The bridge methodology

www.design –bridge.org
THE BRIDGE METHODOLOGY
by Adital Ela

INTRODUCTION
THE BRIDGE is an enterprise to promote sustainable design thought, action and education.

It started with the motivation to explore the meaning of sustainability as it was depicted through indigenous living patterns based on the hypothesis that this form of knowledge can potentially enable us to elaborate the way wepractice sustainable design.

The core of the project are five design strategies addressing the individual, communal and environmental scopes, offering an invitation to a holistic, yet applicable, view to sustainability. The strategies are communicated through the bridge workshop, an educational tool, in the form of a design workshop, which aims to present the five design strategies, whilesimultaneously acting as the first step of a collaborative effort to implement the design strategies into practical outcomes.

THE KEY WORDS

THE BRIDGE project evolved through a comprehensive study of the perception of ecology in ancient Hindu tradition, enquiring how indigenous ways of living can become relevant, influential and inspiring in our life in modern society.
An important milestonewas the process of exemplifying main trends that represent what was identified as the essence of this body of knowledge. These complimentary tendencies were represented in three key words: PARTICIPATION, ABUNDANCE & REINCARNATION.

The definition process of the Key Words was the first step in the development of a reference tool that would enable defining a bridging channel between this ancientknowledge and the modern way of living. The Key Words were elaborated later on as design strategies that addressed various layers of the explored knowledge, creating a tool for designing according to their essence.

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1st key word
PARTICIPATION
“We should go about in the manner of a bee collecting nectar from a flower: The bee harms neither the fragrance nor the beauty of the flower,but gathers nectar and turns it into sweet honey.” Arahnt, a Buddhist saint

The key word PARTICIPATION refers to
o The view of the human world as an inherent part of the natural environment
o An invitation to explore ways for human activities to become flowing processes that react and interact with the laws of nature
o The mutual participation of humans amongst themselves

The mostimportant aspect of the word participation, in this context, is the perception of the human world as an inherent part of the natural environment. The concept of participation refers to action that is one with the activities of nature. Participation withholds an invitation to explore ways for human activities to become flowing processes that react and interact with the laws of nature.Participation relates also to the mutual participation of humans amongst themselves. This might relate to issues of collaborative efforts for a common goal, or to fellow humans partaking in deciphering their inter-relations with the natural environment.
An additional aspect of participation, in the context of design, could be the integration of the user in the design process, i.e. the participation ofthe user in one or more steps of the implementation process.

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2nd key word
ABUNDANCE

“Not what we have but what we enjoy constitutes our abundance.” John Petit-Senn

The key word ABUNDANCE is
o An invitation to abandon the word ‘lack’ and encompass a fresh view to ‘potential’
o An invitation to explore ways of dialogue that allow us to be hosted the ‘is’ and let go of the‘isn’t’

The word abundance alludes to the spiritual principle of viewing the full half of the glass. It replaces the word lack and invites us to focus on the “is” of the world instead of the “isn’t”.
Many times in the field of Ecodesign or environmental concern the general approach is “we need to use less of the world.” The notion of ABUNDANCE invites us to explore new ways of dialogue and...