I published a new article on Medium.
Circularity. A framing and navigating reflection.
Cite as: Luthe, T. 2024. Circularity. A framing reflection. Medium.
A suggested definition
Here is how I define circularity, which is a powerfully unifying, scientific and designerly concept. This applicable working definition has been part of my research in the last two decades, where many types of exchanges and shared thinking came together, such as from a former collaborative research project I led on circular design at AHO Oslo. I suggest this definition of circularity:
Circularity is creation with the intention of building mutual social benefits while closing resource loops. Circularity is about designing out waste and designing in opportunities.
Here is an overview of the article content:
After a brief introduction to circularity as a concept, I suggest a definition of circularity as it spans from my collaborative work of the past years.
We take a moment to remember that nature is circular by design and a great teacher, while we can learn as well from many indigenous worldviews and practices, who have been living in circularity over centuries.
I recap some foundational circularity concepts — the R’s, the idea of circular economy (CE) inspired by ancestral ways of living, having implemented types of a circular economy over centuries; the Circularity Gap Report, and a brief note on legal frameworks in the EU regulations and reporting.
In the next chapter, I tap deeper into circular design and discuss five types of circular flows, where social circularity is the least presented.
Some of my current research in systemic design and regenerative systems is how to integrate these five types of flows across eight scales of governance — the circular cross-scale governance spiral of autopoietic complexity is offered as a designerly framework.
This article then provides some illustrations and current real-world research applications from the living systems lab MonViso Institute, i.e. discussing a bioregional hemp economy, hemp skis, and a passive net-positive building.
We take a look at circularity in organizations and provide a specific lens on social circularity in the example of an alpine economy.
How to enact “weaving enzymes” to foster place-specific social relations as foundational activation for the more technical aspects of a circular economy is discussed in the chapter on Systemic Cycles, a didactic practice to weave systemic change.
The article closes with a reflection on the introduced tree metaphor for circularity, representing the ETH Zurich DRRS learning program.
The final message is a set of questions we may ask ourselves.
Below are a few visuals from the article.
Figure 1: Learning circular design by doing, literally: Repurposing or upcycling a used circular saw blade as an end-of-first-life option to design and build circular knives. The used saw blade was traded from a mountain farmer for a built circular knife, created by students in a circular design course, nurturing social circularity through dialogue, “designing out waste, designing in opportunities”. Grown Design 2020, MonViso Institute.
Figure 5: Five types of circular flows illustrated by Master students of Politecnico Torino, 2020, in the Master course “Systemic Design” taught by T. Luthe.
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