Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.22029/oc.2023.1353 |
Licence  |
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| Title (Primary) | Prototypes as future artifacts of today: Towards prototyping alternative futures |
| Author | Matzner, N.
; Thiel-Woznica, M.; Tost, J.; Weller, K. |
| Source Titel | On_Culture: The Open Journal for the Study of Culture |
| Year | 2024 |
| Department | SUSOZ |
| Volume | 15 |
| Page From | 1 |
| Page To | 25 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Keywords | Prototype; future; critical and speculative design; imaginaries; urban mobility |
| Abstract | The design of sociotechnical futures relies on institutionalized visions but also onmaterial artifacts. In this context, prototypes are a materialized means of explorationof potential futures. This article explores interdependencies between irritations byprototypes and critical/speculative design and argues that prototypes problematize abalance between feasibility and their potential for irritation, i.e. being incited to actdifferently by a prototype that does not fit into familiar practices (e.g. flying cars).We investigate the significance of the feasibility-irritation tension, first, by analyzing two case studies of prototypes from urban mobility as examples of technical fea-sibility in marketing and testing environments, and second, by contrasting them tothe notion of prototypes as deliberately irritating artifacts within critical and specula-tive design practices. We offer a perspective for understanding their transformativepotential. Our discussion shows how prototypes, as they are used in speculative de-sign, might open new negotiation spaces instead of limiting futures to what seemsfeasible. New, irritating prototypes highlight a contingency, which is necessary toopenly discussing feasible and fictional futures together. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=30142 |
| Matzner, N., Thiel-Woznica, M., Tost, J., Weller, K. (2024): Prototypes as future artifacts of today: Towards prototyping alternative futures On_Culture 15 , 1 - 25 10.22029/oc.2023.1353 |
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