Design Anthropology is an emerging discourse. Here, the goal of this research is to interrogate and formulate these processes into something digestible and deployable for designers working for vulnerable or disenfranchised communities within the humanitarian realm of “design for development.” Current design anthropology - seeks to unpack the existing processes by which designers work, how decisions are made.
“The potential is more socially informed, engaged and sensitive architecture which responds more directly to people’s needs.” In a changing world, Design Anthropology tasks architects to divorce themselves from modernist technocratic models that automate the design and construction processes, adopting alternative models that bypass a reliance on economic or commercial practices. We must push beyond the limitations in order to redefine how anthropology and architectural research are conducted - focusing on creative practice like drawing, dancing, weaving, or crafting pottery.
Understanding how humans can live in symbiosis with nature, especially in one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet, is pivotal. An architecture of adaptation requires a deep understanding of sociocultural systems in order to assure indigenous tribes not only survive beyond a just transition but thrive. By connecting across disciplines, through the lens of Design Anthropology, might we imagine how understanding vernacular can combat an inevitable climate future. What is often understood as primitive or less than modern, can be recontextualized as innovative and necessary for global progress.