Auto-Destructive Design
and
De(con)struction Manuals

In our current society we create a lot of trash and waste that will most likely outlast our lives. With Auto-Destructive Designs and De(con)struction Manuals I am critically exploring durability from an end-of-life perspective. What if the objects we use turn into compost instantly when we have finished using them? What if consumers would feel more responsible for recycling products? What if products would come with a deconstruction manual? 

Since the Anthropocene humanity has had a big impact on the destruction of our planet and will leave remnants for thousands of years. Many produced objects will keep on existing after they have been used. As a reaction against this Auto-Destructive Design was created to reflect on what we leave behind and how durable durability needs to be. Auto-Destructive Designers aim to create objects that will destroy themselves after their need has been fulfilled. 

However, not all designs can be Auto-Destructive. Therefore De(con)struction Manuals were developed to improve the end-of-life management of products that need stronger materials. The second goal of these manuals is to give users more responsibility and encourage repairable and recyclable products.

By giving the consumer a manual for disassembly we are changing the system of how users deal with the end-of-life of the products they own. If all products would come with a manual like this, users would feel more responsible in taking care of the afterlife. This could become a change of mindset and influence how consumers make decisions when they buy products.