MASSIVE CHANGE

MASSIVE CHANGE

By: Bruce Mau and the Institute without Borders

Publisher & Date of Publication: Phaidon Press Limited 2004

ISBN 0 7148 4401 2.

SYNOPSIS

Massive Change is a section by section compilation of information supporting the conclusion that our world’s key economies are simply design problems, requiring design solutions. Chapter topics range from energy economies, image economies, military economies to living economies, with a total of 11 chapters engaging for an artist to a politician.

RELEVANCE

Massive Change is a compilation of specific case study inverview’s with field professionals, scholars, researchers, scientists, authors and more, proposing solutions for broader categories of particular economy types. For example: in Market Economies, Catherine Gray the president of The Natural Step, an International research and advisory group, discusses creating a sustainable society through teaching businesses sustainable practices referencing the changes within McDonalds, Nike, The Home Depot and IKEA. Each chapter presents supportive arguments and examples for the stated thesis, that the world is controlled through overlapping disciplines of design, which is the most powerful tool for humanity to solve the climate crisis, and all other human issues. Design within the book is expanded to include industries or practices conventionally disassociated with it, such as the design of information, energy or living, establishing a connection between everything on earth. The presentation and acceptance of all things as being connected, or capable of significantly affecting eachother, strengthens the theory of that “one person can make a difference”, which therefore demands that all humanity collaborate to propose multiple solutions to create positive change. Massive Change illustrates through numerous and diverse examples that power is contained within our ability to produce creative solutions, and the current environmental crisis is simply another design problem waiting to be solved.

Rating (1-5 = useless to relevant): 5

OPINION

The structure of Massive Change allows any audience to find an area of interest, some topics include, biology, architecture, urban societies, transportation, government, consumer consumption, war, female empowerment, photographic technologies, and free culture.

Personally, I found the book motivational and empowering as a designer, to imagine the application of seemingly unrelated ideas into solutions that can positively impact the lives of people across the world. Massive Change is not a solution book with the promise of complete human-environmental balance, but rather a presentation of the link between our major economies, to propel the discussion and debate of current and future opportunities for positive change. Massive Change as a concept is the key to future human sustainability and I eagerly recommend it to both the impassioned and skeptical individual.

Rating (1-5 = awful to fabulous): 4