Last year we ran a workshop called the Future of Waste Innovation at Open Design City. This year I continue to observe further behaviors and trends supporting some of our predictions and exhibiting the behaviors of some of the Architypes mentioned.

Long overdue I’m now putting the PDF of the Workshop outcomes online for your perusal.  More reflection on some of these topics when I get around to it.

This workshop was commissioned by Fraunhofer ISI  if you would like to use the text please feel free to do so, but please attribute them and Open Design City

future of waste innovation

Big Thanks

Makerplatz.

A hub for makers.

Here there are resources, marketplaces, and infrastructures for people who make things.

At Makerplatz you can find materials, both for sale, and for free (“waste”), you can find Laser Cutters, printers for any material including 3D models, you can find giant cameras, gardens, desks with internet for the Web creators, and physical tools for their offline cousins. Here you will find communities of all types, and builders of communities where the need is not yet met.

Here you can find spaces to make pretty much anything.

Photo Credit: Kay Strasser, Action Credit: Formulor, Letters are my Friends, Jay Cousins, Andy from Invented Here, and Thomas Gnahm

Photo Credit: Kay Strasser, Action Credit:  Formulor, Letters are my Friends, Jay Cousins , Invented Here, and Thomas Gnahm

Poster design: 10hoch16

The Makerplatz has been emerging here for the last 2 years, but only recently did we see it. Invited by both Planet Modulor and Betahaus, Open Design City to create aMakerlab event in both spaces the same weekend, we realised that we now inhabited an environment perfect for People who Make things.

The context was set – to unite and highlight these spaces and communities, with a shared event, taking place within 3 festivals – Aufbauhaus Offnung, People in Beta, and the Kartoffelfest. To show that the Makers are here, that we’re doing something good, and that anyone can be a part of it.

Makerlab Moritzplatz

Makerplatz – say’s Semi.

It becomes clear, like the Berlin Berg, it is a strong vision of reality.

With this vision we went forth – and planned through parties, 60 + people joined in, in the approaching weeks, many more joined in on the day, organising, instigating, participating. Motivated by the story, their own desires, wishes and freedom to explore and do what they wished within the event context.

So what happened when we celebrated the Makerplatz?

In two days, many Actions took place, some planned, some spontaneous, each autonomous, and driven by the individual organiser with a little support. Emre even came in from Turkey especially for the event.

Friday

It started calm and relaxed on Friday, as the Makers gathered at Etsy Labs, Aluc, Josephine Bruse, the Etsy Team, and Pamoyo, provided the means to create our own clothes and style, by hacking old shirts to make dresses, and new outfits, and screen printing them with Josephine’s self made logo.

Meanwhile over at ODC Christophe started the Cargo Bike Workshop, which attracted some other cool bikes, as well as resulting in some awesome creations.

With the sun shining, we decided to have a picnic on the Makerplatz, kindly provided by Planet Modulor, and the M1 Cafe to celebrate the birth of Makerplatz and the Indian summer.

Picture Credit: Kay Strasser

It was then time to set up the space for the first workshops, Kito and friends kindly helped us put together some tables from old pallets.

The afternoon brought a Nanode Workshop, where Amin showed people how to make their own microprocessor (Nanode is a cheaper Arduino with internet capabilities), using different sensors to create data visualisations.

Meanwhile in the Aufbauhaus Hof. A game of Table Tennis is taking place with numerous different bats

This project from Weltgestalten connected school kids, with a youth project, and local designer makers – including Stefan from Formulor pictured above showing his Lasercutter. Collaboration with Johannes Hafner has also set him on a quest for the perfect table tennis bat, experimenting with old glues, wood layers and processes.

Outside Art Connect Berlin, began engaging the public, distributing and exchanging Free Ideas

Photo: Kay Strasser

Whilst LiteKultur established a tower of love, and engaged people in sharing their love messages with the world.

Photo: Kay Strasser

The mobile roaming live feed infoboard , proved to be a prime example of co-collaboration – built on a betabox from Le Van Bo, hacked by Kay and Manuela, using a poster designed by 10hoch16, and scrap materials from Modulor, populated by content provided by everybody, and drawn on by Ben, with helium balloons from Nadine, showing live reports of the whole event from Brina over a network system enabled by Meinhard. The project started 4 days before the event at the 2nd planning party at PLATOON.

