The affective sustainability of objects; a search for causal connections.

Abstract

This trans-disciplinary research project aims to answer 2 vital questions concerning the ‘timeless’ object: 1. Can designers’ way of thinking be enlarged and deepened to include the knowledge how to make an object retain its significance over time in a changing human context? 2. Will designers’ way of thinking thus further developed contribute in a substantial way to an improved and more holistic view on sustainability? ‘Affective sustainability’ doesn’t belong to established terminology and didn’t exist when these research questions were formulated. It has grown out of ongoing research but its relevance is still explored. The compressed results of the deconstruction of ‘timeless’ and its numerous abbreviations are the notions affective and sustainable. These have been mapped individually and combined. Research to this stage is promising with the emergence of patterns of variables causal to the phenomenon of ‘timeless’ and essential for understanding why many objects contrary to the aim have a short lifespan and are rapidly ‘wasted’.