The Impact of Cross-Cultural Design

Sakshi Jinturkar
Apr 3, 2017
7 min read

Abstract

There has been an evolution in design concepts in various design fields throughout the past decade with the fast changing trends and exchange of ideas taking place. The absorption of ideas exchanged varies on an individual level, thus reciprocation of the same in turn has been spread out in different forms. Also, the acceptability and suitability of the end user has evolved and revolutionized with time.

This research proposal focuses on the positive and negative impacts of the reciprocation of ideas and the possible direction for eliminating the negative effects of this branch of globalisation on design. It is an initiation of adding value to the design field with focus on future with the help of research on “cross-cultural design” which shall result in amalgamation of positive extraction of exchange of ideas & new technologies in design with the traditional proven methods for successful end user-experience and designs which would compliment the social and geographical context.

Section A

Introduction:

The global shift of rigorous exchange of cross-cultural design forms/methods has led designs to settle in various moulds of trends in the respective contexts of application. The changing trends and exchange of ideas has an overall positive as well as a negative impact.

As an Architect, I have been in the process of studying the origination of design forms, their modification over time, study of bio-mimicry in design to understand the inspiration to be taken for locally suitable design and the shift of attention of designers/users from functionality to profit making & appearance; through case studies, travelling and study of history. The aim has always been to filter and tunnel the observations down to solution oriented problems.

The impact of revolutionary change in design can be studied through examples obtained by case studies. One of the common example is adoption of glass as a building material in every part of the world; may it be hot, humid or a cold climatic zone. Here, the usage of glass varies from region to region, where, structures in cold climate use it to admit sunlight whereas in other regions, the admission of sunlight is not preferred, and hence, it becomes merely aesthetics. For a successful performance of this type of modern design in a hot climatic zone, while still using glass as a material can be achieved by translation of the desired outcome into locally suitable form of usage such as; sufficient open-able glass panels for cross ventilation, using computational design to study the effect of climatology so as to understand the required shading systems to be provided, to infer various options to amalgamate usage of glass and locally available natural materials etc. This hyperlocal concentration on design via research can rule out the negative impacts of this globalization effect on design.

Left: A glass building in Mumbai, India with a hot & humid climatic zone merely using glass for aesthetics (source: www.nmtv.tv)

Right: Traditional solution of convective air movement for passive cooling which can be incorporated by using open-able glass panels (self-made representative sketch)

Section B

Research problem:

The inward approach of development, by setting the desired outcome as the focal point by ignorance of the context, is what has led to the corruption of the local design styles which are predominant due to the proved performance in their geographical framework.

Globalisation as a phenomenon is heterogeneous, which directs one to the questions of their individual framework of interests. Globalisation in relation to design, as a whole, involves various types and methodologies of design adapted in the past decade due to easy access and the urge to develop at a rapid scale, merely as a competition or sometimes for self-enhancement. New materials have been invented or discovered, with the amalgamation of techniques from various fields of studies such as History, Science and Mathematics. With the benefit of development through the impact of globalisation, the effect on “Design” leads to various streams of positives and negatives.

Adaptation to changing environments, design styles and their usage is commonly done due to the trend of being a part of the global system where a new horizon is set which can be run in any part of the globe. How history influences design methods and styles is verified through various adaptations of physical forms of designs such as clothing design, building design, landscape design,

transportation design etc. from pre-dominant styles which in turn were the outcome of a continuous improvisation in styles and techniques of design. The reason of why history is referred or the terrain is studied, is lost, resulting in loss of the benefits availed from them with respect to design; may it be a built structure or a clothing material.

Though technology plays an important role to why our lives are easier and faster today, application of the same can be done with positive effects for the benefit of the society. The translation of international trends and new standards of design, to a design style suiting the micro-level usage of the product can collate the modern day desire with a form that follows function.