She soon discovers that we had received a spontaneous visit from F*ck for Forest (please note – watch the video below to get some context before clicking the site link. F*ck for Forests is exactly what it says on the tin).

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Video of Fuck for Forest.

As well as the live broadcast, we had a lovely map, provided by Nadine, and the ever organised Manuela furnished us with daily event schedules.

Sometimes, we had to do some mild rearranging, relocating Kunts-stoffe to the ODC, where they showed people how to recycle plastic Bags, and made new friends, but we made signs to redirect the traffic.

The Maker Line, soon emerged to make directions easier, and started affecting the behavior of the traffic.

Photo: Kay Strasser

Photo: Kay Strasser

Whilst Chris Doering tested his new prototype design process.

Photo: Kay Strasser

Madchenzimmer, became entranced by Philip Steffan’s Makerbot, and started filming their animation.

Photo: Kay Strasser

PREVIEW “ANIMATION AS DOCUMENTATION” from Mädchenzimmer on Vimeo.

Finally in the evening many gathered for “Party like it’s 1.999″ an experiment organised by the memelab to crowdsource wine knowledge on cheap wines for 1.99 EU.

Whilst reflecting gleefully on a day of “Chaos” the Makerplatz was consumed by a Critical Mass action, which I discovered after our community was heavily active in.

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Saturday

Amin kicked off Saturday at 10, with his desire to share a knowledge of Open Source Electronics with a second workshop for an new crowd. Later he is joined by Philip with a soldering workshop showing people how to make a Drawdio - A musical pencil.

Photo Credit

Later he is joined by Sebastien and Fabienne, who start an open workshop on Milkymist – an open source visualisation tool.

Photo Credit: Pedro Pineda

Combining Electronics with Waste,  Metas show up and start to try to build a CNC machine from some old broken printers.

Photo: Kay Strasser

Vahagen brings some entreprerial and spontaneous flair to the event by showing up and erecting a DIY pop up shop selling and making upcycled jewelry.

Cookies and Code, set up a badge maker and start discussions about their conference.

Emre really took to the self organised vibe and made damn sure his Dream Drawing workshop was well attended taking to the streets with a Megaphone, kindly provided byDanny Doom.

Baptiste Beaujard, created alternative spaces for people to imagine themselves in – a physical approach to our perception of space -which also led to some to some spontaneous lego play.

The streets of course already well infiltrated with the tower of love and free ideas, later to be joined by Le Van Bo’s Kreuzberger Treppe Worksop, PappGestaltencomtemplate Trial and Error’s Trash Collage, and Semiramis’s Mushroom Throwies provoke new musical compositions from buskers.

Photos: Kay Strasser

The throwies then begin to populate the Makerplatz.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Over at the ODC the bike workshops continue, Anna starts offering rides in her trolley bike, Bagpad offer to show people how to make their own pillows from Bags, while Kitoshow’s people how to make their own Pallet Chairs.

Invented Here run a design thinking workshop out the back, whilst Tactical Tech set up a spontaneous booth at the front.

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Talks on Making take place inside the People in Beta Festival.

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At Etsy Lab’s, the screen printing, shirt hacking continues in the afternoon as well, with the addition of some potato printing (taking it old school).

Away from the bustle, Prinzessingarten runs workshops with a different pace, more leasurely.

Potato Preserves, and Birdhouses (Inga’s first workshop, where she shows Flo from Pirate Party (who kindly donated their old signs) how to make his own Birdhouse), a pop up stand from LemonAid

Travis weaves in the sunshine.

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I finally find a quite moment for an interview with Daniel

Bringing everything to a close, was certainly a challenge, but maybe a 1/2 of us made the final photo.

Taken by Kay’s daughter – Basti, she displays her father’s eye for a smile.

After that the making continues with Masks and outfits, with Judith from Trial and Error , and PappGestalten and above all WE MAKE PARTY!

GRL Germany at Makerplatz from Jesse Scott on Vimeo.

Finally the GRL Germany finished of the night by laser tagging the side of the buildings of the Makerplatz.

But this is just the beginning, the event was just a process – all these different communities and individuals have met, worked together and collaborated on a shared experience. They have bonded, and already thought bigger than the event itself. 

When packing up, I spoke to a guy who took part. He said “You’ve made me a maker, I’ve wanted to produce something for myself for a while, but I lacked the confidence, now I have this wood, and I have my idea, I shall make it”.

