?I have a friend who loves cars,? Bruce Mau told the audience for his keynote speech at the EDIT Festival last month, ?and he said to me: ?Since I got the (Tesla) Roadster, I never touch the Ferrari.?? That hedonistic sustainability, according to Mau, is how we will ?win? in sustainability and development. ?We make smart things, we make a better experience, not by saying: ?Don?t drive that Ferrari.??
And thus, one untouched Ferrari at a time, the world will be saved.
Mau is sincere in his aims. The ambitiously variegated designer grew up in a house without running water, and he understands the urgency of basic human needs. But entire regions of the globe now devastated by hurricanes, fire and droughts, might we suggest that we?re already past the point of sexy car choices" During the 10 days of the EDIT Festival in Toronto, the rooftop of an abandoned soap factory morphed into a garden cafe. Photo by Design Exchange.
This bifurcation of hedonism and plight loomed large at EDIT?the Expo for Design, Innovation and Technology?which concluded in Toronto last month. Produced by the Design Exchange and mounted in the abandoned Unilever soup factory, the EDIT festival showcased possible design solutions for the United Nations Development Programme?s 17 sustainable development goals. Addressing poverty, climate change and world hunger?the core aims of the U.N.D.P initiative?brought urbanists, architects, designers and scientists together in public talks and installations, from...