DesignTO Talks: Dematerialized
DesignTO’s ninth annual symposium brings together eight multidisciplinary experts to explore the complexities of dematerialization in an increasingly digital world. Speakers include Lynne Heller, Austin Houldsworth, Alex Yueyan Li, Neo-Futuristic Walks, Joel Ong, Justin Park, Skawennati, and Ruby Thelot, covering such topics as the future of digital artifacts, the ecological impact of computation, spaces for Indigenous self-determination, walking as an immaterial urban practice, material representation in digital environments, and more.
The free symposium runs online over two days: Wednesday, January 24 and Thursday, January 25, 2024, from 6-8pm EST each day.
Design has no future, because matter has no future. We enter now the era of dematerialization and bionism, that is to say the alliance of the body with integrated high technology. In the upcoming years, all the useless things around us will disappear, they will directly integrate our environment and our body.
– Philippe Starck
The idea of dematerialization is provocative. It gestures towards a condition where we are free from physical matter. Dematerialization methods run the gamut of materials, systems and experiences, which are not strictly a product of the digital age. People have always been trying to do more with less; however, advanced technologies have enabled dematerialization on an unprecedented scale in recent decades.
This symposium invites designers and thinkers to explore the complexities of dematerialization: both its benefits and drawbacks. How do we mitigate the ecological impacts of computation? What is lost or gained in a move toward immateriality? What is the capacity for digital technologies to represent personal identity or create space for self-determination? What does equitable access look like in a dematerialized future? How can speculative design help us understand and address the climate crisis?
When January 24 · 6pm - January 25 · 8pm EST
Where Online
Cost Free