Handling innovative transformation processes in public environment

Abstract

Design of environment is one example from which debates can emerge. Such public debates can influence public opinions and subsequently influe nce political debates and bureaucratic processes. Studies have shown that there is more difficulty achieving successful radical innovations if organisations have entrenched structures and burea ucratic processes. Design debates that influence bureaucratic processes are important to discuss in ge neral, and in design education especially, because they can tell us something about how visual expressions are read and what kind of impact they have. Therefore, the present study investigated ways to overcome bureaucratic and commercial resistance to implementing visual changes in public spaces. To explore these processes and gain a deeper understanding of the different ways to deal with a range of opinions, a case study method was used involving participants from different types of organisa tions and fields of interest. The empirical data was gathered from the design of a public memorial pr oject that created a fierce debate in Norway and even abroad, called Smash Nazism , a monument of a resistance group acting during World War II. The conclusion of the study explains how a confrontational process was handled in the permanent change of a public space and how aspects of such transfor mation process can be linked to radical innovation. This is essential knowledge in design education pr eparing students for how visual transformation processes can contribute to corporate social responsibility.