Importance of plastics

Decarbonisation is a theme in our current exhibition, Reuse . Carbon footprints are a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released over the full life cycle of a product. They are notoriously difficult to assess because there are many factors that need to be considered...

Back in June 2022, I wrote a blog post about the touring exhibition Plastic: Remaking our world. At the time the exhibition was on display at Vitra Design Museum. I was lucky enough to meet with one of the curators, Charlotte Hale, and visit the exhibition when it was on display at V&A Dundee...

This is the final blog post relating to our current exhibition, Endurance , which closes at the end of this week. Every year, an estimated 236,000 people drown, making drowning a major public health problem worldwide [1] . This figure includes in rivers, pools and at sea. The best way to prevent...

My favourite object from the ‘In a crisis’ case within MoDiP’s current exhibition, Endurance, is the rather plain looking latrine slab. Easily overlooked, it is actually a very important structural design solution to the problem of providing toilet facilities for the humanitarian sector. AIBDC...

Water is an essential requirement for all life, but it is estimated that over two billion people live in areas where there is no access to clean water. Across the world many women and children travel long distances each day to collect water for drinking, hygiene and crop irrigation, affecting life...

When we began planning for the Endurance exhibition, we considered many different environments a person might find themselves in and how plastics materials can help them to survive in those particular conditions. For example, we wanted to examine difficult situations such as exploring the Arctic...

In 2020 England recorded record breaking levels of rainfall which had a devastating impact on thousands of homes and communities. It is estimated that over 5.2 million properties in England are currently at risk of rising water levels and, although the government has pledged to double the amount...

Anya Hindmarch founded her business in London in 1987. The luxury brand is now known for its ground-breaking work in sustainability. It is committed to creating responsibly, and striving to innovate to reduce its impact on the earth, whilst also using its platform to drive education and discussion...

One of the cases in our current exhibition, Endurance , looks at what workers in a coldstore need to keep them at a healthy body temperature. Hot and cold working spaces are assessed for risk under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Under this act, organisations and companies are expected to do...

A desert is commonly defined as an area of land that has less than 25cm of precipitation in a year; a climate that is too dry to support extensive vegetation. Despite this problem, people have managed to survive in these hostile regions for thousands of years. Methods for accessing water supplies...

When I began researching the ‘polar’ case for MoDiP’s Endurance exhibition, I came across an expedition report written by a team from Imperial College London in 2005. It recorded the experiences of a group of four students who had crossed the Greenland ice cap, unsupported, the previous year...

This post is part of a series of closer looks at aspects in our current exhibition, Endurance. Here I am going to explore a couple of objects in the case looking at fire safety. The objects that I am looking at take their inspiration from glass fire grenades which were used between 1870 and 1910...