💬 Welcome to the Journey
In a world facing environmental collapse, resource inequality, and social fragmentation, how we design things—spaces, objects, systems—matters more than ever. This first chapter invites you to step into the REIFY learning journey: a course designed not just to teach, but to shift how you think, observe, and create.
From the top of a wind turbine overlooking the land, the presenters welcome you into this hybrid experience—part storytelling, part hands-on learning. You’ll begin with the big picture: why sustainable design is urgent, what it looks like in practice, and how the REIFY seminar unfolded in the fields and forests of Evia, Greece.
🌍 What is Sustainable Design?
Sustainable design is about more than recycling or using eco-friendly materials. At its core, it asks: How can we design in ways that regenerate instead of deplete? That include instead of exclude? That last, evolve, and adapt instead of break and disappear?
This chapter introduces Design for Sustainability (DfS) as a mindset—a way of seeing the world through interconnected systems. You’ll encounter examples of circular design, appropriate technology, and regenerative practice. Whether it’s a water-collecting shelter or a modular bench made of reclaimed wood, each design choice becomes a statement of values.
🧰 Key Frameworks Introduced
- Systems Thinking – Seeing connections between parts, not just isolated objects. Think of a garden: soil, water, plants, insects, humans—all influence one another.
- Circularity – Moving beyond the “take-make-dispose” model. In circular design, waste becomes input. A product is built to be reused, repaired, or repurposed.
- Inclusive Design – Acknowledging that design often excludes vulnerable voices. True sustainability listens to local needs and designs with—not just for—communities.
🌿 Field Context: Why Evia? The REIFY seminar took place in Evia island. The area is marked by industrial energy infrastructure—wind turbines and power lines—but local residents often don’t benefit directly from this production. Many still pay full price for electricity, despite living in the shadows of massive installations. This disconnect became part of our learning. We asked: What would design look like if it truly served the people who live here?
The natural environment, mixed with infrastructure and economic precarity, became both backdrop and case study for the seminar.
🌐 Design in the Age of Crisis Design today cannot afford to be neutral. The climate crisis, mass displacement, and social inequality demand responses that are thoughtful, systemic, and urgent. This course doesn’t provide one-size-fits-all answers—but it does offer a toolkit and a way of thinking. In this chapter, you’ll reflect on your own surroundings and begin to identify where sustainable design could make an impact.
🛠️ Activity: Daily Object, Redesigned Choose an object you use daily. It could be a phone charger, a chair, a pair of shoes. Ask yourself:
Could it be redesigned for repair, reuse, or shared access?
What happens to this object when it breaks?
Who made it? Under what conditions?
📚 Further Resources
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation – Circular Design Guide
- IDEO – Field Guide to Human-Centered Design
- Design Council – Double Diamond Framework
🌟 Final Thoughts Design is not neutral. It can either uphold harmful systems—or help us imagine and build something better. In this first chapter, you’ve explored what sustainable design means and why it matters now more than ever. As you continue this course, remember: design isn’t just about what you make. It’s about how you see. Let’s sharpen our vision, together.