LiFE (Living in Future Ecologies) Research Group

Description

LiFE: 'Living in Future Ecologies' research group explores and reinvents the way humanity lives through investigative future visioning projects. Creating collaborative platforms between departments, faculties, commercial partners and international organisations, LiFE proposes ideologies for sustainable living. LiFE is a laboratory for testing, crafting capabilities, challenging thinking and innovating the everyday.

LiFE ‘Living In Future Ecologies’ - shifts the way Future Living is considered. The Greek word oikos means house or dwelling. It is the root of the words ecology and economy. In the context of the ‘home', ecology determines the philosophy through which home is used by the ‘family' as an interface to the community and city. The LiFE group creates dynamic relational narratives to ‘ live harmoniously’ with systems that organise and interlink everyday processes and patterns as ‘ecologies’ for capable futures.

Through art and design practices, the LiFE research group generates future(s) systems that innovate social change, mobilising communities to adopt responsible, circular-living economies that resonate with the local, regional, international and global home.

Seen as an intuitive process, future(s)-making networks systems to mediate 'physical interfaces', turning research theory into practice. Design as a practice is a natural ally to futurity that helps to critically reflect and innovate scenarios affecting behaviours and capabilities. By growing new creative communities, potential futures are explored that lead to a culture of innovation.

LiFE research interests are mobilized through activities that engage undergraduate, postgraduate and research students. Through collaborative research activities students have the opportunity to work alongside academic staff in an environment that seeks to invigorate and inspire a community of critical visionaries.

Current activity between faculties investigates futures for psychology, ecological arts practices, science, design theory, architecture, textiles, interiors, object, space, food and materiality. The Group’s commercial partners act as conduits to interpret conceptual theories for public application. The partnerships translate research practices into commercial practicalities, converting critical methods into future networks that engage communities as meaningful ways to permeate the everyday.

The group utilises its national, international and commercial networks to engage and foster interdisciplinary reflexivity through publication, exhibition, workshop and autonomous gatherings of likeminded individuals.

Research areas include: Art / Design / Art and Design Theory / Interiors / Object / Artefact / Materials / Space / Psychology / Parapsychology / Hospitality / Food / Ecology / Architecture / Integral Critical Futures / Systems Thinking / Complexity / Climate Change / Circular Economies

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No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester