Issue 16 Autumn 2012 - Brunel University

iNTervieW :: sTUdeNT ANd GrAdUATe NeWs :: eXPRess MAGAZINe
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Made in Brunel 2012: ellen MacArthur
praises Brunel as a national “design hub”
Before taking part in the Made in Brunel pecha Kucha event, in which she explained some of the
principles behind the work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Dame Ellen spoke to Express about
the development of her interest in design and her bold ambitions for a sustainable future.
How and when did your
passion for sailing evolve
into a passion for design?
Design has been a theme in
my life ever since I was a kid. I
got really passionate about
sailing after I first sailed when
I was four years old – I used to
save my school dinner money
for boats. From the ages of
eight to seventeen I went
through three different boats,
but I never had much money
so everything I needed to
improve them I made myself.
I spent all my time designing
bits for boats – on the bus going
to and from school I’d be there
with a notepad designing things.
I spent all my time in my dad’s
garage working with wood and
glass fibre, and putting things
together with screws and joints.
When I left school at 17 I sailed
round Britain with a little boat
that I’d done a lot of work
on. It worked! It didn’t look
that beautiful, but it worked
– and it’s still working now.
As the sailing project progressed
I got involved in the design of
the boats themselves. I worked
with the boat designer to plan
the layout and how things
would work, and I’d be messing
around with CAD drawings
for 12 hours at a time!
I still love making things. I even
built a house three years ago
which I designed with my partner,
and it was really interesting.
I’m fascinated by design.
Were you concerned
with sustainability when
you started sailing?
No, not at all. I was involved
in the design of boats in their
entirety, from the electrical
system, computer system and
autopilot system right through
to the form, layout and sail plan
of the boat, but all these aspects
had only one object, which was
to break a record or win a race.
When you sail round the world,
you take with you everything
you need to survive. You have
all the food you need and all the
diesel you need for the generator,
and if you run out of something
you’re 2,500 miles away from
the nearest town. There’s no
more, and you learn what ‘finite’
means. I had never translated
that to life on land, but at the
end of the second trip round the
world I started to think about
the nature of the resources
that we have available to us.
About six years ago I started to
do some research and collect
evidence from educators,
scientists, CEOs, farmers and
designers, to understand how
we use resources. I have always
been passionate about design
but now I absolutely believe that
design is the key to the future.
We have finite materials and we
need to design business models,
systems and manufacturing
processes to establish a whole
system for the biological and
technical cycle of nutrients.
[See the information box on
the Circular Economy, right.]
What do you think is the
role of students and young
designers, like the students
exhibiting at Made in Brunel, in
creating a sustainable future?
It’s absolutely key. Walking
round the exhibition you see all
the stages of the product – it’s
a journey of evolution, but
right from the beginning when
that first prototype was made,
when that first line was put on
a piece of paper, the designers
knew exactly what they were
trying to achieve. When you
see a student or young person
have an idea and then follow
it through, it’s so inspirational.
Your long voyages were very
individual endeavours but
now you focus on joined-up
thinking and collaboration.
How do you balance individual
aspirations with team thinking?
I wouldn’t say that the sailing
projects were individual at all!
Physically on the boat I was
on my own, but I spent a year
and a half working closely with