The aim of this research is to arrive at a neat direction for development of design with positive extraction of globalisation impacts, modern day techniques and technology. Thus, translating everything to a micro-level scale, in order to achieve the best performance with respect to the geographical framework. A designer cannot implore upon environmental suitability over the aspirations of the users hence the proposal focusses on deriving a mid-point to address both the factors and yet achieve the ultimate goal.

Example in a design context:

Originating from remote human settlements to modern town-planning settlements, town-planning methods undertaken in India have always been majorly based on the water supply and macro level climate, which have proved to be successful due to the social context taken into account while designing. As a result, old settlements are still working efficiently even though there has been an enormous population explosion and lack of resources in the past decade.

As the times have progressed, global change in the sharing of ideas internationally, has led designers to replicate other existing towns around the world in India, which in turn violates the experience of the end user because of the lack of relation to the social context. One cannot run a similar settlement as in Europe or Japan, that in India; the lifestyle, climate and needs are clearly different. A lush green lawn becomes mere aesthetics; not suitable for a climate with water shortage and hot climatic zones, which becomes hard to maintain and minutely beneficial. Whereas open spaces with trees with lesser water consumption and creation of air corridors results in creating an air stream due to which the atmosphere feels pleasant at a human scale. Here, the adoption of modern technology of studying the climatic behaviour beforehand, design of open space with a plaza but with local types of landscape elements, amalgamates the traditional with modern concepts in a broader view of the future.

Research methodology:

A successful performance of design can be achieved by studying the local typologies which have been proved workable for the end user and the environment. The local typologies can then be compared to the new arrivals and their impacts so far, environmentally and on individual level. The process of questioning the new developments can lead to either solving the problems faced currently or preventing them from arising in future. It shall also infer the beneficial use of historical methods in combination with the ongoing methods.

The research shall majorly be carried out with the help of case studies and collaboration with locally settled bodies of research in major regions, who can act as nodes to create a global connection of this aim. The collaboration or participation of the organizations such as Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands), MENA design research centre (Beirut, Lebanon), UDRI (Mumbai, India), RCAT (Oslo, Norway) etc. which are regionally placed, can help in understanding the impact of cross-cultural design on hyperlocal methods.

Global connection of various NGOs,

institutes & organisations (self-made representative sketch)

Research limitations:

Based on the geographical model chosen, research should be conducted in perspective of suitability and modern day’s acceptability by the beneficiaries and stake holders. A combination of suitability and acceptability as such in proposal is required since global impact over mind set of the end user is eminent and unavoidable. Insufficient or inaccurate data may lead to incorrect conceptualisation of the design. Also, the scale of the research being huge, the model of research has to be designed targeting the major areas of improvement.

Section C

Tentative calendar and working methodology:

Month 1:

a) Orientation of the process required to achieve the goal.

b) Establishing connections with local bodies of various regions and collection of respective information.

Orientation of the process shall involve the detailed timetable and steps to reach the ultimate intent of the proposal. Establishing connections with local bodies shall involve the collaboration with various organisations mentioned earlier, for easy access to a wide spectre of information required.

Month 2:

a) Filtering of information and segregation into various research modules.

b) Concentrating on each research module step by step to derive the tentative mid-point solutions to individual problems.

Filtering of information and segregation will be required in order to define the scope and limitations of all the research modules so as to accomplish the desired result within a specific timeframe. Midpoint solutions may be discussed or debated through interaction with case studies and interviews with various types of end users.

Month 3:

a) Continuation of point “b” from “Month 2”

Month 4:

a) Continuation of point “a” from “Month 3”

Month 5:

a) Recording the obtained observations in Month 2, 3 and 4.

b) Drawing possible inferences through the observations recorded.

The observations & inferences shall be recorded as a part of description of the process since the orientation and a direction to the future aspects of the research as it is a large scale research subject. The inferences may be used for application on pilot projects as experiments or testing.

Month 6:

a) Conclusion of the research process with final inferences and experiments conducted during the fellowship period.

b) Declaration of the accomplishments during the 6 months period.

The conclusion of the project shall state the appropriate application of the research modules tested in “Month 5” and gathering a final record of the achieved aim.