The DRP will build on the previous DRP by Aayush Doshi
supervised by the principal investigator, Dr. Rebecca Reubens in the space of craft, design,
sustainability and bamboo.
Craft and design are viewed as disparate factions; however, the craft paradigm was the prevalent
method of production-to-consumption pre-industrialization. The differentiator in the two modes is
technology, and the ethos associated with it. The sustainability crisis is an opportunity to reposition
craft and design as collaborators. Craft brings slowness, and inherent sustainability in that it
provides livelihoods, uses clean material, and leverages cultural capital. Design brings the
possibility of scalability, given that the sustainability crisis begs for scalable solutions to
unsustainability.
This is especially relevant to the Indian context where industrialization-centered design was
introduced towards the pursuit of a western trajectory of development, when the country had a
thriving craft industry, and development process that was more sustainable. Therefore, this DRP
will explore praxis at the intersection of craft and design in India, which can potentially provide
ways forward and points of departure for sustainability design.
This DRP will work on possibilities for form and function using parametric technology and bamboo
craft. It will examine the potential uses of such structures keeping in mind production ability and
marketability.