Everyone has this energy, this potential, yet we are disconnected from it. By these events and these spaces we connect people with their potential, we show them that they are capable of doing awesome things themselves, rather than consuming and accepting what is there. We create the opportunity for them to discover what they are capable of, it might start with some furniture, a scarf, a bike, or a couple of lines of code that say “hello world”, or an event that show’s others how to do these things. But the moment people start making, they engage with a global conversation of action about how the world can be. They no longer need to accept it, they can change it.

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As a note for next time, We will need to keep a running tally of gratitude and praise to ensure that everybody gets the dues they deserve. If i missed you out please let me know. Even as I wrote this, the story grew, and it will I hope continue to.

The below is a summary of how this event came about, for those of you interested to do your own, and also some further humble thanks for the many that made this happen.

Makerplatz is based on the Makerlab event concept.

The process is as follows.

1. Find an existing event or events that you can collaborate with (Space and Time).

2. Establish a good story of space and event (Context), that people feel they would like to be a part of.

3. Bring people together who might be interested to make something happen, give them the opportunity to do something cool and autonomous(Opportunity), allow them the identify why they might want to take part (Motivation).

4. Create chances for them to meet and communicate with one another (Build Community).

5. Grant them Autonomy. Enable and Support them.

This event was an experiment, it wasn’t planned in the traditional sense, the opportunity was given, and the community rose to the occasion. The thoughts, reflection and process are all works in Progress.

A full list of contributors, supporters and spaces can be found here.

Thanks to Modulor for Materials support and basic facilitation budget.

Manuela, you deserve a special mention for all you contributed to this event, I cannot begin to list it all here as it would constitute another post. But in short – Thank you, you’re awesome.

The Surplus Sufficient sees waste as just excess resource, something which is Surplus to requirement. They use this waste to sustain their own existence and that of others as a part of a self supporting community. Surplus Sufficiency has it’s roots in the Squatter movement, which occupies surplus and wasted spaces, and also often acquires and reassigns food waste through Volkskuchens. The Surplus Sufficient speciallises in the revaluing, repurposing and reassignment of “Waste”, seeking new ways of adding value, and creating value from the material society percieves as worthless.

The Surplusses at the heart of the Surplus Sufficient system are food, and space. These provide the neccesary energy and room from which larger projects and explorations begin.

Surplus Sufficients create a counter balance to society, creating value from the worthless, and feeding material and information back into the economy.

I’m seriously now contemplating the lifestyle of a surplus sufficient, but I it needs to be a local collective endeavor. Any one else in?

One of the ideas which sprang from our discussions around the future of waste was that of “System Upcycling”.

System Upcyclers look at how existing infrastructures and technologies can be put to better use, they look to take the elements of our “legacy systems” which are broken, wasteful or social destructive and buy them up with the intention of putting them to use, serving society in a more constructive manner.

System Upcyclers use crowdfunding models to raise the required funds to buy up businesses for these purposes. Publicly Traded companies, will be bought up by the crowd and where socially detrimental they will be adapted to create social value.

What would happen if we start purchasing company shares under a preagreed aim, for example buying up weapons companies to apply their technologies and knowledge for Humane causes (crowdfunding, meets flash mobbing, meets swords into ploughshares)?

When the dot com bubble burst it left behind an infrastructure that changed the world, what other bubbles should we pop?

Think this sounds far fetched? We don’t have long to find out, if it’s plausible.

Kosta Grammatis has begun a campaign to buy a satellite from Terrastar which has just gone bankrupt and move it to bring the internet to those who can’t yet afford it.

Image taken from www.buythissattelite.org

In Fail Safe, a documentary made by Gabriel Shalom about the fail conference. I made some balls out statements about playing a new game, and needing someone to play with. The “game” I was of course referring to, was the existing economic system.

Our subscription to the collective myth of money is all that gives it, it’s value. This indeed is a large part of the problem, when people are continually betting on what they think other people think that money is worth. Therefore the allusion about needing someone to play with was referring to our need for a new collective understanding of value and finance that is not dependent on banks who rely on the creation of debt to create value.

The future of money project is our (Venessa Miemis, Gabriel Shalom, Patrizia Kommerell and I) attempt to document the emergent alternatives to the existing economic system, along with some insights into the history of money. Hopefully in doing so, we can provide the world with some stories not rooted in doom and powerlessness, but inspiring alternatives that will cause some to write a better future.

Please click here to find out more about the project here.

