![When Michael Erlhoff published his programmatic book „Nutzen statt Besitzen“ (Use instead of Own) in 1995, it was an appeal for a different, more reasonable way of working and living together – economically, ecologically, and socially. The key idea: things don’t have to belong to us in order to serve us.Thirty years later, much of what sounded visionary at the time has become everyday reality: car-sharing, rental bikes, co-working spaces, streaming services. Yet it has also become clear that the ideal of sharing has long since turned into a business model in its own right – complete with contradictions and downsides. Thirty years after the original text appeared, and in the twentieth year of its existence, the BIRD (Board of International Research in Design) – which Erlhoff co-founded – now republished the text, expanding it with contemporary perspectives. Twenty essays by authors from design, art, media theory, philosophy, mobility research, and cultural studies continue the central idea in a critical, nuanced, and future-oriented way. Not a nostalgic retrospective, but a lively, experimental space of thought about how we want to deal with things, resources, and knowledge in a globalized, digitalized world.Contributions by Tom Bieling, Uta Brandes, Katharina Bredies, Rosan Chow, Michelle Christensen, Florian Conradi, Peter Eckart, Michael Erlhoff, Meret Ernst, Köbi Gantenbein, Simon Grand, Angela Grosso Ciponte, Harald Gründl, Saskia Hebert, Wolfgang Jonas, Simon Küffer, Eileen Mandir, Ralf Michel, Hans-Ulrich Reck, Stephan Rammler, Evelyne Roth, Erik Spiekermann, Peter Stephan, Kai Vöckler, Thomas Wagner, and Tina Weisser.Book now available in german!Bieling, Tom / Brandes, Uta / Christensen, Michelle / Jonas, Wolfgang (eds.) (2025): Use Instead of Own – Michael Erlhoff Revisited. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. 292 pages, 36 EUR, ISBN: 978-3-0356-3012-1
/books#nutzenstattbesitzen #MichaelErlhoff #Designtheorie #Designgeschichte #nachhaltigkeit #Designtheory #sustainability #Designhistory #socialdesign #DesignForschung #ecosocial #DesignResearch #Shareconomy #sharing #designethics]()
When Michael Erlhoff published his programmatic book „Nutzen statt Besitzen“ (Use instead of Own) in 1995, it was an appeal for a different, more reasonable way of working and living together – economically, ecologically, and socially. The key idea: things don’t have to belong to us in order to serve us.
Thirty years later, much of what sounded visionary at the time has become everyday reality: car-sharing, rental bikes, co-working spaces, streaming services. Yet it has also become clear that the ideal of sharing has long since turned into a business model in its own right – complete with contradictions and downsides. Thirty years after the original text appeared, and in the twentieth year of its existence, the BIRD (Board of International Research in Design) – which Erlhoff co-founded – now republished the text, expanding it with contemporary perspectives. Twenty essays by authors from design, art, media theory, philosophy, mobility research, and cultural studies continue the central idea in a critical, nuanced, and future-oriented way. Not a nostalgic retrospective, but a lively, experimental space of thought about how we want to deal with things, resources, and knowledge in a globalized, digitalized world.
Contributions by Tom Bieling, Uta Brandes, Katharina Bredies, Rosan Chow, Michelle Christensen, Florian Conradi, Peter Eckart, Michael Erlhoff, Meret Ernst, Köbi Gantenbein, Simon Grand, Angela Grosso Ciponte, Harald Gründl, Saskia Hebert, Wolfgang Jonas, Simon Küffer, Eileen Mandir, Ralf Michel, Hans-Ulrich Reck, Stephan Rammler, Evelyne Roth, Erik Spiekermann, Peter Stephan, Kai Vöckler, Thomas Wagner, and Tina Weisser.
Book now available in german!
Bieling, Tom / Brandes, Uta / Christensen, Michelle / Jonas, Wolfgang (eds.) (2025): Use Instead of Own – Michael Erlhoff Revisited. Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag. 292 pages, 36 EUR, ISBN: 978-3-0356-3012-1
/books
#nutzenstattbesitzen #MichaelErlhoff #Designtheorie #Designgeschichte #nachhaltigkeit #Designtheory #sustainability #Designhistory #socialdesign #DesignForschung #ecosocial #DesignResearch #Shareconomy #sharing #designethics
5 months ago
