Living lighter

AI Quick Summary

We explore a new lifestyle of 'living lighter' in the furniture and living sector. Addressing the underlying barriers, we create new positive narratives and scenarios. These show how living lighter is desirable and possible in different contexts. This is followed in 2025 by experiments and shares, e.g. at Zurich Design Weeks. Our aim is to amplify a positive narrative, mainstream the learnings and inspire people and businesses to embrace sufficiency and new circular models. What problem would we like to solve? What systemic problem hypotheses are the starting point for the idea?Problem to solveUnderutilisation: (Common/public) spaces and (furniture) items are currently underutilised and under-loved.The linear model:Buying and owning 'a lot of stuff' as the predominant business modelOveruse of natural resources, overconsumption, biodiversity loss affecting especially the population of the global southProfit over purpose: Decades of concentrating solely on growth of financial capital at the expense of human, social and natural capitals; prioritising financial gain instead of the health of the all life on earth (holistic world view where everything is interconnected)Lack of infrastructure (e.g. logistics for repair, refurbishing and remanufacturing)Lack of desirable, easily accessible alternatives and offerings feasible for the majority of people (for the many, not the few)Climate injustice: Less privileged people suffer over proportionallyThe burden: Many people feel burdened, stressed and disconnected from others. Caught in a vicious cycle: Work more, to earn more, to buy more, to maintain more, to work more... resulting in stress, clutter, burn-out ... instead of freedom, high usage and lightness.Negative framing: Narratives today focus on 'barking at the problem' rather than inspiring with desirable possibilities and focusing on 'you should' rather than 'I want'.We address these larger societal problems by diving into the specific sector of common/public spaces and furniture - in collaboration with our implementation partner Vitra. However, the insights and solutions are relevant to other sectors too.Systemic problem hypotheses as starting pointAlternative models are possible: Desirable for people. Viable for businesses.An inspiring, positive narrative would be more impactful (building on the learnings at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in shaping the narrative around circular economy). Inspiring many people to choose alternative over standard offerings (buying, owning) without explicitly mentioning 'sufficiency' or 'circularity'––How does the idea contribute to solving the problem?The idea: Living lighter. An emerging narrative and complementary sibling tothe circular economy narrative focusing on the macroeconomy and businessescircular design which focuses on our role as co-creatorsOur aim is to amplify the narrative, mainstream the possibilities and inspire people and businesses with 3-5 scenarios and pilots/experiments of how living lighter is possible and desirable.In order to achieve this, we will:Identify main drivers/trends on a socio-cultural and socio-economical level (e.g. office and home are merging; in terms of materials but also behaviour), common living situations in the city of Zurich and the main problems associated with themResearching pain points and barriers for the creation, implementation and acceptance of alternative offerings in the furniture / space sectorExploring how the role of design can lead to desirable, easy accessible offerings within planetary boundaries and social foundations without explicitly mentioning sufficiency, living lighter or circularity, maximising the utilisation of existing spaces and itemsRevealing patterns and success factors of circular business models which focus on maximising utilisation (e.g. transversality of things, modularity, ...)Creating new narratives, showing that innovative living and creating within planetary boundaries and social foundations is possible and desirable; demonstrate the potential of such offerings to become the new normal/preferred standardExploring new alternative offerings fostering values beyond financial capital, proofing that it pays out to invest resources in alternative solutionsFurther information on our approach and the two phases below (=> What would you like to work on during the booster?)We are building on the learnings from our 7 years of work on narratives at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the positive stories shown plattform SEEK and personal interest in living lighter experiences & sufficiency.