Ecological by Design: A History from Scandinavia by Kjetil Fallan examines the relationship between environmentalism, ecology, and design across the Scandinavian countries Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in the 1960s and 1970s. These parameters are not set in stone, however, as the book visits nearly all continents with the global twentieth century as its backdrop. Ecological by Design is not a chronological or a consecutive survey of the emergence of environmental values in the design field. It is a fragmented yet meticulous account of some of the ways in which an inescapable topic in our contemporary world has appeared in the context of design, historically. Fallan’s approach shows not only “the underappreciated role that design played in the rise of modern environmentalism”, but also “the importance of ecological thinking in the profound transformation of design culture” (p. 19). The way in which Fallan avoids any kinds of categorizations and boundaries within the field of design is refreshing and serves his subject matter. Mountain climbing equipment, windmills and protest posters exist alongside developments in design education, architecture, industrial production, exhibitions, and professional design organizations. Activism, consumerism, philosophy, biography, and policymaking all meet in this complex narrative of “ecological design in its making” (p. 1). Although the width and number of topics, ideas, and phenomena covered in this book is not for the fainthearted nor the pedantic, there is special value in the freedom and curiosity with which Fallan has conducted his research and written the book.
The first chapter explores debates related to everyday consumption and consumerism in 1960s Sweden as well as their implications for the field of design. As designers and the wider public became more aware of “issues of waste, value, resources, and environmental ethics in a predominantly commercial design culture” (p. 20), the rise of consumption and industrial production became increasingly questioned and challenged. In the second chapter, the focus is on professional designers and architects who were interested in reevaluating and reforming their practices according to ecological principles. Here, Fallan starts by studying Norwegian design practitioners’ thoughts and ideas regarding environmentalism before moving on to an analysis of the morals of teak and pine as manufacturing materials. The third chapter examines Danish designer Kristian Vedel and his work within development projects in the Global South. The key argument here is that while there were attempts to make social and ecological values exist side-by-side, they were unavoidably tainted by colonialist attitudes and geopolitical complexities. The starting point for the fourth chapter is the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. Instead of following the official proceedings and presentations, however, the focus is on the local activist movement and its goal of challenging prevalent views on the role of design in the development of the man-made environment. The fifth chapter analyses the connection between the emergent ecophilosophy movement and design as Fallan presents how the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss’s concept of ‘deep ecology’ came to being internationally through cabin life and mountaineering. The sixth chapter traces the development of Denmark’s windmill industry, discussing renewable energy technologies as an example of a design and engineering field where commercial, industrial, and environmental values meet. Finally, a coda that closes the book examines the relationship between professionalism and activism in the field of design by comparing the American and Nordic contributions at the International Design Conference in Aspen in 1979 when the event traveled to Oslo.
A particular strength of Ecological by Design lies in the extensive archival research and use of primary sources in the construction of Fallan’s argument about the profound entanglement of design and the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Fallan does not shy away from the complexities and discrepancies in the movement, resulting in detailed and analytical narratives that are recounted in an open way. This openness presents a myriad of provocations related to the question of design’s role not only in imagining and realizing sustainable ways of living but also in preventing them. While design is at the front and center of the book, it is presented as one element among others in the complicated processes of policymaking, business building as well as cultural and social change. On the one hand, design is viewed as an established professional field with real and tangible influence. On the other hand, there are no delusions of grandeur regarding the extent of design’s power to promote values such as degrowth and global justice in the face of global capitalism.
In this vein of wry realism, Fallan acknowledges and points out contradictions, discrepancies, and ironies without which the reader would be left with the persistent but false impression of Scandinavian countries as harbors for “genuine, wholesome, and natural” (p. 61) ways of living. For example, Fallan calls attention to the hypocrisy of the Norwegian wealth amassed through oil drilling while consciously building a nation brand of sustainability. There is also a painful awareness of the shortcomings of the environmental movement, as Fallan reminds the reader that, despite the 1960s nation-wide debate about the perils of consumerism and throwaway-ism in Sweden, there was nothing stopping the global victory march of IKEA and its highly disposable products. Ironic details illustrate the seemingly impossible task of implementing ecological principles in a capitalist world: “in 1967, the Swedish government established the world’s first Environmental Protection Agency - the very same year Swedish designers suggested transforming furniture from durables to consumables by employing materials such as cardboard and inflatable PVC.” (p. 26) Even the noble efforts of Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss with his radical concept of deep ecology get subsumed by consumerist ambitions as global brands start manufacturing and marketing equipment made of synthetic materials for the purpose of engaging with nature.
Fallan’s book adds to the growing literature about design and the climate crisis. As such, Ecological by Design is a welcome and perspective-giving reminder that (design) history is not short on attempts big and small to make ecological and environmental values reality. This is both uplifting and depressing as the reader faces the urgency with which sustainability has been debated in the past juxtaposed with the urgency of the contemporary situation that humanity finds itself in. Already on the second page of the book, Fallan declares that “this is not a heroic history” but perhaps a “history of fringes and failures.” (p. 2) Indeed, the question of how to move environmental and ecological values from the margins to the centers of power remains. By choosing to shed light on movements and individuals with courage to exist on the fringes of their profession, however, design history can show that alternative modes of action have existed and do exist. The rest is a different, and a bleaker, story.
