Sarah Templin, SCE Part Time Faculty of Product Design, has shared her thoughts on design for disassembly with Core77. With more than 10 million tons of furniture ending their cycle in US landfills each year, healthier making and sourcing methods come to the forefront of thinking about how we make and use things.

Design for Disassembly (DfD) is the straightforward design method and philosophy that ensures that all elements of a product can be disassembled for repair and for “end of life.” This allows for and encourages repairs, with the result that a product’s life cycle is prolonged; and it allows for a product to be taken apart at the end of its life so that each component can be reclaimed as a technical nutrient (i.e. recycled) or biological nutrient (i.e. composted). Among other shifts in thinking and making, this means minimizing materials, using simple mechanical fasteners instead of adhesives, clearly labeling components with their material type, and ensuring components can be disassembled with everyday tools.

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