Future Life Project

The concept of gleaning refers to the gathering of crops left over after the harvest, or coal cast off from mining. Products like these, considered economically unviable, were considered fair game for people to collect for themselves. The small scale ‘harvesting’ of cast-off resources allowed them to be brought back to use, rather than wasted. The concept can equally be applied to the present day.

Gleaning can be seen as a small-scale, often creative solution to the problem of waste created by large-scale production. That waste can take on many guises, from scarce material to food; from time to space. Many material, spatial and human resources can be gathered rather than left to waste.

Design traditionally operates within mainstream commercial activity where inefficient production often creates waste. But it can equally well operate at the margins, occupying gaps on the fringes of established markets, where commercial activity isn’t considered viable.  Waste, in this context can be seen in as a resource or a material for production.

What happens to all those wasted resources and what could be done with them?

In the following brief you are asked to consider how the individual and small scale can be brought in to the production/consumption cycle by creating structures that actively engage with, or encourage the recovery of resources for more efficient and fuller use.

 Brief:

Devise a project that addresses the problem of waste by ‘harvesting and (re)using’ resources such as:

·        materials eg waste from skips and construction sites

·        food waste eg from supermarkets

·        space

·        time

·        water

Design a structure, and/or systems on your site that is/are able to occupy different spaces and fulfil different needs at different times.

and/or

Design a structure or other element within the built environment that can be easily disassembled, reconfigured, removed and remade to meet changing functional requirements and helps to eliminate waste.

For the purposes of illustration only, the following would all be viable responses:

–  a modular house that can be reconfigured to suit different spatial needs over time

–  a prefabricated workspace that can change according to different usage patterns

–  a pavilion that can be quickly assembled and dissembled for use at festivals and other temporary events for a range of activities

–  a textile installation that can be rearranged to change the character of a space or building 
– a bus or other transport shelter that can be erected in various locations with differing site requirements 
... and many others are possible.

Gleaning trip

1.The first task will be to visit a site, ie. the Liverpool Art Biennial, to explore the idea of gleaning through artworks and occupied spaces. You are asked to bring something back from your visit, a gathering of site phenomena in the form of a gift, that expresses your views and thoughts on waste triggered by what you have observed. It can be something you have found or something you have created, or both. From this you will develop a critical position to apply to a second site…..

2. The second task is to search for another site, eg in Preston, that you would like to use as your own resource This site can be anywhere and any size (although probably better to keep it small). It will be one that you consider to be underused, misused or unused, but that is ripe for ‘harvesting’.

Look for signs of potential recovery –

What is being wasted?

What is being recovered?

What can be recovered?

Consider the angle taken on waste and reconfiguration in 1, and apply it to the proposed new use for the site.