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+ | ==== Tsunami Pants ==== | ||
+ | [[Theun Karelse]] | ||
+ | [[Tsunami Pants]] | ||
+ | {{man.jpg|man.jpg}}\\ | ||
+ | Personal flotation device.\\ | ||
+ | Picture from: Le Portefeuille Industriel, a collection of technical drawings from Musée des Arts et Métiers. | ||
- | ==== Tsunami Pants ==== | + | ==== Introduction. |
+ | |||
+ | == Engaging climate change. == | ||
+ | In 2006 Foam shifted its general direction to include Luminous Green strategies of: | ||
+ | * environmental sustainability | ||
+ | * ethical living | ||
+ | * eco-technology | ||
+ | The Tsunamipants project surfaced from this shift as an attempt to address these issues in an engaging way. | ||
+ | |||
+ | How do you relate to global crises in a way that is not demotivating? | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Tsunamipants project shows the traps that are hidden in responding to problems by coming up with solutions that are built within the limits of the problem. This invariably creates new versions of the same problem, it doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | That is the tragedy in which the inventor [[Martin Brolin]] is caught in the Tsunamipants project. Martin engages the extreme weather conditions that are associated with future climate changes and tries to engineer his way out-off | ||
- | [[Theun Karelse]] | ||
- | [[Tsunami Pants]] | ||
- | | ||
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- | ==== Introduction. ==== | ||
- | == Engaging climate change. == | ||
- | In 2006 Foam shifted its general direction to include Luminous Green strategies of: | ||
- | * environmental sustainability | ||
- | * ethical living | ||
- | * eco-technology | ||
- | The Tsunamipants project surfaced from this shift as an attempt to address these issues in an engaging way. | ||
- | How do you relate to a Global crises in a way that is not demotivating? | ||
- | The Tsunamipants project shows the traps that are hidden in responding to problems by coming up with solutions that are built within the limits of the problem. This invariably creates new versions of the same problem, it doesn' | ||
- | That is the tragedy in which the inventor [[Martin Brolin]] is caught in the Tsunamipants project. Martin engages the extreme weather conditions that are associated with future climate changes and tries to engineer his way out-off | ||
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==== Context ==== | ==== Context ==== | ||
== Inconvenience. == | == Inconvenience. == | ||
- | This research was undertaken in the middle of the Climate Change debate. A seminal event that shapes | + | This research was undertaken in the middle of the Climate Change debate. A seminal event that shaped |
What adds to the feelings of despair around these issues is the complicated nature of environmental and social problems and solutions. There are seemingly endless secondary effects and influences hidden beneath the surface of discussions. | What adds to the feelings of despair around these issues is the complicated nature of environmental and social problems and solutions. There are seemingly endless secondary effects and influences hidden beneath the surface of discussions. | ||
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== Positive change. == | == Positive change. == | ||
- | Recently some advocates of change based on positive arguments have become more visible such as the ' | + | Recently some advocates of change based on positive arguments have become more visible such as the ' |
== Tsunamipants applied in a society of risks. == | == Tsunamipants applied in a society of risks. == | ||
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== Precautionary principle. == | == Precautionary principle. == | ||
- | The elimination of risk can slow down society when attention goes only to possible negative out-comes. This is the Precautionary Principle, it says, in essence, 'when in doubt, don' | + | The elimination of risk can slow down society when attention goes only to possible negative out-comes. This is the Precautionary Principle, it says, in essence, 'when in doubt, don' |
+ | //" | ||
+ | The Precautionary Principle, Al Gore's sustainability and Bush' | ||
== Social risk positions. == | == Social risk positions. == | ||
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* external risks: natural disasters. | * external risks: natural disasters. | ||
* manufactured risks: technological disasters. | * manufactured risks: technological disasters. | ||
- | He suggests people have ' | + | He suggests people have ' |