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• An IPO For Humanity (relationship-economy.com)
• John Tropea: emergent by design – What Could the Future of Money Look Like? (emergentbydesign.com)

In February we participated in a modest event at Betahaus sponsored by jovoto who kindly provided a budget of 500 Euros for some food and material costs.

The event fostered a community, and a documentary, as well as numerous products and experimentation, which generated hype, which in turn generated another community. But it didn’t stop there. The collective will to do something bigger, to continue met with opportunity – DMY were interested in fostering a maker community, as were Etsy.com.

DMY offered us 200 sq metres of space (which grew to 300 sq metres), Etsy offered us 2000 Euros for materials (which grew to 3000 Euros). The passionate gathered, motivated by their own unique drivers, ranging from fun, art, community building, a platform, philosophical exploration.

Then the fun really started.

We collaborated with little concensus. But instead a collective understanding of motivations. We empowered one another to do our thing, whilst looking at what we could learn adapt, adopt and share (see parallel collaboration process for one case in point).

The meetings were few. Opting instead for “doings”, building together, sharing knowledge and socialising in shared spaces (palomar 5, and Open Design City), everyone forging their own role around their passions.

There are many stories of emergence, coincidence, and inclusion, for example – when Waag came to visit, they showed us their plans for their stand for the (UN)limited design competition, which will be happening within the space. It bore an uncanny resemblance to Luis’s Turtle (our primary stand structure), the only change required was dimensional.

As one of the glue team chaordinators I’m constantly delighted. I should be stressed, and yet as soon as a challenge arises the network solves. Email’s are responded to before I’ve even considered response, and resources are shared efficiently (managed merely by conversation).

From this events emergence, the passion and the energy, our collective desire for a shared community maker space manifested (a dream we’re discovering many share). Open Design City was born, and quickly created, ahead of time a mere 3 weeks from it’s conception.

So what now? What next?

Next week the DMY Maker Lab takes place between June 9th-13th, at Tempelhof Airport. A starting list of activities can be found here. A starting list of resources can be found here, and a starting list of instigators and activities can be found here (note this doesn’t yet include our latest editions of 1 ton of toy building bricks, and a stone age tool making workshop).

I say starting as this is just the beginning. This space is open, truly in Beta. We are providing the basic structures and starting points for you to engage, to be inspired and to acquire skills. However as a space in Beta, both physically and emotionally, you have the power to help build it, to make it even more awesome with your presence, your passions, desires, materials and skills.

We hope you can join us.

We would like to see this event as a prototype for our own maker space, which we would like to invite you to join. Whilst more modest in it’s resources than the Maker Lab, it will be the people (like the Maker Lab), who manifest it. The Maker Lab shall be an experience of the potential future of ODC. So if you like the event, we hope you’ll support and engage in the next manifestation of our emergent culture.

A note to Journalists: Stop looking for the individual, please tell stories about the collective as to tell the story about the individual you completely miss the real story!

We had what could’ve been a very lengthy discussion about what process to use. Instead it went something like this.

Gabriel – I’m interested to use compendium (Gabriel please let me know what it was called), because it allows me to make the meta connections and links. To view layers of information and to view multiple levels of association. There is also an advantage long term in ease of sharing/connection.

Me – I want to use post-its and paper because I can shuffle the information around in the physical plane, plus I find that since tools define the outcome in their use I find the real world a more creative space in which to think.

At this point we could see the merit in each others argument, but each of us felt stronger that their way was better. So we tried a different solution.

Realising that we could be discussing the merits of different process for hours, instead we agreed to develop in parallel (this is something that I’m also using for a range of other projects, having decided that too much conversation sucks balls when trying to get stuff done, and that sometimes it’s quicker to do everything at once than it is to talk about who’s right).

So I noted down the information on different coloured post-its, reading them out to Gabriel as I did so, he then created links and meta connections on his computer. I shuffled post-its, he shuffled pixels.

By then observing each others process we were able to see patterns emerge. By not working on the computer with Gabriel we optimised development time, and arrived at a result which was both easily transferable and digitally communicable, but at the same time wouldn’t have emerged if the computer had dictated the pattern of layout.

Even if the processes had not been complimentary, we still would’ve arrived at an outcome, and far more quickly than if we had only chosen one methodology (because we cut out all the discussion).

