“We are aiming at those who wish to listen to the rhythm of their own lives, and possibly adjust it.”

The international Slow Food movement was founded in Italy nearly 15 years ago to revive pleasure, quality and an awareness of nature and the environment in the processes of choosing, preparing and eating food. Slow Food uses local, hand-made ingredients and traditional cooking methods. Fruits and vegetables are allowed to ripen on the vine before being harvested. Breads are made from scratch. Sea salt is raked by hand.

Slow Food encourages people to be more aware of and connected to source ingredients (growing it themselves and/or forging durable and enjoyable relationships with the people who bring those materials to them), to more consciously engage in processes of preparation, and to share the food they prepare with others. The premise is that this approach makes for experiences of food that are not only more enjoyable, but also more nutritious!

slowLab proposes the application of this approach to design practice: 1) reviving designers' connections with the idiosyncrasies of materials, re-examining form, and providing networks of knowledge to capture both, 2) re-establishing systems of trust and sharing that have disintegrated in our fast, packaged world, and 3) going deeper, making more informed moves from concept to 'deployment.' Our premise is that this will result in more valuable, and indeed 'nutritious,' outcomes, and that the end-users of slowly-designed products/environments/systems will enjoy a richer quality of experience, just as the person who sits down to enjoy a slow meal reaps the benefits of the combined history of its making.

Slow Food web >

about Slow Cities >

slowLab's principles of Slow Design >