Design for survival

The industrial revolution changed our connection to the objects we surround ourselves with. Design was no longer a matter to secure our survival but Designers were now able to create fashionable objects to a large scale, enabling over consumption.

During the course of the week David stripped away one by one all amenities of normal civilized life to get back to the source of our real human needs and to begin at nothing.

David, with the help of his son Sam, let us rediscover what nature has to offer us to recreate that fundamental connection between us and the objects we create. This process allowed creativity to happen without seeing initially a solution. His emphasize was to show that each of us has to play their role in a world in which the requirements of sustainability are changing. Design has to be seen as a structure and no longer just object based to be able to reduce the physical impact of our culture so we can maintain our global culture.

The group explored the fast area of Boisbuchet; creating shelter structures so anyone who pleased could sleep one night out at the lake together with the others, eating food which was collected all over the domaine during the day, prepared on a fire.

At the end of the week they tackled the task to create a food event in different locations around the lake for all of us present, using mainly what nature had to offer them for food as well as for its presentation.

Local use of food and objects were combined with global creativity, ideas and culture.

David Trubridge (NZ)