Introduction

The objective of this course was to study the relationships between species and to find, through speculation, possible ways to improve this relationship. 

To achieve our goal we inquired into different sources and perspectives that broadened our thinking. We had the opportunity to visit museums and exhibitions, and to speak with experts on the subject.

We were encouraged to solve problems using speculative design and to look beyond the most obvious solutions, which is not an easy task if you only seek answers in the modern society instead of in nature or indigenous cultures.

This course allowed us to take in consideration the connections inside our world, the natural processes that occur every moment making life posible, and take notice of what is our part in this web, in this cycle.

Assignments

Before I begin to explain the final project, I would like to mention a previous assignment that relates to some extent to the final project. I will remind the readers as well, that the final project was a group project and that each member used their respective assignment to relate to the final project. In my case, I researched Iguanas (Leguane) in Ecuador in order to finish a poster with the different interactions between humans and this animal species. I chose iguanas from Ecuador because there is where I come from and my experience with iguanas might not be so common in Europe. I took this as the perfect opportunity to teach people about the amazing biodiversity from my country and the dangers it faces because of ignorance.

Direct and indirect interactions between humans and iguanas are shown in the following poster as well as their negative or positive impact on nature.

The point I want to highlight is how humans tend to annoy animals with their curiosity, approaching or touching them without their permission and therefore scaring them. This topic will return later in the final project.

Problem

Humans are seen as the superior race in society due to speciesism, which has been adopted in the common mindset.

Context and Theory

Speciesism describes the preference of our own species over another, this is especially evident between humans and farm animals. 

„the question is not can they reason nor can they talk, but can they suffer?“(Jeremy Bentham, 1748-1832 )

Even though non human intelligence and communication skills are still in research, it is clear that non human animals can feel pain and suffer, which should be reason enough to avoid hurting them. We have tried to teach animals human language,but what we should be doing is trying to understand theirs. Our definition of intelligence is only human, animals perceive and interact with the world around them differently.

By taking in consideration the needs of other species and learning from them, we could reshape the relationship between animals and humans. Reinforcing empathy could help both sides to overcome fears and work together to eradicate speciesism.

Project

The following was the original presentation, we had to change it since it was a little confusing being everything in just one image. We also added  and erased some information. I thought it would be nice to see how it developed.

After we reorganized our information and added some ideas, this is the final product:

Create shared spaces by adopting animal needs in human society.

In our case we took the Fh-Potsdam as a starting point to visualize a reduced society. Then we figured ways we can support nature and coexist with non-human species in a safe and productive way. In first place we wanted to be inclusive with our “neighbors”, so we thought about doors and windows adapted to birds and foxes. On the other side we thought about street lights that work together with other devices to produce sound and smell for animals whose primary sense isn't sight. (bats, insects, moles, etc) We also want interactions between species and to encourage empathy to animals, but always respecting their nature. We would like to provide animal language curses and multiple posters with reminder of how to behave in front of certain species and facts about them. Since ignorance and fear are important factors that make these interactions more difficult, it's crucial to address them first. This goes not only for humans but for animals as well, we have a history of hurting or scaring them that drives them away from us, and that's another thing we want to change. Related to this was the idea to organize gatherings or “get together´s” in small groups to allow animals get used to humans and let humans work on their empathy with animals. Once we have their trust we would include animal/insect shelters and vets where they could rest or hang among us if they feel like to.

The following images serve as a reference of what we are proposing; of course there is still work to be done. Since its a very ambitious project, the images are designed rather simple and direct than detailed and distracting from the main idea. For now we decided to describe the multiple reforms we would like to have in order to develop empathy and improve conviviality between species.

This is an example of a poster that teaches people about behavior and interactions with animals (wild animals). I chose to use a fox as the fox is a very common urban species, also these guidelines are useful for most animals, specially the one on the bottom right.

Personally I was very interested in the concept of talking to animals, or understanding animal languages. It would be ideal to be able to communicate with them but this has proven to be very difficult to achieve in their terms. It is difficult to not try to teach them our language or make them adapt to our society, that is why this reform is about us learning all we can about their behaviors and their language. The idea that schools and universities offer animal language, who would be the teacher? where does this class takes place? what kind of devices must we design to be able to hear, see or smell their messages?

I am still thinking about this.

This image was designed by mi partner Alexandra Mirzoyan. It depicts many of our ideas, such as new street lamps with sound and scent, animal and insect shelters, and a way to take full advantage of resources by making leftover food accesible to animals when its safe for them.

Afterthought

About the course

I really enjoyed this course as it combined my two passions: environment and design. It was very well organized, I was very interested in how we approached the subject; going to museums, talking to experts, etc. I felt my perspective broaden, I was engaged, learning facts about nature like biomimicry and plant comunication. Even when the language barrier or the lack of experience with design programs meant a challenge, the whole objective of the course motivated mi to learn more and try again.

About the project

My original project was about couchsurfing but with animals, it needed development. At first I didn´t really understand what was being asked from us, but now I think nobody knows. What I mean is, spekulative Design is about imagining new things and value their possibilities, the expectations are different because it something that is meant to be particular or that might sound crazy at first. The difficult part is to know how crazy it is allowed to be. Anyways, Alexandra had all these ideas and she got me super excited, I was considering them and making connections with each other and with my project. We decided to mix our projects together and see what comes out. I believe our project has potential, but it was to ambitious in a the way that it was many projects instead of just one. And at the very end as we keep learning facts to support our theory, I discovered other facts and had other ideas that maybe would have been more straightforward. Nevertheless this experience taught me a lot and Im happy and excited about the next courses to come and to see how we design the future.