A Multilevel Design Model: The mutual relationship between product-service system development and societal change processes

Change actors like designers play a strategic role in innovation and transition processes towards a sustainable society. They act at all levels of society and need help to find their way through increasingly interrelated innovation systems. To support their efforts, there is a need for a design supportive model that (1) can provide insight into...

Future living studio: Socio-technical experiments in sustainable design

Local creative community and design engineers are key stakeholders in initiating a local discourse on sustainability that includes considerations of production and consumption issues. The role of designers is increasingly changing to that of a strategic or facilitator role. Aligned with this global development, we developed Future Living Studio ...

Developing new products and services in entrepreneurial contexts

Energy efficient products and smart homes

From community resilience towards urban resilience: Exploring the grassroot initiatives' role in cities

Climate change and resource scarcity effects pose challenges by themselves. In the context of the complexity of cities, these challenges become wicked and ill-defined as e.g. socialeconomic issues are added. To face these challenges, a city’s resilience on multiple scales has to enable it to both mitigate the causes and adapt to the...

Natural blends, sustainable innovations and income growth

The paper discusses innovations for both income growth and the generation of better environmental qualities. This is possible in theory but progress in practices is slow. We argue that social pressures to contain pollution were effective insofar they invoked environmental policies all over the world, which enabled to reduce pollution in some...

Partnerships for sustainable design in Vietnam: Leveraging culture and design

This paper discusses need and relevance of new local-global collaborations for sustainable design. Future Living Studio is a case study that explores how to enable cross-cultural collaboration in Vietnam towards addressing sustainable design and production issues. This paper presents the first empirical results of a diary study supplemented by...

Cork and Sustainability: Discussing the Sustainable Use of the Material from a Design Perspective

There is the challenge to use materials in a more sustainable way. Even though cork has an interesting eco-profile as a material, other aspects contributing to an enhanced sustainable use of the resource are discussed:addressing the life-span of products, materials substitution, and the trend of materials development identified.

The integration of transportation with the energy system in China

Charging Stations for Urban Settings the design of a product platform for electric vehicle infrastructure in Dutch cities

This paper reflects the essential role of supportive infrastructure in the mass implementation of electric drive vehicle technology. A focus is placed on the development of comprehensive systems that provide efficient and diverse recharging solutions for vehicle drivers. Mass adoption of electric mobility will reflect advances in the vehicles...

Ideas transformed into business enhancing entrepreneurship exploring the "best idea of The Netherlands" case

In 2004 a private initiative started in the Netherlands, to stimulate innovation and the cooperation between students and industry. This resulted in the development of a television formula "The Best Idea of the Netherlands", in which students and Dutch citizens in general are challenged to enter in an annual competition with their new ideas. The...