––Who will benefit from the solution and how?Residents of the city of Zurich (and other cities): Getting inspired in terms of how living lighter, joyful, healthy lifestyles is possible. Meanwhile, on a macro level, we as a society stay within planetary boundaries and social foundations without having to sacrifice quality of lifeBusinesses and the economy as a whole: New insights, narratives and inspiration on how (design can contribute) to create new, desirable and easily accessible alternative offerings that 1) are within a just and safe space for humanity 2) are financially viableCity of Zurich: New insights into how the economy can contribute to the decoupling of natural resources thus contribute to reaching the city of Zurich's climate goals. A healthy and strong ecosystem that can thrive in the long-term.People that are less privileged: Evidence shows that climate change and other negative effects of our linear economy affect the less privileged people over-proportionally (here in Zurich, in Switzerland as well as the Global South). By addressing the problem at the root, we contribute our part.––How does the idea contribute to the goal of climate justice?This idea contributes to climate justice and sustainability goals as a society, including the 'Klimaziel Netto Null', 'Strategie Circular Zurich', etc. in the following ways:It makes furniture and living places climate-friendly and affordable for the many, fostering circulation of things (Kreislauf der Dinge)It lowers the overall need for resourcesIt reduces the negative impacts of the current economic model by increasing sharing and reducing the need for virgin materials and eliminating waste & pollutionIt contributes to quality of life (new social connections, more life energy with fewer burdens, more financial freedom)It respects the health of all capitals (social, human, natural and financial capital), not just the financial––Which people/organisations are on your team and what is their role?Sarra Ganouchi and Simon Widmer are driving this project of 'Living Lighter' as a personal passion for a while now.For FUS, the core team consists of Reform (research partner, non-profit rate) and Vitra (implementation partner) and the following people:Sarra Ganouchi, Reform & SEEKRole: co-creator, contact person for Björn / FUS, submission of proposal, reportingContributing insights from: SEEK, Circular DesignSimon Widmer, Simon Widmer Consulting (as a subcontractor to Reform)Role: co-creator, reportingContributing insights from: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Circular DesignCarlo Shayeb, Innovation Lead, VitraRole: co-creator and coordination of Vitra teamContributing insights from: 'Driving forces/trends' in the market and Vitra's Sustainability BHAG 'Big Hairy Ambitions Goal'Verena Hutter, Industrial Designer with focus on Innovation & Sustainability, VitraRole: co-creatorContributing insights from: Customer insights Home/Living, SustainabilityMarialena Papaefthymiou, Product Manager Office/Public Spaces & sustainability expert, VitraRole: co-creatorContributing insights from: Customer insights Office, B2B Commercial, SustainabilityChristian Grosen, Chief Design Officer, VitraRole: Vitra Leadership / SponsorContributing to: Legacy at VitraOther Vitra members: Engineers, designers (e.g. creation of visuals, cartoons, pop-ups) etc to bring it to life.We believe in co-creation and the collaboration/inclusion of our mycorrhizal network.In particular, we will include in the co-creation process the following stakeholderspeople from Zurichthe Circular Design Circle, an open community of 100+ people in Zurich passionate about circular designPeter Haberstich as a leading practitioner on the topic of sufficiencyCenter for Social Innovation, Universität St.Gallen[y]our2040, a community of actionists shaping the future, sharing ideas, influencing global dialogues, building momentum and implementing creative solutions to accelerate the [y]our 2040 transition to a regenerative future.––Has the idea already been tested (in variants)? If so, with what findings?Similar to the circular economy narrative 10-15 years ago, some building blocks of the Living Lighter narrative and some experiments with circular business models are existing.However, there is a lack of a coherent, positive narrative generally and desirable, easily accessible alternatives specifically.Some of the existing elements that we will consider and build in are:Elements on the narrative of living lighter (see for example on this page here)Preliminary research on sufficiency as part of SEEKSufficiency-oriented narratives and idea platforms like Move the Date/Overshoot Day. Great initiative. We will be complementary and go deeper with