Contemporary culture is becoming more interested in addressing a growing world population and its tremendous material waste stream. It’s necessary to develop a critical framework within which to create objects, materials, and manufacturing process reflecting this waste, and doing just that is gaining momentum in the scientific, business and design world. This is paramount—however it’s missing an important component: without the development of a critical framework to examine ourselves in the larger systems we aim at changing we stop short of more deeply understanding the steps needed for such a change to occur. In addition, keeping the level of discourse primarily in the realm of top-down strategies works against addressing our culture’s consumption and waste at the level of individual citizen.

To this end I’ve chosen to critically examine myself through the Lacanian lens of desire. With this critical mindset I seek an understanding of my own experiences and to explore how I relate to my built environment. With these as my guiding priorities I am to revisit the work done as well as the material objects in my life with a streamlining lens. I have re-constructed several versions of objects I use daily with less materials and processes than their existing versions.

This process serves express “depth” within these new design objects, all while centering around maintain existing lifestyle and desire with less materials. The process itself also serves as a self-feeding methodology for further refinement and exploration. In doing so the possibility of maintaining an emotionally rich experience within the context of material conservation can remain.