- | Psychometric research has shown some funny methods people tend to use when they asses a risk. If the threat is easily imagined it looks more dangerous. People will piece together unknown risks form parts that they do know. People make very interesting choices when they way the possibilities of gaining or loosing; they rather loose a little all the time (insurance). And research has revealed that the risk-assesment | + | Psychometric research has shown some funny methods people tend to use when they asses a risk. If the threat is easily imagined it looks more dangerous. People will piece together unknown risks form parts that they do know. People make very interesting choices when they way the possibilities of gaining or loosing; they rather loose a little all the time (insurance). And research has revealed that the risk-assessment |
Douglas and Wildavsky' | Douglas and Wildavsky' | ||
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== International organisations. == | == International organisations. == | ||
- | Switzerland has even formed an International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) | + | Switzerland has even formed an International Risk Governance Council (IRGC)\\ |
- | 'The IRGC is an independent organisation whose purpose is to help the understanding and management of emerging global risks that have impacts on human health and safety, the environment, | + | //'The IRGC is an independent organisation whose purpose is to help the understanding and management of emerging global risks that have impacts on human health and safety, the environment, |
- | http:// | + | |
And the World Economic Forum has a Global Risk Network which brings out annual reports on global risks. | And the World Economic Forum has a Global Risk Network which brings out annual reports on global risks. | ||
+ | |||
+ | == Safety engineering. == | ||
+ | Safety engineering usually is seen as a part of system engineering. It studies the working of a system when a part of it fails. The dynamics of this are visualized in a fault tree diagram. So this study is limited to faults that occur in the area of manufactured risks. Martin Brolin works mostly with external risks or with manufactured risks that result from external risks. | ||
== The myth of happiness. == | == The myth of happiness. == | ||
- | Just as at the court of Louis the 14th introversion was unthinkable, | + | Just as at the court of Louis the 14th introversion was unthinkable, |
Martin Brolin exemplifies the design strategy where solutions only change the problem to a new form. That is what makes the inventions funny. Basically Tsunamipants are a design statement, it shows with traps not to fall into. | Martin Brolin exemplifies the design strategy where solutions only change the problem to a new form. That is what makes the inventions funny. Basically Tsunamipants are a design statement, it shows with traps not to fall into. | ||
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== Related projects. == | == Related projects. == | ||
- | [[Tsunami Pants]] is embedded in the European tradition of the drawn narrative. There is a long tradition of mad-scientist and eccentric inventors in fiction. There are other art and design projects, that tackle the same problem.\\ | + | [[Tsunami Pants]] is embedded in the European tradition of the drawn narrative. There is a long tradition of mad-scientist and eccentric inventors in fiction. There are other art and design projects, that tackle |
Some are closely related, use humor like: | Some are closely related, use humor like: | ||
- | * The Yesmen, made the survivaball. | + | * The Yesmen made the survivaball, Ann de Gersem made the Life dress, Yael Mer made the Canoe dress. |
- | * Troy Hurtubise, made the Grizzly and Troyan suits. | + | * Troy Hurtubise made the Grizzly and Troyan suits. |
+ | * Inflatable swimming trunks and other inventions in the same spirit by real people are documented on [[http:// | ||
+ | * Digital Peacock Tales, designed by Magnus Torstensson of [[http:// | ||
+ | * Eelko Moorer made Emergency Games, a booklet of rather unimaginative but dangerous games to be played at home. | ||
Others are more loosely related, and serious like: | Others are more loosely related, and serious like: | ||
- | * Adam Whinton and Yolita Nugent' | + | * Adam Whinton and Yolita Nugent' |
- | * Intercative | + | * Interactive |
+ | |||
+ | Wikipedia has a nice page on PPE Personal Protective Equipment, which I stumbled upon when I was almost finished with my collection: | ||
+ | * http:// | ||
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- | * expected | + | == Expected |
+ | |||
+ | This project was born out-off a conversation about designing clothes for extreme weather conditions. I expected to have a range of clothing items that would be suited to surviving specific meteorological threats. These would be either drawn or prototyped. These designs should be funny, so this implied they probably would be impracticable to some extent. To show the use of the inventions I imagined short stories and perhaps a collection of stories would be the end product. Another angle of creating a character would be to see how it can function as merchandise or how it can be weaved into the realities of FoAM. | ||
