Designing Now – serie

Our relationship with our homes changed in 2020 when the pandemic known as Covid-19 led to enforced periods of self-isolation, called 'lockdown'. We got toknow our living spaces intimately and learned the greatest risk of infection was indoors through the breath we shared in poorly ventilated spaces, where microbial atmospheres could work their way inside, through every door, window and with every visitor.Our fear of such invisible threats will persist long after the pandemic ends and reflects a growing divide between the human and the microbial realm. This book examines the notion of the home in the context of the pandemic and lockdown, as they relate to environmental concerns and how we live with viruses and bacteria. It argues that, in order to decrease our vulnerability to infective agents, we need to acknowledge the link between people, space, daily routines and microbes and explore how the predominantly benign microbial world might be harnessed to combat and boost our immunity to future pathogens.Suggesting more than environmental home improvements, it explores new innovations and new materials which incorporate microbes for more ecological designs, such as ceramic tiles, concrete bio-receptive surfaces, building skins, fabrics, waste management and alternative energy supplies. A series of drawingswhich reveal the evolution of microbial technologies, infrastructures, spaces,dwellings, and architectures sets out a prototype for an ecological home forpost pandemic times. Identifying the lessons that COVID-19 has brought us, the book highlights the need for humans to consider and take microbes into account in future built environments.

Socially inclusive approaches are an increasingly important part of twenty-first century design. Inclusive design was first defined by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design in 1994 and enshrines a people centred approach at the heart of its practice, accounting for all aspects of human diversity. It encourages designers to ensure that their ideas include the widest number of people in their work and carries an increasingly important message to today's innovators. Most of us are excluded in some way by mainstream design, typically by age and ability, but also by gender, race, geography, or economics. This book clearly and engagingly tells how inclusive design has grown from its inception to become a global idea, examining the characters, milestones, decisions and challenges along the way. As the world grows a social conscience and sees the need to be abjectly more inclusive, the author sets out the aspirations and the capabilities of inclusive design, as well as its application by governments, companies, individuals and the public sector today.It discusses how inclusive design can and should be linked to sustainable practice, questions who is excluded and why, sets out common misconceptions regarding inclusivity and explains how to engage with people in meaningful, respectful and valuable ways. The book also demonstrates that design can have impact beyond the simple focus on aesthetic practice and function - a common misconception about design over the decades. It includes a wide range of international case studies which illustrate innovative methods, successes and failures in inclusive design, and concludes with a section which offers practical advice on how to be an inclusive designer.