Electriquette

transformative perspective inviting awareness of new possibilities

Free_lil_electric_libraries

What if electrification is an opportunity to re-imagine social infrastructure supporting emerging new technology, and more benevolent and collaborative values of mobility?

We are in between stories, in between narratives.

The old story /120 years of internal combustion era/ is no longer capable to inspire the future, but we don’t have new stories yet. It’s why dominant narrative is trying to force-assimilate EVs into ICE discourse and values.

Electrification is n opportunity to inspire a new discourse, new behavioral scripts and experiences evocative of new set of values.

What if we foster electrification as social innovation?

Social innovation as design strategy helps to move our thinking beyond clichés of aggressive, isolating individualism forged by the previous century car culture and imagine new collaborative forms of our relationship with technology and each other. We see electrification as opportunity to foster transient relationships with each other and with place around us.

Free_lill_electric_libraries aim to inspire conversation about techno-social activism, initiatives that re-connect people, re-connect people with places where they live, and invite disarming forms of relational encounters, transient collaboration and mutual trust.

Our design proposal probes how to give electrification a local dimension seeking alternative experiential narratives, alternative to last century-tech language of fuse boxes with no relationship to their social or environmental context.

These libraries are individual charging stations in front of the builder’s house, acting as instigators endowed with social & personal values while having goals of positive interaction.

These electrified objects are tied to mobilizing our innate playful intention to foster transient relationships and community of place.

They’re DIY toolkit made of commonly available materials: outdoor outlet, standard outdoor extension cord, couple of 2x4s, and swappable “interactive modules” in ready to assemble elements. Modules include music box and kaleidoscope (manual), bubbles machine and paper piano (electronic), etc. All blueprints and materials are open-sourced published on tinkering platforms and can order online. Grassroots customization are welcomed.

Our design investigate how objects can act as disarming instigators of embodied social values and relationships.
Objects with goals of transient benevolent encounters and positive social interaction. Objects endowed with values that are individual and social at the same time.
Objects mobilizing our innate positive intention.

Free_lil_electric_libraries signal an alternative to the exclusivity of current sparse charging stations and invite us to engage in imagining how things could be, when we could have a voice and actively participate in shaping how technological change affects our space and our relationships.