GLOSSARY
/ˈɡlɒs(ə)ri/
noun
_our definition area for words, terms, and concepts.
_our references on Natural Traditions, Cultural Continuity, and Sustainable Heritage Management.
practices
/ˈpraktɪs/
noun
_the application or use of an idea, belief, or method.
materials
/məˈtɪərɪəl/
noun
_the matter from which a thing is or can be made. similar to matter, substance, medium
_information or ideas for creating a book or other work. similar to information, data, facts and figures, statistics, evidence, documentation.
adjective
_denoting or consisting of physical objects rather than the mind or spirit. similar to physical, corporeal, tangible, mundane, concrete, real.
_significant; important.
heritage practices
heritage materials
heritage
/ˈhɛrɪtɪdʒ/
noun
_property that is or may be inherited; a legacy. similar to birthright, patrimony, endowment, estate, bequeathal, hereditament.
ARCHAIC
_a unique or individual possession.
Heritage is the multiple processes of meaning-making. As posited by the book Uses of Heritage (2006), heritage can be usefully understood as a subjective political negotiation of identity, place, and memory; it is a 'moment' or a process of re/constructing and negotiating cultural and social values and meanings. To value heritage practices means appreciating the variety of abilities and traditions in any community, regardless of when and where they were introduced.
According to Heritage Crafts, "Our heritage is what we choose to take with us, from our complex (and at times difficult) past, into a future that we wish to realize. Through dialogue about craft, we can learn from many traditions, acknowledge past and present injustice, and strive to create a future that is fairer and more equal." (https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/values-statement-on-heritage/)
The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO (2003) defines the intangible cultural heritage as "the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity." (https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention)
Therefore, PCONAT will adopt this definition, understanding that it manifests in the following domains:
_oral traditions and expressions;
_social practices, rituals, and festive events;
_knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;
_traditional craftsmanship.
Smith, L. (2006). Uses of Heritage. London: Routledge.
cultural practices
cultural materials
culture
/ˈkʌltʃə/
noun
_the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. similar to the arts, the humanities, intellectual achievement(s), intellectual activity, literature, music, painting, philosophy
_the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society. similar to civilization, society, way of life, lifestyle, customs, traditions, heritage, habits, values
verb
BIOLOGY
_maintain (tissue cells, bacteria, etc.) in conditions suitable for growth.
Cultural practices are viewed as meaningful actions that occur routinely in everyday life, are widely shared by a community, and create normative expectations about the way things should be done. They focus on social construction through the ability of individuals to create and act on meanings.
Saxe (1999) discusses three interconnected processes — microgenesis, ontogenesis, and sociogenesis — and their significance in collective cultural practices. "In microgenesis, individuals create schematizations that build on prior representational and strategic constructions (ontogenesis). In turn, these schematizations may become appropriated by others, becoming seeds for the spread of new collective forms of representation or procedures for problem solving in a community (sociogenesis). With the sociogenesis of cultural forms, individuals gain access to new forms for microgenetic schematization that become the basis for new ways of engaging in practices and the germs for subsequent ontogenetic shifts in knowledge. Such an account may not only reveal the interplay between cultural and developmental processes over the social history of traditional groups but also provide a frame for understanding the dynamics of cognitive development in collective practices closer to home."
Therefore, this ongoing cycle of individual development, cultural dissemination, and communal adoption forms the basis for the evolution of collective practices and knowledge within a community. This framework helps understand the historical development of cultural practices in traditional groups and provides insights into how cognitive development occurs within collective practices in various social contexts.
Saxe, G. B. (1999). Cognition, development, and cultural practices. In E. Turiel (Ed.), Development and cultural change: Reciprocal processes (pp. 19–35). Jossey-Bass.
natural practices
natural materials
natural
/ˈnatʃ(ə)rəl/
adjective
_existing in or derived from Nature, not made or caused by humankind.
_in accordance with Nature.
noun
_a person having an innate talent for a particular task or activity.
Natural Resources are all ingredients found in Nature that can be found in the form of living things (biological) or inanimate objects (non-living). It can be classified as:
a. Based Natural Resources Provenance
1) Natural resources organic (biotic), namely natural resources that come from life, i.e., plants and animals;
2) Natural resources inorganic (abiotic), namely natural resources instead of life.
b. Based Natural Resources Nature Preservation
1) Renewable resources;
2) Unrenewable resources.
c. Based Natural Resource Utilization
1) Natural resources of space, which required a man in its life (i.e., agriculture, fisheries);
2) Natural resources of matter, the ones used by humans as a resource.
3) Natural resources of energy.
A resource is an exploitable material a society perceives as helpful in its economic and material well-being.
PCONAT, on the contrary, searches for a new relationship between Design and Nature, moving Nature from an object to a subject or from a resource to a living being connected and integrated with humankind, as Capra (1997 e 2016) stated. We foster the collaborative coexistence of human and non-human entities, deny cultural versus natural dualism, and envision equitable and sustainable futures. We acknowledge Haraway's (2016) process of 'making-with,' emphasizing the interdependence between organisms that stimulates complex and symbiotic relationships vital for sustaining life. Also, Kimmerer's (2015) argument that "the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return."
Bjelland, M. et al. (20122). Introduction to Geography. McGraw Hill.
Capra, F. (1997). The Web of Life: A New Scientific Understanding of Living Systems. Anchor.
