Memories of the Future: a design technology by scenarios

Abstract

Scenario Planning allows the investigation of alternative futures being useful in contexts characterized by high volatility and uncertainty. Particularly within the boundaries of Design, the way of thinking through scenarios has been incorporated into design methods to explore future contexts at certain points in the design process. However, we question whether scenario thinking could be an integral approach during the project's lifetime structuring a design technology through comprehensive and systemic mechanisms. Therefore, the present work aimed to share the research of a Design Technology by Scenarios and its application in a design workshop entitled Memories of the Future. The project network was formed by the “Protagonists of the Future,” a group movement orchestrated by the Santa Maria Development Agency supported by UN-Habitat to promote urban development in a sustainable and collaborative way. The results indicate that the co-creation of scenarios as a design technology resignified the actions of the protagonists in the local ecosystem encompassing multiple dimensions: the history and purpose of the project (story); the path necessary to achieve the goals of sustainable development in the city (path); the roles to be performed by the different protagonists involved (actors); and tangible results in the participating communities (evidences).

Keywords: design methods, scenario thinking, design-driven innovation, participatory design.