our explicit focus on furniture & living. We will focus on using the power of design, communication, and making it an immersive experience.Sharing, reuse & return models of furniture like IKEA 'Going Circular'/Second Chance, NorNorm, Fernish, Stykka, Parmaco, etc.: Focused on the business / supply side. We will make our learnings accessible to all organisations, and focus more on the 'way of living' than the product saleCircular design in furniture and space design like INCH Furniture. Focus mostly on the 'supply side', while living lighter is focused more on the people, the lifestyle.Research in Vitra: We will build on user and market research on trends and people's needs (e.g. interviews). Vitra has tested some circular business models in the B2B sector, but is keen to explore Living Lighter more deeply. Findings in the B2B sector: Logistical challenges in tracking products (where is the furniture and in what condition?) and refurbishment.Learnings from shifting to new business models in other industries (how did Spotify, Mobility Car Sharing, Neue Narrative etc. overcome the hurdles and become the new normal with their subscription models; what can we learn from them to scale/mainstream living lighter?)Visual, experiential, speculative futures & design approaches to inspire people such as Agency of Design's 3 prototypes of a circular toaster, 4 alternative futures/scenarios of regenerative agriculture, IDEO's design artefacts, Superflux's approach to making the future immersive today through pop-ups.––What would you like to work on during the booster? What will you deliver at the end of the booster?We will approach this in 2 phases:Phase 1 – Future Urban Society InnoBooster, until Feb 2025Understand the needs of urban co-creators and -users. Sharing inspiring 3-5 scenarios: based on evidence, (international) pioneering work of others in the space, and our co-creation.Delivery format: 'Feasibility study' / public sharing of insights, 3-5 published scenarios that inspire people and organisations. Transferable learnings for the public and many organisations.Phase 2 – 'Living lighter' lab and pilots, March 2025 onwards in collaboration with different partnersOur first 'living lighter' lab will focus on furniture and spaces, in collaboration with Vitra as a FUS implementation partner. It combines new narrative & stories with real-life experiment(s), such as pop-ups, for example on rentable/returnable/sharable living space & furniture (2025)The labs will be in the form of pilots – enabling immersive experiences – for example in the shape of pop-ups (depending on findings in phase 1) to test specific scenarios from phase 1.Co-creation and inclusion of Zurich citizens and organisations will be key in the lab.Sharing: We will actively share the learnings and make immersive experiences possible for people to 'feel and experience it'. For example at Zurich Design Weeks (2025/2026), other Zurich and international events (e.g. Salone del Mobile Milano), places and channels like an exhibition on Vitra Campus, article in Vitra Magazine etc.In the process, we are building an ecosystem of people driving the topic of living lighter in Zurich and Switzerland. This happens, for example, through our activities in the Circular Design Circle (CDC). The CDC with the monthly gatherings offers a great platform for exchange and community building.We will also explore partnerships with other organisations and philanthropy to evolve Living Lighter further.––What do you expect from the FUS Booster team (e.g. search for specific partners, expert support, etc.)?We would appreciate FUS support onFinancial support in the form of the 21,000 CHF to dedicate time and energy to this important endeavour (non-profit rate)making connections to the City of Zurich as a partner for testingconnecting to the Centre of Sustainable Innovation (ongoing)acting as a sounding board, especially when it comes to systems thinking and unintended consequences as well as new examples/sources––Who do you need as an expert to drive the project forward?Scientist/Psychologist with focus on human behaviour and behavioural design, ideally with a focus on sustainability and regenerationExperience and service design (designing the touch points with customers, for example, in return and sharing business models).Experts in systems thinking––How much budget do you require from us for what?CHF 21,000 + CHF 4,000 for expert vouchers.CHF 21,000 for the 'Phase 1' research. It will be for the research partner only (Simon and Sarra at a non-profit rate). Vitra as implementation partner will do this as part of their own time budget.–––Credits: Photo by Ikhlas R. On Unsplash