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- | This project was born out-off a conversation about designing clothes for extreme weather conditions. I expected to have a range of clothing items that would be suited to surviving specific meteorological threats. These would be either drawn or prototyped. These designs should be funny, so this implied they probably would be impracticable to some extent. To show the use of the inventions I imagined short stories and perhaps a collection of stories would be the end product. | ||
- | * if the actual outcomes are different than the expected outcome, the reasons for this should be explained in the " | ||
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== Designing Tsunamipants, | == Designing Tsunamipants, | ||
- | The first step to design portable safety technology for natural disasters is to make a full list of these horrors. From this the first opportunities for design become apparent. This can be complemented by a list of controversial technologies, events, objects or places connected to the Climate change discussion, such as biofuels, air-travel, SUV-s and holiday-resorts. By pairing disasters to items from the other lists inspiring combinations can be found. | + | The first step to design portable safety technology for natural disasters is to make a full list of these horrors. From this the first opportunities for design become apparent. This can be complemented by a list of controversial technologies |
- | Making a collection of historic and current solutions in wearable safety systems, gives a greater scope of possibilities in this field. | + | |
- | == Designing | + | == Character development of Martin Brolin. == |
- | The narrative structure of this research hinted at the value of having a central character. While driving to the supermarket, | + | The narrative structure of this research hinted at the value of having a central character. While driving to the supermarket, |
- | Martin should be European, because of the Christian flavouring of the Climate | + | Martin should be European, because of the Christian flavouring of the climate-change debate. I chose Sweden |
- | == Justification of the methodology, the strength of physical experiments. == | + | |
+ | |||
+ | == Justification of the methodology; the strength of physical experiments. == | ||
One person in particular inspired me to design these strange contraptions; | One person in particular inspired me to design these strange contraptions; | ||
- | Giving environmental problems a direct physical presence for people is one of the great obstacles within the debate. Things happen too slow to see and feel, but extreme weather that is associated with climate change is very tangible. Although it is too big to bring to peoples physical reality, like Saint Francis of Assisi often did, tsunamipants | + | Giving environmental problems a direct physical presence for people is one of the great obstacles within the debate. Things happen too slow to see and feel, but extreme weather that is associated with climate change is very tangible. Although it is too big to bring to peoples physical reality, like Saint Francis of Assisi often did, Tsunamipants |
== DIY culture. == | == DIY culture. == | ||
There are great results to be gained from direct action. This was shown by Srinivasan Soundara Rajan and Marko Peljhan at the Luminous Green symposium and by Suprabha Seshan at the Hands-on Change symposium. ((luminousgreen.org)) The Tsunamipants research project tapps into this tradition and hopefully with the same infectious enthusiasm. | There are great results to be gained from direct action. This was shown by Srinivasan Soundara Rajan and Marko Peljhan at the Luminous Green symposium and by Suprabha Seshan at the Hands-on Change symposium. ((luminousgreen.org)) The Tsunamipants research project tapps into this tradition and hopefully with the same infectious enthusiasm. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | == Case study. == | ||
+ | I made one case study by following the events around a particularly violent storm on January 18, 2007 in the Netherlands.\\ | ||
+ | [[Storm]] | ||
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==== Solution/ | ==== Solution/ | ||
- | == Working process == | + | == Working process |
- | What became apparent during the Tsunamipants project is the constant need for new angles. The first design was for a piece of clothing that can help to survive a disaster; the Tsunamipants. You can go on creating more designs for clothing, but the novelty wears off soon. So I moved to SUV-s with the Inflatable-hummer, | + | |
+ | This research gave me a much richer picture of meteorology, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The list of weather catastrophes: | ||
+ | * hurricanes / tornadoes | ||
