New Store Dialogues 2: Alternative Financial Systems
During the second edition of the New Store Dialogues series, participants discussed value creation, and the systems within which that value is exchanged. How can design practices offer alternative approaches to value creation? What would it take to meaningfully change current financial models?
20 June 2023
Alternative Financial Systems marked the second edition of the New Store Dialogue series, which took place on Wednesday, 14th June 2023 in the Keilepand in Rotterdam. The ongoing research thread within the New Store project aims to provide a space for a range of existing design practices and theoretical ideas to come together and re-imagine future scenarios of regenerative products. The evening once again brought together architects, designers and researchers to further unpack what it means to create a New Store, this time with a particular focus on understanding current financial models through different ideas of value and models of exchange.
Three presentations from guests Selçuk Balamir, Tom Frantzen and Irma Földényi each offered rich insights into their respective design practices. Presented projects such as Frantzen’s Patch22, and how he approaches architecture through flexible building systems, showed us how resource circularity in building construction can be achieved through not only strong design principles, but also through alternative business and operation models.
Földényi’s analysis of a 15 dollar golden necklace, as well as her attempts to value a grain of sand, revealed how material value is generated across different spheres, and how this value changes from national frameworks to online consumer products reviews.
Finally Balmier’s discussion around ideas of Capitalism as a Commodity Machine invited us to think about how designers can take further stewardship of the earth and engage in unalienated practices through design.
“ How can designers propose alternative approaches to value exchange in their work? What would it take to truly change current financial models? ”
Together these contributions prompted participants to consider non-extractive processes within design processes, and proposed a more critical reflection on our various systems of consumption. These include (invisible) labour, infrastructure, distribution and the data that make up these systems. Following further presentations and discussions with Aric Chen (director Nieuwe Instituut) and Saskia van Stein (director IABR), the audience was then invited to share their thoughts, and to reflect upon what steps we can take towards creating new models and systems that better suit regenerative economies.
About New Store
Imagine a shop where being a consumer helps, rather than harms, the environment. Nieuwe Instituut presents New Store to rethink the concept of the ‘product’ and explore alternative forms of exchange. Within this multi-year project, Nieuwe Instituut is collaborating with the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) and research consultancy The Seeking State. Together, we will explore how retail can make a positive contribution to environmental and social processes in the long term.