Capra, F. & Luisi, P. L. (2016). The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. Cambridge University Press.
Haraway, D. (2016). Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press.
Kimmerer, R. W. (2015). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Edition.
sustainable practices
sustainable materials
sustainable
/səˈsteɪnəbl/
adjective
_can be maintained at a specific
rate or level.
_able to be upheld or defended.
It is a way of making sustainability sustainable. Sustainable practices can help us understand the societal, economic, and environmental transition to the "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Brundtland Report, 1987). They are integrated into the Sustainable Development Goals from the Agenda 2030 (https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda) and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development
For PCONAT, they are also rooted in the cosmovisión of the Quechua people, 'sumak kawsay' or, in Spanish, 'buen vivir' (Acosta, 2013) because they describe an endogenous, community-led, ecologically balanced, and culturally diverse way of doing things.
Acosta, A. (2013). El Buen Vivir: Sumak Kawsay, una oportunidad para imaginar otros mundos. Barcelona: Icaria.
territorial practices
territorial materials
territory
/ˈtɛrɪt(ə)ri/
noun
_an area of land under the jurisdiction of a ruler or state.
"The environment is a place to step on gently and cautiously because it is full of other presences" (Ailton Krenak, 2015, in the launch of his book "Encontros - Ailton Krenak" available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JizR5UOm4uw&feature=youtu.be) .
Many design theorists have addressed the relationship between design and territory. Lia Krucken (2009) highlights that the very act of designing already presupposes a localized context. She emphasizes that thinking of the territory as part of the project requires understanding the interrelationships and dynamics in these spaces.
Meanwhile, Milton Santos (2001) stated, "Territory is not just the result of the superposition of a set of natural systems and systems of things created by man. The territory is the ground and the population, an identity, the fact and feeling of belonging to what belongs to us. … When we talk about territory, we must immediately understand that we are talking about used territory, used by a given population. One does the other."
Therefore, five fundamental principles encompass territorial approaches: place-based, people-centered, multi-actor, multi-level, and cross-sectoral. The practices are platforms for dialogue, negotiation, and action. They weave the local environment, topography, ecosystems, culture, and heritage. As Atelier Lumas (2023) explained in their book Bioregional Design Practices, "we must create density and complexity, entire ecosystems in which people and materials interact with and depend on each other."
Atelier Luma. (2023). Bioregional Design Practices. Atelier Luma and the authors.
Krenak, A. (2015). Encontros – Ailton Krenak. Azougue.
Krucken, L. (2009). Design e território: valorização de identidades e produtos locais. Studio Nobel.
Santos, M. (2001). Por uma outra globalização: do pensamento único à consciência universal. Record.
traditional practices
traditional materials
tradition
/trəˈdɪʃn/
noun
_the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.
To better understand local communities' behavior and autochthonous surroundings, traditional practices refer to the acts and wisdom generated over many generations by local communities. It acknowledges and honors past and present knowledge to ensure the continuation of cultural practices, mainly those with positive physical, emotional, and/or spiritual relationships with the environment and those that foster a sense of pride and identity.
PCONAT does not perceive it as a nostalgic, static, and must-be-preserved initiative but rather as a possibility to know from the past to "renew and reinvent our traditions without losing the ability to materialize our cultural identities" (Borges, 2012).
Borges, A. (2012). Design + Artesanato: O caminho Brasileiro. Terceiro Nome.
vernacular practices
vernacular materials
vernacular
/vəˈnakjʊlə/
noun
_the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region. similar to everyday language, colloquial speech, native speech, non-standard language, regionalism, localism, commonplace.
_architecture concerned with domestic and functional rather than public or monumental buildings.
George Gilbert Scott first used vernacular in Domestic and Secular Architecture in 1857 (https://gilbertscott.org/secular-and-domestic-architecture/). Since then, it has been associated with local and pre-industrial architecture. However, in Latin America, the term is associated with expressions and artifacts of popular culture. As Silva and Fiorelli (2022) explain, "vernacular design can be understood as any product developed from a cultural habit, such as material or visual solutions and artifacts present in everyday life."
It is a practice characterized by anonymity. Its techniques have been produced for centuries with unknown authorship or linked to collective knowledge (Bue, 2022).
For PCONAT, the vocabulary will be related to memory and the non-erasure of past culture and values, which can positively impact society. It encompasses Julia Watson's term Lo—TEK, derived from Traditional Ecological Knowledge, a cumulative body of multigenerational knowledge, practices, and beliefs. It also includes the interest in creativity and regenerative practices introduced in the Catalogue BIO27 I Super Vernaculars.
Bue, F. L. (2022) Necesidad de tutela jurídica para las expresiones culturales tradicionales aplicadas a la industria têxtil. Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios en Diseño y Comunicación. Ensayos, 154.
Memmott et al. (2023). Design and the Vernacular Interpretations for Contemporary Architectural Practice and Theory. Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Silva, C. F. & Fiorelli, M. (2022) Recôncavo design: proposições iniciais de pesquisa sobre design vernacular no recôncavo. In: Encontro de Estudos Multidisciplinares em Cultura, 18.
Watson, J. (2019). Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism. Taschen.
Withers, J. (2022). Catalogue BIO27 I Super Vernaculars. Museum of Architecture and Design (MAO).