What the work is
A curatorial and convening practice focused on live, social-ecological design initiatives—primarily through the Netherlands Design Institute and Doors of Perception.
How it was made
Thackara convened interdisciplinary, place-based projects that brought together design specialists, users, and experts from many disciplines. He framed these through two guiding questions: ‘what is new technology for?’ and ‘how do we want to live?’.
What works
It established a repeatable format: identify real-world sustainability experiments, gather diverse stakeholders, publish results online, and discuss them publicly at conferences. This made sustainability tangible, situated, and participatory.
What does not
The material does not establish Thackara’s authorship of specific artefacts, his disciplinary training, or any physical output such as products, buildings, interfaces or publications he designed.
What it influenced
The Doors of Perception conference became the flagship output of the Netherlands Design Institute, shaping how sustainability was discussed in design discourse through live examples and hybrid community engagement.
Is it worth your time
Yes—if you need a working model of how design practice can pivot from objects to systemic, real-world sustainability experiments.