Project Idea Metadata

• Project Idea Name: Living lighter
• Date: 9/4/2024 4:28:07 PM
• Administrators:
  • Sarra Ganouchi

Project Idea Description

What problem would we like to solve?

What systemic problem hypotheses are the starting point for the idea?

Problem to solve

• Underutilisation: (Common/public) spaces and (furniture) items are currently underutilised and under-loved.
• The linear model:
  • Buying and owning 'a lot of stuff' as the predominant business model
  • Overuse of natural resources, overconsumption, biodiversity loss affecting especially the population of the global south
  • Profit over purpose: Decades of concentrating solely on growth of financial capital at the expense of human, social and natural capitals; prioritising financial gain instead of the health of the all life on earth (holistic world view where everything is interconnected)
  • Lack of infrastructure (e.g. logistics for repair, refurbishing and remanufacturing)
  • Lack of desirable, easily accessible alternatives and offerings feasible for the majority of people (for the many, not the few)
  • Climate injustice: Less privileged people suffer over proportionally
• The burden: Many people feel burdened, stressed and disconnected from others. Caught in a vicious cycle: Work more, to earn more, to buy more, to maintain more, to work more... resulting in stress, clutter, burn-out ... instead of freedom, high usage and lightness.
• Negative framing: Narratives today focus on 'barking at the problem' rather than inspiring with desirable possibilities and focusing on 'you should' rather than 'I want'.

We address these larger societal problems by diving into the specific sector of common/public spaces and furniture - in collaboration with our implementation partner Vitra. However, the insights and solutions are relevant to other sectors too.

Systemic problem hypotheses as starting point

• Alternative models are possible: Desirable for people. Viable for businesses.
• An inspiring, positive narrative would be more impactful (building on the learnings at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in shaping the narrative around circular economy). Inspiring many people to choose alternative over standard offerings (buying, owning) without explicitly mentioning 'sufficiency' or 'circularity'

––

How does the idea contribute to solving the problem?

The idea: Living lighter. An emerging narrative and complementary sibling to

• the circular economy narrative focusing on the macroeconomy and businesses
• circular design which focuses on our role as co-creators

Our aim is to amplify the narrative, mainstream the possibilities and inspire people and businesses with 3-5 scenarios and pilots/experiments of how living lighter is possible and desirable.

In order to achieve this, we will:

• Identify main drivers/trends on a socio-cultural and socio-economical level (e.g. office and home are merging; in terms of materials but also behaviour), common living situations in the city of Zurich and the main problems associated with them
• Researching pain points and barriers for the creation, implementation and acceptance of alternative offerings in the furniture / space sector
• Exploring how the role of design can lead to desirable, easy accessible offerings within planetary boundaries and social foundations without explicitly mentioning sufficiency, living lighter or circularity, maximising the utilisation of existing spaces and items
• Revealing patterns and success factors of circular business models which focus on maximising utilisation (e.g. transversality of things, modularity, ...)
• Creating new narratives, showing that innovative living and creating within planetary boundaries and social foundations is possible and desirable; demonstrate the potential of such offerings to become the new normal/preferred standard
• Exploring new alternative offerings fostering values beyond financial capital, proofing that it pays out to invest resources in alternative solutions

Further information on our approach and the two phases below (=> What would you like to work on during the booster?)

We are building on the learnings from our 7 years of work on narratives at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the positive stories shown plattform SEEK and personal interest in living lighter experiences & sufficiency.

––

Who will benefit from the solution and how?

• Residents of the city of Zurich (and other cities): Getting inspired in terms of how living lighter, joyful, healthy lifestyles is possible. Meanwhile, on a macro level, we as a society stay within planetary boundaries and social foundations without having to sacrifice quality of life
• Businesses and the economy as a whole: New insights, narratives and inspiration on how (design can contribute) to create new, desirable and easily accessible alternative offerings that 1) are within a just and safe space for humanity 2) are financially viable
• City of Zurich: New insights into how the economy can contribute to the decoupling of natural resources thus contribute to reaching the city of Zurich's climate goals. A healthy and strong ecosystem that can thrive in the long-term.
• People that are less privileged: Evidence shows that climate change and other negative effects of our linear economy affect the less privileged people over-proportionally (here in Zurich, in Switzerland as well as the Global South). By addressing the problem at the root, we contribute our part.

