DESTERDesignandTerritory MrioBarros TechnologySchoolofAbrantes PolytechnicInstituteofTomar m.barros@ipt.

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Theme|2_Designforabetterworld Subtheme|2.1Design,innovationandeconomy
Abstract DESTER Design and Territory was a project cofinanced by European funds for regional development, which aimed to join forces around a common goal: to revitalize the Travertine industry,atypicallimestoneoftheTuscanyregioninItaly.Theinitiativewasbasedoncooperation between Italian producers and three European institutions teach graduation courses in the field of DesignUniversityofFlorence,PolytechnicInstituteofTomarandtheMarseilleSchoolofFineArts. Inthiscontexttherewereorganizedtwoworkshopswiththeaimofcreatinghighervaluethrough thedevelopmentofnewapplicationscenariosforTravertinewhichcouldbeusedbycontractors. Keywords:productdesign;economicdevelopment;cooperation;innovation;localidentity.

1.Introduction In the year of 2006 two workshops were held in Rapolano,avillageinTuscanyregion,inItaly,withtheaimof proposingnewconceptsforTravertinesapplication. This limestones sector is vital to the local economy, because the business sector is made of companies that operateallphasesoftheproductionchain,fromextractionof raw material to product development. In order to optimize technological processes, production and commercial issues, enterprises are organized according to an association of producers. According to the SWOT analysis conducted in 2005 by the business association, the industry was under threat due to: difficulty in developing new products, cost of labor lower by foreign competition and unfavorable ratio of the euro/dollarexchangerate. Under these assumptions was presented an application to the Regional Framework Operation EDDT

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Strengthen the Economic Development, cooperation project cofinancedbytheCommunityinitiativeInterregIIICSouth. Underthecommunitydevelopmentprogramwascarriedout theprojectDESTERDesignandTerritory. 2.Designasapromoteroflocalidentity DESTER Design and Territory came from a direct collaboration between Travertine producers and three institutions that teach graduation courses in the field of Design, with the mediation of the Experimental Center of FurniturefromTuscany.Itaimedatcreatingaddedvalueby developingproductsthatcouldalsopreservealocalidentity. Theprojectinvolvedatotaloftwentystudentsfrom: UniversityofFlorenceItaly,MarseilleSchoolofFineArts France, and the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar Portugal, with a purpose for the development of new application scenariosofTravertinethatcouldbeusedbycontractors. Astrategicapproachtodesignwasappliedaccording to its performance in three directions: vertical in close relationship to business; horizontal in connection to the people, and transverse within the process of intercommunicationbetweenthetwovectors[Figure1]. Ataverticallevelitwasintendedtoincreaseprofits in the sector through highquality designed products, using the ancestral knowhow and technological advances in a balancedway.Thestrategicbalancebetweencraftworkand industrial enterprises, in conceptual and operational levels, allowed the development of products with the preservation ofculturalvalue. At a horizontal level, design as a discipline that pursues the improvement of life quality individual and collectivecontributedtothedesignofproductsadaptedto thephysicalandpsychologicalneedsofitsusers,indifferent contextsofcontemporarysociety. One of the major constraints was sustainable ones, due to about 70% of waste from raw material during its transformationprocessintofinishedproducts.Thesolutions that were to be developed should, in addition to solve this situation, take advantage of laborskilled and analyze the possibilityofexploringemergingnichemarkets. Projectualframeworkincludedafinalopensituation, allowingseveralapproachopportunities.

Figure1EconomicandSocial dimensionofDesign
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3.Operationalphase Toachievetheproposedobjectivesitwasorganized two workshops, each lasting one week, separated by a time lag of six months, during which, work was developed remotelyviaInternetforum. Workshop as a work method can be defined as a forum for professionals where they reflect on a particular subjecttoproposeconcreteanswers,inashorttimegap.The interaction mode of the triangle formed by the time components,actorsandthemeisdecisivefortheoutcomeof theconceptsdevelopedduringtheworkshop. Atthebeginningofworkshopweek,Travertine asa subject was presented in multiple dimensions in order to provide a comprehensive knowledge that sustained a theoretical and practical framework for the project development. Thistypeofknowledgewastransmittedbytheform of a seminar, in which industrials, historians and designers from different areas such as architecture, design and sculpture, presented information on the process of rock formation, mineral composition, strength, semantic possibilities, design constraints, characterization of the economicfabricandotherinformation. The practical subjects were presented throughout visits to several places where the process of transforming raw material into final product occurred. [Figure 2]. This directcontactwithintheprocessesprovidedawidescopeof theTravertinedimensionandadeeperunderstandingofthe sustainabilityissue,oneofprojectsmainconstraints. This first phase of closeness to the Travertine was held on an interdisciplinary way, promoting a preliminary setofindicatorsthatformedthebasisforanopenreflection on the possibilities of applications. Was upon those possibilities that it was developed the operational phase of theworkshop. In the second phase, twenty students were divided intotwofocusgroupstodevelopinitialconceptsforfurther deepeningtheprojects:a)fiveFrenchstudentsinfiveItalian students, b) five Portuguese students with five Italian students.Thetwogroupsheldabrainstormingsessionbased on the analysis of information and later in the form of analogies, lateral thinking without judgment, generating differentconceptsthatweresystematizedintofourthematic groups: a) Connotativeaspects; b) Physicalcharacteristics;

