Design research applicability on Portuguese industry

• Autor(a) principal: Costa, Jacinta
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Outros Autores: Botelho, Sara Bento, Mendonça, Rui, Martins, João, Maia, Pedro, Gonçalves, Ricardo, Franqueira, Teresa
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/47751

The present paper works on the potential applicability of design research based on a practical experience with the Portuguese company Recipor — Recuperação e Valorização de Resíduos (residues recovery and valuation), S.A., who’s mission is to collect, treat and valuate in a profitable way plastic residues e non iron metals, with domestic or industrial origins. The ecological appeal, the economical recovery process and the innovation investment justified the choice and the decision of taking this company as a subject to study design’s influence on building and confirming it’s corporate identity and in the implementation of design culture and thinking. The empirical search on collecting processes, treatment and application of residues took place at the company’s premises. From the direct contact with raw materials, equipment and finished products we developed a quality based methodology study. The results denoted a strong relation between the company’s vision, the organizational strategy and the market’s affection for recycled products. This triangulation allowed a favourable environment for a temporary inclusion of a design investigating team, and leads to the understanding that, as the high-level project orientations were exposed, the expectation increased and acquired a more instrumental format with strategic effects. Grounded on data from field literature we draw the path of thermoplastics in general and of PVC specifically. We must highlight the growth of the investment made in collecting and recycling; the birth of a European network of certified recycling companies and the enormous applicability of this material on artefact production. This project’s boundaries were established by practical challenges introduced by the company’s direction; namely the optimization of the plastic reel products. The team’s proposals were the result of the adopted design process.