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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. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== 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 | ||
- | ==== Tsunami Pants ==== | ||
- | [[Theun Karelse]] | ||
- | [[Tsunami Pants]] | ||
- | | ||
- | {{man.jpg|man.jpg}} | ||
- | Picture from: Le Portefeuille Industriel, a collection of technical drawings from Musée des Arts et Métiers. | ||
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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. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
- | 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. | + | |
+ | == 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, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Martin should be European, because of the Christian flavouring of the climate-change debate. I chose Sweden as his native country. The unforbidding natural forces that shape that country would also shape the right kind of mental state for my survival engineer. In retrospect it is remarkable to see that for tackling the issues connected with the changing climate, I designed a suffering man in his thirties with long hair. The Christian imagery must have been playing in the back-ground. | ||
- | == Designing Martin Brolin. == | ||
- | 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 change debate so I chose Sweden. The unforbidding natural forces that shape that country would also shape the right kind of mental state for my survival engineer. In retrospect it is remarkable to see that for tackling the issues connected with the changing climate, I designed a suffering man in his thirties with long hair. The Christian imagery must have been playing in the back-ground. | ||
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I made one case study by following the events around a particularly violent storm on January 18, 2007 in the Netherlands.\\ | I made one case study by following the events around a particularly violent storm on January 18, 2007 in the Netherlands.\\ | ||
[[Storm]] | [[Storm]] | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
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* smoke and ash | * smoke and ash | ||
* mist | * mist | ||
+ | * forestfire | ||
+ | * turbulence | ||
How they hurt: | How they hurt: | ||
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* falling through ice | * falling through ice | ||
* hunger | * hunger | ||
- | * and the various diseases that move trough refugee camps. | + | |
+ | * missing limbs | ||
+ | * being crushed | ||
+ | * burning | ||
+ | * loss of consciousness | ||
+ | * excessive bleeding | ||
+ | | ||
Urban dangers: | Urban dangers: | ||
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* falling power-cables | * falling power-cables | ||
* collapsing structures and large things falling over | * collapsing structures and large things falling over | ||
- | * panicking masses | + | * panicking masses |
Positive side-effects: | Positive side-effects: | ||
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- | ==== Discussion ==== | ||
- | * comparison of the expected and the actual results | + | ==== Discussion ==== |
- | * suggestions and comments on the research process and its results | ||
+ | == Comparison of the expected and the actual results. == | ||
+ | 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 and comments on the research process and its results. == | ||
- | * suggestions for the future work based on the conclusions of the research | ||
- | * comments | + | == Suggestions for the future work based on the conclusions |
+ | * 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 style of drawing that was applied and the scale of working. | 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, | The public responded well to presentations. Finding unlikely combinations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | {{Martin-Brolin.jpg}} | ||
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* 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:// | ||
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* Paradiso, on Climate Change by Pier Vellinga, one of the founders of the IPCC. http:// | * Paradiso, on Climate Change by Pier Vellinga, one of the founders of the IPCC. http:// | ||
* BBC 2, Civilization, | * 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. == | ||