Born from the desire to know and share everything innovative being done around the theme of repairability, the project R-Riparabile? was conceived and curated by Frida Doveil. Even if not everything can last a long time, a great many quality objects can and should have a longer life, through access to spare parts and growing attention from manufacturers, particularly when it comes to very expensive items.

How did R-Riparabile come about?

R-Riparabile? starts from a basic idea: introducing the concept of "repairable" into an object's life cycle. In 2013, on the occasion of Design Week, together with Adi, the Associazione per il disegno industriale, an international "call for entry" was launched to map the state of the art on new ways of producing, using and reusing industrial products, as well as to record the new frontiers of conscious innovation on the themes of durability, circularity, sharing and services. The aim is precisely to investigate what has been done and is still being done around this theme: which products are simple and therefore more accessible, in which direction repairability technologies are heading, how strategies around spare parts, materials and new aesthetic designs are being developed. Without overlooking the programmes that engage with social issues and local communities, with a view to rebuilding an economy that incorporates new logics of durability and repairability.

Repairable objects: what challenges lie ahead

"The challenge is to talk to businesses about repairability in order to innovate along new paths," says Frida, "and that is precisely why I created the R-Riparabile website: to speak to businesses." If designers and companies embed the possibility of repair into the DNA of their products, a dialogue that electronic goods had inexorably closed will be re-established. "Thinking repairable" opens a path of experimentation towards new aesthetics and a new poetics of making, one that goes beyond the mere pragmatism of repairability.

For businesses today, it can truly represent an added value and an innovative, sustainable approach. In some countries, where grassroots movements that spread via the web are very active, the choices of certain companies are being forced to change: the Beyond repairing section of the R-Riparabile website chronicles, through news and updates, what is happening around the world in the field of circular design and responsible economies; the Repair projects section, meanwhile, is a collection of projects designed to showcase what is emerging at the cutting edge of production, research and design, in pursuit of ever-greater product repairability.

The art of kintsugi

A very interesting example in the archive of the Repair projects section is the one dedicated to kintsugi, an ancient Japanese art, born around the sixteenth century, with which broken ceramic tableware is repaired by enhancing its cracks and fractures. The shards, held together with a mixture of wax and rice glue, naturally highlight the suture lines (keshiki), which become spontaneous decorations. Here, along the fine wounds, kintsugi masters spread gold powder, filling and embellishing the "scars".

The idea is to preserve, protect and honour the soul of objects. Against every mythology of disposability, the art of kintsugi represents precisely the desire to produce new beauty from the old, from the uniqueness of objects and from their insistence on the groove of a sacred, circular, non-chronological time. Irregular, rough, imperfect, worn lines, in which grace, elegance and the noble fullness of emptiness are drawn. Discarding the consumerist idea of destruction and replacement, in favour of the concept of regeneration, of infinite narrative, of care.

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DIY 2.0

Craftspeople too, thanks to the use of 3D printers and open-source platforms, have built a business on this rediscovered desire for repairability. A by now widely known and established example is Ifixit, a free repair manual, born from "do-it-yourself" experiences shared online by Luke and Kyle, its two founders, to help people understand electronic objects and learn to repair them. The DIY (do it yourself) online guides are followed by thousands of people and have made assessments of the repairability of various electronic objects increasingly authoritative. Over time the site has added the sale of spare parts and quality disassembly tools, and is complemented by a dedicated blog.

The question today is no longer whether to turn back or press on. The issue has shifted to the ability to give objects a new destiny. It is true that repairability is not everything and is not always necessary, but thinking in terms of simplicity, accessibility and systems — thinking about people — is undoubtedly an important theme. As Patagonia chief executive Rose Marcario puts it, "we should stop acting like consumers and start acting like owners." Translated into design language, we need to become custodians. In this way, not only would we take better care of objects, maintaining their durability for longer, but above all we would relearn how to re-establish an emotional relationship with objects — one that has by now been all but forgotten.

In Sweden, lower taxes for those who recycle and repair

In Sweden, those who start repairing rather than throwing things away will pay less tax. In this way, the government wants to put a brake on throwaway culture and incentivise the repair of household appliances. How? By introducing tax breaks on repairs, from bicycles to washing machines. The VAT rate reductions for those who repair shoes, clothing and much more will range from 12 to 25 per cent. The ultimate goal is to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, caused by excessive consumption.

If it is accepted, the proposal will bring about a sweeping revolution in lifestyles in Sweden, particularly in terms of waste reduction. Those who choose to have goods repaired will be able to claim a reimbursement for a portion of the money spent on repairs, with particular reference to large household appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers and washing machines.

From this initiative, a new economic and employment sector dedicated to repairs could develop, with benefits for all and the potential to favour the integration of migrants who possess manual skills. The hope is that Italy too may follow the Scandinavian example and move towards the adoption of sustainable actions that improve both cities and citizens.