference between social classes…Mid-upper classes get to a point of having a nanny and a driver, simply because people do need to work, and work for very low salaries.
 
I see that for example the south of Brazil, people do try to follow the latest fashion trends, but it’s just impossible to purchase it.
Consequently people tend to dress practical, cheap, leading to low quality garments and wasting their precious hard working money.
Not saying that ‘being in fashion’ or ‘have a style’ has to be a priority in life... no! But people need to get dressed, after a certain period of time they need to buy another pair of pants or a shirt for an especial event or go to work…

It seems also like an irony. Everyone knows that Brazil is known for the beautiful people, specially the women. Women do worry about their appearance, especially about their body and consequently do want to put on a beautiful dress or buy a new top to show off their hard work at the gym :P
I want to one day change that…yeah it is a big dream, but not impossible!
People can dress nicely, on an affordable price. Not saying that dressing nice has to be a priority, no… but it helps your self-steam, doesn’t it?
I will somehow make people realize that from one piece of cloth (cheap), they can show their personality and there is no need to pay a huge amount of money!
…How am I going to do that?! You will see.. but keep in mind that a sustainable design approach is always  aware about the social, economical and ecological benefits for the environment (including the people).

Even thou things are not the greatest in such beautiful country, I am so proud of being an Brazilian… because you can see that everything they do, they find the most ingenuous fun of it and by the end of the day thank God for having such job :)

Please post any comments or thoughts about this xxxxx