Scarcity

Thinking beyond abundance

The word crisis comes from the Greek Krisis, meaning choice, decision. The scarcity of resources and the environmental disaster upon us ask for an urgent and radical rethinking of the design disciplines. Educated in a world of abundance and infinite possibilities, as designers and architects we are now asked to make more considered choices in the use and sourcing of materials, in the production processes we use and in the ways we apply our design skills. Learning to love and to strive for scarcity might be the best way to help us radically rethink the ways we, as humans, inhabit planet Earth. In fact, limitations often prove to be the most favorable ground for the development of new disruptive ideas. Starting from an exceptional island like Sicily, which combines breathtaking landscapes and historical architecture with equally overwhelming deficiencies in services and management of human and natural resources, we would like to propose with this year's Made Labs a reformulation of preconceived positions on design and architecture in the light of the idea of Scarcity, in the attempt to learn to love and live in these troubled times.