––

How does the idea contribute to the goal of climate justice?

This idea contributes to climate justice and sustainability goals as a society, including the 'Klimaziel Netto Null', 'Strategie Circular Zurich', etc. in the following ways:

• It makes furniture and living places climate-friendly and affordable for the many, fostering circulation of things (Kreislauf der Dinge)
• It lowers the overall need for resources
• It reduces the negative impacts of the current economic model by increasing sharing and reducing the need for virgin materials and eliminating waste & pollution
• It contributes to quality of life (new social connections, more life energy with fewer burdens, more financial freedom)
• It respects the health of all capitals (social, human, natural and financial capital), not just the financial

––

Which people/organisations are on your team and what is their role?

Sarra Ganouchi and Simon Widmer are driving this project of 'Living Lighter' as a personal passion for a while now.

For FUS, the core team consists of Reform (research partner, non-profit rate) and Vitra (implementation partner) and the following people:

• Sarra Ganouchi, Reform & SEEK
  • Role: co-creator, contact person for Björn / FUS, submission of proposal, reporting
  • Contributing insights from: SEEK, Circular Design
• Simon Widmer, Simon Widmer Consulting (as a subcontractor to Reform)
  • Role: co-creator, reporting
  • Contributing insights from: Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Circular Design
• Carlo Shayeb, Innovation Lead, Vitra
  • Role: co-creator and coordination of Vitra team
  • Contributing insights from: 'Driving forces/trends' in the market and Vitra's Sustainability BHAG 'Big Hairy Ambitions Goal'
• Verena Hutter, Industrial Designer with focus on Innovation & Sustainability, Vitra
  • Role: co-creator
  • Contributing insights from: Customer insights Home/Living, Sustainability
• Marialena Papaefthymiou, Product Manager Office/Public Spaces & sustainability expert, Vitra
  • Role: co-creator
  • Contributing insights from: Customer insights Office, B2B Commercial, Sustainability
• Christian Grosen, Chief Design Officer, Vitra
  • Role: Vitra Leadership / Sponsor
  • Contributing to: Legacy at Vitra
• Other Vitra members: Engineers, designers (e.g. creation of visuals, cartoons, pop-ups) etc to bring it to life.

We believe in co-creation and the collaboration/inclusion of our mycorrhizal network.

In particular, we will include in the co-creation process the following stakeholders

• people from Zurich
• the Circular Design Circle, an open community of 100+ people in Zurich passionate about circular design
• Peter Haberstich as a leading practitioner on the topic of sufficiency
• Center for Social Innovation, Universität St.Gallen
• [y]our2040, a community of actionists shaping the future, sharing ideas, influencing global dialogues, building momentum and implementing creative solutions to accelerate the [y]our 2040 transition to a regenerative future.

––

Has the idea already been tested (in variants)? If so, with what findings?

Similar to the circular economy narrative 10-15 years ago, some building blocks of the Living Lighter narrative and some experiments with circular business models are existing.

However, there is a lack of a coherent, positive narrative generally and desirable, easily accessible alternatives specifically.

Some of the existing elements that we will consider and build in are:

