Historical and cultural studies of design have largely been concerned with objects in their finished, commodity form. To engage with the environmental crisis we are living through, we need to develop new approaches better geared to address the ecological implications of design and designing. We need to open the black box that is the consumer product and examine its constituent parts; the ecological properties and entanglements of the materials of which it is made. This project posits that the transition from the consumer society to the circular society requires a deeper historical and cultural understanding of how the process and act of designing regulates the use of extractive materials.
What stories lie hidden inside the objects we use every day? The CAS project Material Ecologies of Design uncovers the unseen journeys of the materials behind our phones, furniture, and products. By tracing these hidden flows—from extraction to disposal—the team explores how design shapes the planet and how we might build a more sustainable future.