Value added products from short and/or long narrow lengths of timber: the South East Queensland hardwood timber industry and the changing role of the designer within a growing sustainability imperative
posted on 2024-07-12, 17:10authored byJennifer Loy
This thesis is presented as a study for product design educators in respect to addressing a gap in knowledge on the changing role of the designer in the face of changes in attitude, and innovations in production, needed to initiate sustainable practice. Within this context it provides an industrial designer's response to the issues and specific problems raised by the project 'designing value added products from small and / or narrow pieces of timber' for the hardwood timber industry in south east Queensland, Australia. In doing so, it also addresses a research gap on maximising the use of hardwood in value added products. The research is located primarily in the construction and manufacturing industries in south east Queensland and northern New South Wales but also in the development of design practice in response to the global sustainability imperative that has become a significant driver for the project. It provides practical direction, recommendations and examples for both industry and education. Within the context of responsible design thinking, corporate responsibility and triple bottom line accounting (economic, social and environmental), there is much discussion in current journals on how the needs of the economy, environment and people can be met and how innovation can be stimulated by restrictive parameters, such as environmental ones, and produce new ways of working. However, it is argued in the study that there are designers and architects who still appear to focus on the short term perceived needs of the individual client over the environmental and social aspects of their design decisions. Whilst it can be suggested that legislation needs to continue to be developed to ensure intergenerational responsibility, design students also need to be given practical examples of how they can assess the brief they are set and influence the outcomes of their projects to ensure that they are providing their clients with the financial benefits of long term, triple bottom line based thinking, and the rest of us with environmentally and socially responsible products. Within the Forestry sector, these issues are particularly at the forefront of current research and debate. Policy, production practices and adherence to Australian standards are considered in relation to a broader context by this study, forming the basis for recommendations on changing practice. By suggesting ways to improve recovery rates for value added applications, this study provides a contribution to the 'whole material' lifecycle response to this increasingly high profile issue of sustainable production that the industry must make in order that timber can compete with other building and manufacturing materials in the future.
History
Thesis type
Thesis (PhD)
Thesis note
Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Swinburne University of Technology, 2009.