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Architecture is Climate
Get PDFArchitecture is Climate reimagines the very foundations of architecture in an age of crises. Rejecting outdated paradigms of endless linear growth, technocratic fixes, and the separation of humans from nature, this provocative and hopeful book argues that architecture must be fundamentally rethought—not as the design of objects, but as a practice entangled with climate, politics, history, and social justice.
Through eight key themes—knowledge, economy, land, resources, infrastructure, work, policy, and culture—Architecture is Climate explores how climate breakdown reshapes every aspect of architectural thinking and doing. Drawing on diverse voices, and grounded examples from around the world, it offers not just a critique of the status quo but a vision of other possible architectures—and climates—already in the making.
Architecture is Climate grew out of the research grant Architecture after Architecture: Spatial Practice in the Face of the Climate Emergency, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
Scaling Circularity: A product inventory classification method for design for recycling
Get PDFA circular textile economy relies on good quality feedstock that can be adequately transformed into new resources after an extended lifecycle (McKinsey, 2022). Currently, few products are designed for recycling, and those which are, cannot be identified easily. Systemic design for recycling is therefore key to achieving circularity (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). Efforts to increase circularity as part of broader impact reduction measures are under way across the sector (Circle Economy, 2024) but currently take a product-by-product approach (WRAP, 2023). The Scaling Circularity project aims to multiply the impact of design for recycling by developing a method for the classification of inventory based on recyclability criteria.
The method relies on a logic model that connects product inventory data such as garment types and fibre contents to the parameters for recyclability set by selected textile-to-textile recyclers. The research team’s competencies span circular design and data science, therefore connecting a tacit understanding of barriers to recycling with the development of a quantitative classification system. Direct collaboration with a large-scale fashion retailer to delve into the formats and specificities of product inventory further contribute to anchoring this research within the realities of the industry.
The classification results in three main categories for garments. In the first category are items ‘ready to be recycled’ which currently fit specific recyclers’ parameters for fibre content and do not include disruptors in their design. These products can be certified for recycling as they are, and when they reach end-of-life as non-re-wearable textile waste, then can be recycled into new fibres. The second category covers garments which ‘can be recycled after redesign for recycling’. These have disruptors to recycling in their current form but could be modified so that the next version to reach market would be recyclable. They typically include small portions of ‘other fibres’ not accepted by recyclers which could be designed out without affecting functionality, or include disruptive trims such as buttons or zips that could be replaced by recyclable trims or designed out without changing the appeal of the product. The third category presents clothing with important challenges to recyclability, where redesigning would significantly alter the functionality or the look of the piece. These are ill-adapted to a design for recycling approach and other strategies such as design for longevity are recommended.
The aim of this classification is to support industry decision makers in targeting circularity efforts to the most meaningful product categories. It is apparent that an industry-wide lag in accurate data collection is hindering a shift to sustainable practices (Mutambo et al., 2024). The classification method identifies a proportion of garments for which certification is a key priority, those which can be reviewed for redesign, and those which can be tabled for later. This method offers a first point of call to frame a circularity strategy. Further scrutiny will need to be applied beyond the initial classification, to confirm that no disruptors not mentioned in the product inventory are present in products
Silicone-Free Lip Balms: The Impact of Cooling Times and Temperatures on Performance
No full textThis study explores whether optimising post-moulding cooling can enable replacement of multi-domain silicones (MDSi) with biodegradable polyglycerol esters (PGE) in lip balms without altering the base composition. A silicone-based benchmark, cooled at 4 °C for 30 minutes, was compared with silicone-free formulations cooled under fridge, freezer, and room temperature protocols. Instrumental testing measured hardness, pay-off, yield strain, and melting enthalpy. Results showed that although none of the silicone-free samples fully matched the benchmark, the freezer-cooled variant (−20 °C, 7 min) achieved the closest similarity, with strong hardness, balanced pay-off, and the highest resemblance score, while also reducing production time by 76.6%. These findings demonstrate that cooling optimisation is an effective, low-cost strategy for improving the performance of silicone-free formulations, offering a practical path toward more sustainable lip balms. Sensory evaluation will be required to validate consumer experience
Innovative solutions to fashion’s biggest problems – the impact of artificial intelligence on solutions for Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 12. A case study from London College of Fashion
Get PDFPurpose
This study aims to explore the use of artificial intelligence in higher education, specifically looking at teaching and learning within seminars. We present a case study which explores the application of Generative AI tools within the fashion futures unit, an innovative unit that is part of BSc Fashion Management at London College of Fashion.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is a case study on fashion futures; the unit has four new Gen-AI integrations that have been developed to support the students' understanding of Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 12 and the process of creating an innovative concept related to solving sustainability problems in fashion. Using ethnographic research, the study combined observation with focus groups and short reflective surveys.
