Alessandra Fasoli
Contact
- Email: a.fasoli@kingston.ac.uk
- Location: Kingston School of Art, Knights Park
- Faculty: Kingston School of Art
- School: School of Design
- Department: Department of 3D Design
- Personal website
Research project: Sustainability in the Making: Craft Programmes for Socio-Ecological Change
Abstract
Building on prior work into the cultural role of artisanship and makerspaces, this research focuses on the potential role of craft programmes to promote and enable cultures of sustainability. The project aims to understand UK craft ecologies in relation to sustainable behaviours, to establish how a maker literacy for sustainability transition can be developed and integrated into specific social and cultural contexts. The research focuses on the existing craft ecosystem in the Devon area, aiming to also to provide clarity on how maker initiatives cope with the environmental crisis, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their approach, and how the participation in such initiatives influences everyday material cultures. It is expected that an understanding of the Devon maker social context will provide deeper insights on how knowledge is generated through making and will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the role culture plays in sustainability and environmental discourse. These results will establish a framework for implementing and evaluating programme(s) for craft-led pro-sustainability change.
- Research degree: PhD
- Title of project: Sustainability in the Making: Craft Programmes for Socio-Ecological Change
- Research supervisor: Dr Christoph Lueder
Biography
I am an interdisciplinary designer and researcher focused on design anthropology, sustainability practices, and material cultures, currently doing a AHRC-Techne CDA at Kingston School of Art London in partnership with the Crafts Council UK, in which I explore how social craft initiative contribute to building cultures of sustainability. I have been working in universities in Peru, Italy, and the UK, conducting research and teaching activities in the field of vernacular architecture, design activism, and sustainable design. My research is informed by design justice frameworks, social sustainability policies, intersectional feminism, and degrowth. I am one of the founders of the Italian non-profit AK0 - architettura a kilometro zero, where I have been a board and active member until January 2024. Alongside my research, I works as an independent designer and consultant.
Areas of research interest
- Sustainable Design
- Design Anthropology
- Participatory Design
- Appropriate technologies
- Makerspaces
- Craft cultures
- Material Cultures
- Environmental Sociology
- Graphic Ethnography
- Critical Theory
Qualifications
- MA (hons) in Architecture Design, Faculty of Architecture, Roma Tre University
- BA in Science of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Roma Tre University
- Architect, Professional Qualification, Sapienza University of Rome
Funding or awards received
- UKRI/AHRC Career Enhancement Funding, 2023
- AHRC Techne Doctoral Training Partnership, 2019
- Torno Subito International Training Scholarship, Regione Lazio, 2015
- International Mobility Program, Roma Tre University, 2010
Publications
Alessandra Fasoli & Silvio Tassinari (2017) Engaged by Design: The Role of Emerging Collaborative Infrastructures for Social Development. Roma Makers as A Case Study,The Design Journal, 20:sup1, S3121-S3133, DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2017.1352819
Stefan Pollak & Alessandra Fasoli, 2014, T.E.R.R.E.—Technological Experiments and Research in Earth buildings, C. Mileto, F. Vegas, L. García Soriano, V. Cristini, Earthen Architecture: Past, Present and Future, CRC Press, pp. 293-298
Jump to: Book Section
Number of items: 1.
Book Section
Fasoli, Alex (2023) Making as culture : people, places, practices, and sustainability change. In: Whittaker, Emma and Macpherson, Polly, (eds.) The Green Maker Initiative book. Plymouth, U.K. : University of Plymouth Press. pp. 178-198. ISBN 9781841024646
Conference papers
Fasoli, A. (2021) ‘Craft in Makerspaces: The Potential for Social Change for Sustainability', [Poster], in Di Lucchio, L. et al. (eds) Design Culture(s). Cumulus Conference Proceedings Roma 2021, Volume #2. Design Culture(s), Rome (Cumulus Conference Proceedings Series, N°7), p. 4773.