Teatime: Exploring ways to support diverse narratives on sustainability through design

Abstract

In the design research community, diverse narratives and ontologies are discussed in relation to sustainability. Relational ontology is proposed as an alternative to the dominant dualist ontology as a way to reconnect people with their ecological embeddedness and responsibility. This work presents a dialogical tool called ‘teatime’ created to introduce diverse, immaterial perspectives on sustainability in a co-design project with youth and researchers. The study explores the role of the teatime design in eliciting diverse narratives and forming a dialogical space. The results show that the teatime supported reflections on immaterial perspectives, bringing out relational and social values related to the ecological crises. This study uses a systematic evaluation to reveal a micro-material perspective on ways in which the teatime design and facilitation supported the inquiry process. We propose that the design practitioners take on the role of crafting dialogical spaces that support social relationships and evoke immaterial perspectives.