Findings
The results show that by providing taught content and AI tool seminar activities, students feel more confident in using AI tools for brainstorming and literature searches. However, there were remaining concerns as to understanding the ethical implications of their AI use and acceptable use in different units of study.
Originality/value
The study uses extant theories on AI in education and learnings from this action research to demonstrate the effectiveness of AI tools in understanding, innovation development and critical analysis. The research expands the limited publications on management education and fulfils requests for increased rigour within emerging AI in education research
Sustainable Futures through Democratic Design: Towards Community-led Democratic Localism in Rathlin Island
Get PDFA co-authored report summarising learning from research activities that took place on or in relation to Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland, through a funded academic project exploring the island’s sustainable futures using the lens of democratic design led by Belfast School of Art, Ulster University funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Green Transition Ecosystem programme. The team carried out analysis of the current disjointed policy context and worked with island residents through a structured deliberative process, or democratic mini-public, to explore the future of the ferry service they are utterly dependent on, paying attention to how this process was designed and facilitated. The project’s learnings are firstly on the level of process – how to do democratic deliberation and policy design with a small community on an island, rooted in their world, perspectives and priorities. Secondly, the report shares policy implications relevant to Rathlin’s Island’s sustainable futures of relevance to policy officials and decision-makers with responsibility for Rathlin’s future in the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government and beyond. It concludes with recommendations related to the future ferry service for Rathlin and to democratic design towards sustainable transitions, both intended to share insights with wider publics
Land Sea & Sky: Letter from Honolulu
Get PDFAn audio-piece recites the names of 38,000 Hawaiians – including Meleanna Aluli Meyer’s then 17-year-old grandfather – who signed the 1897 Ku‘e petitions against the illegitimate annexation of Hawai‘i by the US. Again, resurgence and refusal go hand in hand
Plenum, Faraday Waves, Droplets and Pulse
No full textA showing of the algorithmic visual work Plenum by Simeon Nelson, Nick Rothwell and Rob Godman
THD-SIREX
No full textA condensed sans-serif typeface designed & engineered by Tim Hutchinson. Released / Published February 2025
THD-VISIO
No full textA condensed rounded typeface designed & engineered by Tim Hutchinson. Released / Published August 2025
Explainable AI for the Arts 3 (XAIxArts3)
Get PDFThe third workshop on Explainable AI for the Arts (XAIxArts) continues to bring together and expand a community of researchers and creative practitioners in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design, AI, explainable AI (XAI), and Digital Arts to explore the role of XAI for the Arts. XAI is a key concern of Responsible and Human-Centred AI, emphasising the use of HCI techniques to explore how to make complicated and opaque AI models more understandable to people. The previous workshops moved from mapping the landscape of XAI for the Arts to co-developing an XAIxArts manifesto. To continue driving discourse on XAIxArts, the anticipated outcomes of this workshop are: i) fresh insights into the evolving challenges of AI bias, lack of transparency and barriers to inclusivity through discussion of current and emerging XAIxArts practices; ii) co-developed speculative futures which expand XAIxArts discourse beyond post-hoc rationalisations of AI decisions into the imaginative possibilities of AI as an interlocutor in the creative process; iii) plans for a co-developed proposal of an edited book on XAIxArts; and iv) community expansion and engagement in wider discourses on Responsible and Human-Centred AI