'The Banana Theory Installation' - a giant bar code that can be scanned from the sky!

Art & Engineering coming together to illuminate the hidden complexities of the sustainability debate.

This launch celebrated an installation communicating notions of sustainability.  This was the winning scheme of a competition between Chelsea College of Art & Design's MA Interior and Spatial Design students and UCL's Engineering Doctorate students in Urban Sustainability & Resilience. 

The launch took place on 21 May 2012 (see details below).  The installation will be available for viewing by the general public until 29 May 2012 at the Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground (see map).  FREE.

Visit http://www.bananatheory.org./

The launch event for the installation will include a drinks reception followed by a lively panel discussion from 6pm (Lecture Theatre) on The Banana Theory and its potential impact. The panel will feature a range of sustainability experts including:

Mike Berners-Lee, Environmental Expert and author of "How Bad Are Bananas?: The carbon footprint of everything"

Chris Church, Experienced Government Advisor on Sustainable Development                         Richard Jackson, Head of UCL Environmental Sustainability
Tia Kansara, Director of Kansara Hackney Ltd
David Cross, University of the Arts, London

Chair: Fred Pearce, Environment writer, journalist and science author.

We invite you to submit questions to the panel in advance by email to k.rafferty@ucl.ac.uk (these will be answered at the launch).

Visit http://www.bananatheory.org./

Exactly how bad are bananas? Or anything else? Inspired by Mike Berners-Lee’s book “How bad are bananas”,  The Banana Theory Project will demonstrate the difficulty we face when deciding how to change our lifestyle to become greener. There is a lot of information out there about how to lead a greener life. In fact, there is often far too much information.  The volume of information can become overwhelming and this can make decision-making even more difficult. 

Sustainability issues are big and systemic. Nearly everything we do has an impact on our environment: turning on a light bulb, washing our hands, eating a banana, event searching on Google or walking up the stairs! But knowing how good or bad the impact is doesn’t necessarily make the decision about how to change our behaviour any easier, especially when so much of the information is contradictory.

Voluntary life-style choices are unlikely to make a significant difference. Changes that will make a difference will be done through systemic organisation – by connecting and educating people. We have developed a tool to increase public interest and awareness about the impact of their everyday actions and to demonstrate the growing need to not only collect environmental data, but also to analyse and utilise it in a constructive way.

Download a QR Scanner online or from your App store on your smartphone to enhance your experience at the launch.