• Elements on the narrative of living lighter (see for example on this page here)
• Preliminary research on sufficiency as part of SEEK
• Sufficiency-oriented narratives and idea platforms like Move the Date/Overshoot Day. Great initiative. We will be complementary and go deeper with our explicit focus on furniture & living. We will focus on using the power of design, communication, and making it an immersive experience.
• Sharing, reuse & return models of furniture like IKEA 'Going Circular'/Second Chance, NorNorm, Fernish, Stykka, Parmaco, etc.: Focused on the business / supply side. We will make our learnings accessible to all organisations, and focus more on the 'way of living' than the product sale
• Circular design in furniture and space design like INCH Furniture. Focus mostly on the 'supply side', while living lighter is focused more on the people, the lifestyle.
• Research in Vitra: We will build on user and market research on trends and people's needs (e.g. interviews). Vitra has tested some circular business models in the B2B sector, but is keen to explore Living Lighter more deeply. Findings in the B2B sector: Logistical challenges in tracking products (where is the furniture and in what condition?) and refurbishment.
• Learnings from shifting to new business models in other industries (how did Spotify, Mobility Car Sharing, Neue Narrative etc. overcome the hurdles and become the new normal with their subscription models; what can we learn from them to scale/mainstream living lighter?)
• Visual, experiential, speculative futures & design approaches to inspire people such as Agency of Design's 3 prototypes of a circular toaster, 4 alternative futures/scenarios of regenerative agriculture, IDEO's design artefacts, Superflux's approach to making the future immersive today through pop-ups.

––

What would you like to work on during the booster? What will you deliver at the end of the booster?

We will approach this in 2 phases:

Phase 1 – Future Urban Society InnoBooster, until Feb 2025

Understand the needs of urban co-creators and -users. Sharing inspiring 3-5 scenarios: based on evidence, (international) pioneering work of others in the space, and our co-creation.

Delivery format: 'Feasibility study' / public sharing of insights, 3-5 published scenarios that inspire people and organisations. Transferable learnings for the public and many organisations.

Phase 2 – 'Living lighter' lab and pilots, March 2025 onwards in collaboration with different partners

Our first 'living lighter' lab will focus on furniture and spaces, in collaboration with Vitra as a FUS implementation partner. It combines new narrative & stories with real-life experiment(s), such as pop-ups, for example on rentable/returnable/sharable living space & furniture (2025)

The labs will be in the form of pilots – enabling immersive experiences – for example in the shape of pop-ups (depending on findings in phase 1) to test specific scenarios from phase 1.

Co-creation and inclusion of Zurich citizens and organisations will be key in the lab.

Sharing: We will actively share the learnings and make immersive experiences possible for people to 'feel and experience it'. For example at Zurich Design Weeks (2025/2026), other Zurich and international events (e.g. Salone del Mobile Milano), places and channels like an exhibition on Vitra Campus, article in Vitra Magazine etc.

In the process, we are building an ecosystem of people driving the topic of living lighter in Zurich and Switzerland. This happens, for example, through our activities in the Circular Design Circle (CDC). The CDC with the monthly gatherings offers a great platform for exchange and community building.

We will also explore partnerships with other organisations and philanthropy to evolve Living Lighter further.

––

What do you expect from the FUS Booster team (e.g. search for specific partners, expert support, etc.)?

We would appreciate FUS support on

• Financial support in the form of the 21,000 CHF to dedicate time and energy to this important endeavour (non-profit rate)
• making connections to the City of Zurich as a partner for testing
• connecting to the Centre of Sustainable Innovation (ongoing)
• acting as a sounding board, especially when it comes to systems thinking and unintended consequences as well as new examples/sources

––

Who do you need as an expert to drive the project forward?

• Scientist/Psychologist with focus on human behaviour and behavioural design, ideally with a focus on sustainability and regeneration
• Experience and service design (designing the touch points with customers, for example, in return and sharing business models).
• Experts in systems thinking

––

How much budget do you require from us for what?

CHF 21,000 + CHF 4,000 for expert vouchers.

CHF 21,000 for the 'Phase 1' research. It will be for the research partner only (Simon and Sarra at a non-profit rate). Vitra as implementation partner will do this as part of their own time budget.

–––

Credits: Photo by Ikhlas R. On Unsplash

We explore a new lifestyle of 'living lighter' in the furniture and living sector. Addressing the underlying barriers, we create new positive narratives and scenarios. These show how living lighter is desirable and possible in different contexts. This is followed in 2025 by experiments and shares, e.g. at Zurich Design Weeks.

Our aim is to amplify a positive narrative, mainstream the learnings and inspire people and businesses to embrace sufficiency and new circular models.