+ | * storms | ||
+ | * thunderstorms and lightning | ||
+ | * snowstorms | ||
+ | * sandstorms | ||
+ | * extreme hydroliths, like giant hailstones | ||
+ | * avalanches | ||
+ | * landslides | ||
+ | * mud-streams | ||
+ | * lavastreams | ||
+ | * earth-quakes and tremors | ||
+ | * flooding | ||
+ | * tsunamis | ||
+ | * drought | ||
+ | * smoke and ash | ||
+ | * mist | ||
+ | * forestfire | ||
+ | * turbulence | ||
+ | |||
+ | How they hurt: | ||
+ | * overheating / sunstroke | ||
+ | * hypothermia / frostbite | ||
+ | * UV-damage | ||
+ | * dehydration | ||
+ | * drowning | ||
+ | * falling through ice | ||
+ | * hunger | ||
+ | * inflammation | ||
+ | * missing limbs | ||
+ | * being crushed | ||
+ | * burning | ||
+ | * loss of consciousness | ||
+ | * excessive bleeding | ||
+ | * and the various diseases that move trough refugee camps | ||
+ | |||
+ | Urban dangers: | ||
+ | * gas-leaks | ||
+ | * fire | ||
+ | * power-failure | ||
+ | * falling power-cables | ||
+ | * collapsing structures and large things falling over | ||
+ | * panicking masses and traffic | ||
+ | |||
+ | Positive side-effects: | ||
+ | |||
+ | * these horrors may result in Leapfrogging effects for the regions or nations affected. | ||
+ | * many superheroes got their power in accidents so this might create opportunities for those supernaturally inclined. | ||
+ | |||
+ | What became apparent during the Tsunamipants project is the constant need for new angles. The first design was for a piece of clothing that can help to survive a disaster; the Tsunamipants. You can go on creating more designs for clothing, but the novelty wears off soon. So I moved to SUV-s with the Inflatable-hummer, | ||
During the work a person was created to give the project a unified base. This greatly improved the narrative potential and engagement for the project. | During the work a person was created to give the project a unified base. This greatly improved the narrative potential and engagement for the project. | ||
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- | == Protective Suits: == | + | |
+ | |||
+ | == Protective Suits. == | ||
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* [[ExoSkeletons]] > for getting out-off rubble-heaps etc. | * [[ExoSkeletons]] > for getting out-off rubble-heaps etc. | ||
- | == Accessories: == | + | == Accessories. == |
* [[Footware]] > these boots are made for.. all kinds of things. | * [[Footware]] > these boots are made for.. all kinds of things. | ||
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* [[Head Protection]] > how to keep your head from falling off or rotting away. | * [[Head Protection]] > how to keep your head from falling off or rotting away. | ||
- | == Tools: == | + | == Tools. == |
* [[Emergency Storage]] > pretty amazing tools for any emergency. | * [[Emergency Storage]] > pretty amazing tools for any emergency. | ||
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* [[Medical Aids]] > hackable medical devices. | * [[Medical Aids]] > hackable medical devices. | ||
- | == Special transport: == | + | == Special transport. == |
* [[Adapted Transport]] > vehicles to get you out of trouble. | * [[Adapted Transport]] > vehicles to get you out of trouble. | ||
* [[Remotely Operated Vehicles]] > going to the places you don't want to go. | * [[Remotely Operated Vehicles]] > going to the places you don't want to go. | ||
- | In safety design inflatable techniques are used abundantly. As a result of this my research started to connect to research done by Cocky Eek who has investigated inflatable technology and design. | + | In safety design inflatable techniques are used abundantly. As a result of this my research started to connect to research done by Cocky Eek who has investigated inflatable technology and design. |
My basic conclusion for the hierarchy of risks for humans is based on the volumes of products on the market, not by absolute figures or by value but just by seeing what is most abundant in use or on offer physically and digitally. And the hierarchy is as follows: | My basic conclusion for the hierarchy of risks for humans is based on the volumes of products on the market, not by absolute figures or by value but just by seeing what is most abundant in use or on offer physically and digitally. And the hierarchy is as follows: | ||
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* Drowning: and other water related risks are very big business for offshore and recreational purposes. | * Drowning: and other water related risks are very big business for offshore and recreational purposes. | ||
- | During the research | + | From my research into survival engineering it became apparent that there are some areas of design that produce particularly attractive objects: |
+ | * Designs that offer protection to the head or part of the face, especially the nose. | ||
+ | * Things that offer escape from large structures. | ||