Figure2Visittodifferentlocationsof Travertinetransformation process

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c) Materialvalorization; d) Ludoeducationalapplications. The concepts were presented to the companies association sponsoring the workshop, thus concluding the firstweekofcontactandformulationstage. Duringthetimegapthatseparatedthetwoweeksof workshop attendance, the concepts have been developed remotelyviaInternetforum. The second week of workshop took place in a more pragmatic approach to the project, focused on the study of the feasibility of production in accordance with existing technology and in accordance with environmental sustainability. 4.DevelopedProjects The strategic dimension of DESTER project was intended to a preservation of the local economy and traditionsandtheiractivityin aglobalmarket.Underthese assumptions it was necessary to consider the balance between global and local, identity preservation and its distribution, standardization and individuality. The confrontation between global and local may be seen in the resultofdevelopedprojects,butfollowingguidingprinciples for a future sustainability of the sector of Rapolanos Travertine. Then are presented some projects developed by students, organized under the four thematic groups mentionedabove: a) Connotativeaspects The concepts developed within this subject started from an analysisandinterpretation ofthecharacteristicsof Travertines formation process as a sedimentary rock that forms in the marine environment. Time registration, depth testimony,wavemotionandtheabilityoftherocktoretain heatwerethebasicconceptsforTravertinesvalorization. Theabilitytotransposefromtheeverydaysymbolic structuresthroughitsintrinsicnaturewasdevelopedinthe projectL'energiadellaPietra,byAlexandreMachado.Power diffusion as a therapeutic quality, reproducing the typical thermal power in the region of Rapolano, is made portable and capable of being used in household environment. This projecttakesadvantageofthegoodcapacityofrocktoretain heat. InLaCullaeilGioco,FrancescoTavianiexploredthe

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introduction of motion in a traditionally static material, changing the connotation of Travertine in the collective imagination.Thepieceoffurnitureaimstofitatthebaseof chairs,allowingtheusertoroll.Itisdesignedasuniversalas possibleduetothegapbetweensurfaces[Figure3]. b) Physicalcharacteristics Enhancing material properties was a project approach extensively studied. The weight of material, its color, its texture, the capacity to produce sound, the raw form, its insertion on a natural context were interpreted as potential factors for the development of projects that could beseizedbythefivesensesofusers. The project Alfabeto di Pietra, by Alessia Giuntini, exploresthecommunicativepowerofthewrittensignused as furniture in the urban environment. In addition to appealingtothesensesbecauseofitsscale,itappealstothe psychological factor through the semantic value of the writtenwordtransposedtoanobject.

Figure3LaCullaeilGioco,by FrancescoTaviani

c) Materialvalorization In order to reduce the percentage of wasted Travertine throughout working process, it was studied various possible designs that used different sizes of raw stone in its natural form or as a base material for creating composites. In Decorazione, Guido Garroti designed a non orthogonal window frame that can be produced through computer aided manufacturing. According to this mode of production, the designs would be made using specific Travertinewaste,valorizingthemasaproduct[Figure4]. d) Ludoeducationalapplications Urban design was a recurring area in several projects, starting from the four major categories defined in theconceptphase. Taking advantage of the balance between the built environmentandnaturalonethroughtheuseofTravertine, playful and education applications were developed for valuing urban landscape and to promote visual education, sensoryandkinestheticones. Interaction manobject always provides learning experienceabouttheworldaroundusanditisinchildhood that it gets a deeper expression. By humanizing Travertine in its natural environment, the project Il Travertino e i Bambini,byMartaPampaallowchildrentoamultisensory developmentthroughamoreintimatecontactwithnature.

Figure4Decorazione,byGuido Garroti

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In Travertino e Musica, by Laura Passalanca and ValeriaGrauso,textureandacousticpropertiesarethebasis of an application concept that generated two projectual alternatives, one for indoor use and one for use in public space. Equipments designed for urban usage are multifunctionalwithaproposedapplicationforurbanparks [Figure 5]. They may work as a musical instrument promoting a collective use, but also as seating furniture or playingequipment. 5.Pedagogicalvalue PedagogicalvalueofDESTERprojectforthestudents involved in design learning was related to the balance of various skills that are fundamental to the exercise of their profession according to practical challenges of today. Given the real nature of the issues proposed in the briefing, the multidisciplinarycompositionofthestakeholdersandshort time response through practical solutions, there have been put into practice several skills that are developed in a theoretical and practical way in graduation courses in the field of Product Design. The importance of analyzing and synthesizing information to support the initial phase of the project, a good set of tools for its development, listening skills and reasoning to work in teams, as well as management autonomy and creativity in generating ideas and their subsequent rationalization to achieve tangible solutions,areamongthemostimportantskillsthatstudents musthaddemonstrated. Learninginarealenvironmentthroughparticipation in a strategic project, allowed the development of specific skills from causal relationships between Product Design and economic impact which resulted in an effective value forthestudents. BibliographicReferences

Figure5TravertinoeMusica,byLaura PassalancaandValeriaGrauso.

BARROS, Mrio; BEDESCHI, Ilaria; FRDOUT ,Frdric ; GIGANTI, Enzo; LOTTI, Giuseppe; MARRONCELLI,Fabio;RUFFILLI,Massimo;SANDRONI,Laura, DesigneTerritorio,AlneaEditrices.r.l,Firenze,2006. FRDOUT,Frdric, DESTER,DesignTerritoireLeCasdesMatriauxPierreux,ESBAM,2008.
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