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TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE LIFE CYCLES OF MAKING IN SMALL SCALE FABRICATION SPACES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2023

George Edward Moore ,
Alice M. Agogino  and
Kosa Goucher-Lambert
George Edward Moore*
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology;
Alice M. Agogino
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
Kosa Goucher-Lambert
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
*
Moore, George, Edward Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of America, geomoore@mit.edu

Abstract

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Small scale fabrication spaces have shown their potential to support our local supply chains during the collapse of many global supply chain networks at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In anticipation of these spaces becoming more significant in local supply chains, it is increasingly important to reduce their environmental impacts. This work investigates the life cycle of small scale fabrication spaces by interviewing 18 participants from these spaces in the United States. Key insights from the interviews include the following: a) material selection, robust inventory management, and user support for material disposal are factors influencing optimal flow of materials and equipment through a fabrication space; b) lack of information from manufacturers and suppliers is a critical obstacle to achieve optimal use of materials and equipment, and informed decision making related to environmental sustainability and ethical labor practices; c) there are opportunities to take advantage of where financial and sustainability goals align; d) individual motivators for fabrication influences sustainable behaviors; and e) effective education about material and equipment use helps fabrication space users with more sustainable decision making.

Keywords

Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)SustainabilityHuman behaviour in design
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 3: ICED23 , July 2023 , pp. 3611 - 3620
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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