+ | * Off-shore safety devices. | ||
+ | * Tools for signaling | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
- | //concise description of the actual outcomes of the research// | ||
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- | * comparison | + | == Comparison |
+ | My research broadened from designing clothes for meteorological catastrophes to a wild and hilarious journey through portable safety technology. I did not go into material research for this because that seemed like a world too vast to cover. And it would not have been effective for reaching my goal, which relies more on imagination than on expertise. But it would have fitted nicely with research done by Lina Kusaite, who is looking into developing a material library. | ||
+ | The domain of portable safety technology turned out to be much more varied than I anticipated. The history of portable personal safety technology is rich. An overview of this field formed and it shows the diversity of technologies and suggests risk hierarchies. For a successful Tsunamipants design some ingredients are crucial. I look at the combinations of already existing products and fusing them into an unlikely hybrid. As noted above, the need to shift focus became apparent during the design stages. This resulted in designs for many different situations, more connected to climate change issues in a broad sense and not just weather induced disasters. | ||
- | * suggestions | + | == Suggestions |
- | * suggestions | + | == Suggestions |
+ | * The [[survival engineering]] collection could be extended with strategies used by animals and plants. | ||
+ | * Martin Brolin could be used to study the possibilities of merchandising. | ||
+ | * Move into 3-d prototyping. | ||
+ | * Extend into material research. | ||
+ | * Tunamipants could pop-up in FoAM or FoAM partner events. | ||
+ | * Move from the history of safety into the direction of the history of sustainability. I've started tracing my own cultural roots; into the Zeeuwse farms and their (forgotten) technologies. | ||
+ | * More Tsunamifood, | ||
+ | ==Public response. == | ||
+ | The design of Martin with a bad haircut, slightly overweight and big was intended to place him as a very ordinary guy. But some members of the public have commented that they found it difficult to feel sympathy for him. During the process Martin sometimes devolved somewhat into a bum. He sometimes became more of a caricature, this was largely due to the linear style of drawing that was applied and the scale of working. | ||
- | * comments on the response of the public | + | The public responded well to presentations. Finding unlikely combinations, |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | {{Martin-Brolin.jpg}} | ||
- | The design of Martin with a bad haircut, slightly overweight and big was intended to place him as a very ordinary guy. But some members of the public have commented that they found it difficult to feel sympathy for him. During the process Martin sometimes devolved somewhat into a bum. He sometimes became more of a caricature, this was largely due to the style of drawing that was applied and the scale of working. | ||
- | The public responded well to presentations. Finding unlikely combinations, | ||
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== Media used in the research. == | == Media used in the research. == | ||
On the Net: | On the Net: | ||
+ | * many dozens of cites had wonderful designs and pictures, they are documented in the [[survival engineering]] collection. | ||
* http:// | * http:// | ||
* http:// | * http:// | ||
* http:// | * http:// | ||
- | * http:// | + | * http:// |
+ | * http:// | ||
Wikipedia: | Wikipedia: | ||
* http:// | * http:// | ||
* http:// | * http:// | ||
+ | * http:// | ||
+ | * http:// | ||
+ | * http:// | ||
Books and magazines: | Books and magazines: | ||
* Plan B, Rescuing a Planet under Stress, Lester Brown | * Plan B, Rescuing a Planet under Stress, Lester Brown | ||
* Gaston LeGaffe, Andre Franquin | * Gaston LeGaffe, Andre Franquin | ||
+ | * Jimmy Corrigan, the smartest kid on earth, Chris Ware | ||
+ | * Top Ten, Alan Moore | ||
* How should we then live?, Francis A. Schaeffer | * How should we then live?, Francis A. Schaeffer | ||
* Nexus #44 #46 #47 http:// | * Nexus #44 #46 #47 http:// | ||
- | * The Teaching Company, Saint Francis | + | * Le Portefeuille Industriel, a collection |
+ | Lectures: | ||
+ | * The Teaching Company, Saint Francis of Assisi, William R. Cook, Ronald B. Herzman. http:// | ||
+ | * Paradiso, on Climate Change by Pier Vellinga, one of the founders of the IPCC. http:// | ||
+ | * BBC 2, Civilization, | ||
+ | * VPRO, Tegenlicht, episode: Cradle-to-Cradle and episode: de Toekomst van ons Voedsel. http:// | ||
== Material generated in the research to be archived at FoAM. == | == Material generated in the research to be archived at FoAM. == | ||