Learning from Nature and Plastiglomerate: A Challenge Between Re-Factory and Re-Setting

Nature is the form and matter of things conceived in their continuous becoming, with the generative power of transformations, disasters, and complex situations in which technology has taken over, imposing its rhythms, and processes. Deformations, aberrations, and synthetic contaminations developed in our ecosystems have been generated by waste, pollution, and the repercussions these have on the environment, living beings, and material culture. The plastiglomerates are an example, formed by the accumulation, melting, and hardening of plastic waste. They suggest how the matter and materials with which the project relates are different but not necessarily ‘less natural’. In order to bring about the ecological and digital transition, which has been much discussed in recent times, technological innovations are not enough: a cultural transition is needed that harnesses the power of narrative and speculation to spread the scenarios of experimentation of possible good practices. The paper proposes two design directions starting from the Nature lesson: re-factory and re-setting. “Re-factory” experiments with the reuse of moulds and old machinery to conceive a different way of producing based on waste materials. “Re-setting” experiments with hyper-contextual design, working with waste materials and product-service systems in fragile environments and circumstances. The hyper-contextual design focuses on strengthening local relationships grafted onto the remains and traces, linking them back to the rituals and traditions that give meaning to existence. As speculative Design practices, these experiences are also tested as educational practices; they are heuristics, reasoning, and time-related, trying out solutions beforehand and going on with iterative processes until a planned result. Through case studies, the paper proposes a challenge about the reuse of materials and moulds in recycling without necessarily separating them (re-factory) and how to design with what you can find in the hyper-contextual system (re-setting).