We had a phrase at Palomar 5 marked by a grave – “concensus killed my idea”, parallel process collaboration arose from this thinking on how to proceed without concensus. The answer is just to proceed, with people addressing the issues in the manner they think is most effective, communicating what they have learned and are doing as they go. No blocking, no right way, only your way in parallel with everybody else’s. Normally everybody is moving in the same direction, some people will arrive more quickly, others amble, some will discover dead ends, others hidden gems. It needed be a march, or a three legged race, it’s possible to work together yet separately – this is the path to autonomy.

What’s important is the goal, or the region of exploration, if you have opposing outcomes then parallel process won’t work. However in a collaborative context it is an awesome weapon against consensus. Big hat tip to Christopher Doering who was a big part in these discussions whilst at P5 and I believe responsible for the grave marker.

Note to Gabriel: Several options by way of reply – propose edits in comments, write your own blog response and I’ll link. Would be great to have your input and thoughts on the process.

What is it about our society that looks for the individual? That looks to place achievement on one head? That looks to highlight one person as responsible, for a project, it’s incubation, or creation. History tells us that it is individuals that had influence even when they are attached to movements. Could Hitler have achieved such horrors alone? is Dada merely Dali? even the phrase “standing on the shoulders of giants” is normally incorrectly attributed to Newton. Individuals generate a focus and a human story, something we can identify with, because our social body is something that we struggle to acknowledge. We see where our body ceases, and we think that this is where the mind stops as well. That we are an island, creating alone. That one man or woman is responsible for great leaps. Individuals merely have the fortune or the nouse to occupy a space that requires filling, if they didn’t exist someone else would occupy that space (for example even without Darwin we would still have the theory of evolution).

The truth is hard to accept – that we are an expression of others, the thoughts and ideas of those around us. An interpretation of the ideas that permeate society, a translation, an articulation of possibility. Ego guides us to think of these as the expression of one being, and we respect this because we can then possess the same illusion.

At P5 we went beyond this. It was one of the greatest aspects – to recognise that such things came from US not ME. Yet still when it is reported, journalists seek the INDIVIDUAL, not the COLLECTIVE.

There is no such thing as “my idea”. We must learn to recognise an idea as an observation of what is possible, an expression of what can be. Spotting what exists already as potential in the chaos around us, highlighted by discussion and evolving social awareness within the infinite possibilities of the universe. The individual is merely an advocate of a meme, not the originator.

You’d think this odd and most likely walk away and find the services of someone less nosy and intrusive. If you built up a raport you might introduce yourself in return for getting their name as well.

Yet many websites operate on this principle. Insisting on details before you can even browse the goods. Some before you can even understand what the service actually has to offer you.

I understand you have to validate my humanity, but let’s face it you don’t really need my data. It’s just a greedy little habit. Sometimes you need a point of contact, but often not. But you should realise this, if I just want to browse then any obstacle to this increases my chances of turning on my virtual heels and out of the door.

What has this got to do with business? Am I proposing businesses build bombs – no (besides many have found far more effective ways of being socially destructive). However I am suggesting that in the future businesses operating as a network, will prove to be far more effective than those which are centrally organised and managed, especially if they can address the intrinsic motivation issue.

Intrinsic motivation
By this I mean that you should seek to understand the motivations and human passions of your network (read employees, if still old thinking), not that you should seek to make your business goals an intrinsic motivation. This is about alignment not supplication.

If people are working, governed by intrinsic motivations (AKA passions, beliefs), then they will care about their work and strive to produce the best they can. They will not just be in it for the money.

Clear objectives
Clear objectives that allow for interpretation as to how an action is carried out, but a definition of what a successful outcome looks like, will ensure that the network is free to operate and be flexible in it’s methods, provided that the objective is carried out in a satisfactory manner.

Easily transferable knowledge
Sharing tools and technologies for efficiently achieving objectives, ensures that any network member can adapt to take up the role or position in absence of another member (resilient network). Such behavior runs counter to usual business culture, where the desire is to be indispensable. With the right incentives, in my opinion everybody should work to make themselves dispensable.

Autonomy
The above contribute to generate autonomous behavior, intrinsic drivers ensure that the job gets done however it needs to be, easily transferable knowledge ensures that people have the know how needed to do it, and clear objectives ensure they know what has to be done.

This makes the lives of people trying to counter this behavior very difficult especially since they are fighting a network with an organisation.

Results only work environment has taken some steps towards these principles, although intrinsic drivers are probably more based on “I want to spend more time with my family” rather than “this business is aligned with my moral principles”, but a step in the right direction none the less.