Abstract:

This paper is about the methodology, tools, process and output of an intensive 2 weeks design workshop held at the Tongji University in Shanghai, including selected postgraduate students and teachers from 6 English Universities and 6 Chinese ones in April 2014. The workshop was focused on designing low-carbon solutions by using industrial production leftovers and waste as main material for the innovative design. The educational process included community centered design by involving the Hongkou District Liangcheng community, a demonstrative Low-Carbon Community based in the center of Shanghai (China). Interdisciplinary and multinational team based design activities have been carried out focusing even on recycling and a better use of resources. This pushed forward the industry-university-research cooperation and commercialization of design results by a strong interaction among students, teachers, community and companies. The paper will go through the design process and output by highlighting the roles of the stakeholders,how they interact throughout the workshop, what was the the didactic methodology and how the co-design activities were carried out.

Keywords:

Upcycling, community-centered design, low-carbon.