Marco Marseglia graduated with honours and obtained a Master's Degree in Design at the University of Florence. His thesis was selected for publishing and he carries out research and professional activities in the field of design. He has participated in research projects financed by both national and regional entities. His work has been published in specialised journals and books. He is part of the research team of the Sustainable Design Lab of the Department of Architecture – DIDA.

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HYPOTHETICAL TITLE OF RESEARCH

Sustainable Development and Life Cycle Design: simplified tools for product design

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SUMMARY

The subject of the PhD dissertation is Environmental Sustainability applied to design (product and / or service).

From the introduction to the concept of the Life-cycle of products – in the second half of the Nineties – to the present day, the topic of environmental sustainability, and more generally of Sustainable Development, have assumed a central role within the international debate – from the protocol of Kyoto 2005 to the recently introduced taxes on CO2 emissions.

Life Cycle Assessment methodology does not derive from the field of design (Ezio Manzini 2007), and therefore it presents certain limitations when applied to the needs of a designer. This is why in recent years the concept has been developed of Life Cycle Design understood as the design of the entire Life Cycle of the product – from the production of the raw materials to the end of the cycle, or re-insertion into the productive cycle of the resulting waste.

A series of successfully tested simplified tools for assessing the degree of environmental impact have been developed, which both due to their methodology and approach are ideal for their use by designers.

The central arguments of the PhD dissertation revolve around determining a methodology and creating/designing a tool/software for helping designers in the conception phase. Simultaneously, another part will be developed concerning the educational aspects, which envisages the creation/design of a series of tools – both hard-copy and digital (App), guidelines and a checklist – in support of educational activities in the area of Sustainable Design for the Environment.