The process of making adaptive and responsive wearables on the scale of the body hasoften been a process where designers use off-the-shelf parts or hand-crafted electronics to fabricategarments. However, recent research has shown the importance of emergence in the process of making.Second Skins is a multistakeholder exploration into the creation of those garments where the designersand engineers work together throughout the design process so that opportunities and challengesemerge with all stakeholders present in the process. This research serves as a case study into thecreation of adaptive caring garments for sustainable wardrobes from a multistakeholder designteam. The team created a garment that can customize the colors, patterns, structures, and otherproperties dynamically. A reflection on the multi-stakeholder process unpacks the process to explorethe challenges and opportunities in adaptable e-textiles.
The construction and transport sectors both have a substantial impact on the environment. The construction, maintaining and renovating of roads involves both these sectors and the environmental impact of this work can be reduced. The basic principle of a circular economy is to close material loops and so retain the highest utility, quality and value of products, components and materials as possible. An important question in this respect is how to qualify and quantify material flows. Material and project passports seem to be part of the solution to improve insights and sharing information on quantities and qualities of materials used in construction projects. This paper has used a literature study on material passports and has taken into account current project management software used by a municipality, in order to share a framework for organising and collecting road construction data. Furthermore, various scanning equipment and procedures were employed onsite in an experiment in collecting actual road data. This resulted in a large amount of different data files that have been interpreted and incorporated into the existing database structure of the municipality. The insights gained may help other researchers, principals and contractors in the road construction industry in collecting and storing reliable data necessary to renovate roads circularly.
MULTIFILE
Mattresses for the healthcare sector are designed for robust use with a core foam layer and a polyurethane-coated polyester textile cover. Nurses and surgeons indicate that these mattresses are highly uncomfortable to patients because of poor microclimatic management (air, moisture, temperature, friction, pressure regulation, etc) across the mattress, which can cause pressure ulcers (in less than a day). The problem is severe (e.g., extra recovery time, medication, increased risk, and costs) for patients with wounds, infection, pressure-sensitive decubitus. There are around 180,000 waterproof mattresses in the healthcare sector in the Netherlands, of which yearly 40,000 mattresses are discarded. Owing to the rapidly aging population it is expected to increase the demand for these functional mattresses from 180,000 to 400,000 in the next 10 years in the healthcare sector. To achieve a circular economy, Dutch Government aims for a 50% reduction in the use of primary raw materials by 2030. As of January 1, 2022, mattress manufacturers and importers are obliged to pay a waste management contribution. Within the scope of this project, we will design, develop, and test a circular & functional mattress for the healthcare (cure & care) sector. The team of experts from knowledge institutes, SMEs, hospital(s), branch-organization joins hands to design and develop a functional (microclimate management, including ease of use for nurses and patients) mattress that deals with uncomfortable sleeping and addresses the issue of pressure ulcers thereby overall accelerating the healing process. Such development addresses the core issue of circularity. The systematic research with proper demand articulation leads to V-shape verification and validation research methodology. With design focus and applied R&D at TRL-level (4-6) is expected to deliver the validated prototype(s) offering SMEs an opportunity to innovate and expand their market. The knowledge will be used for dissemination and education at Saxion.
