The Hundred Year project is essentially about creating a plan for the next hundred years. They may not have been planned in advance, but both the 19th and the 20th century had their plans. In the former it was creating the cultural base of the nation, and the latter saw the establishment of the welfare state. The Hundred Year project is a think tank initiative, where the whole nation is invited to suggest long-term goals towards a society where sustainability and quality of life (meaningfulness and happiness) are overall targets. The wish list will eventually be handed over to politicians, who need to start thinking long-term in terms of what this century will stand for.
The project is still in its early days, and have yet to come up with concrete suggestions. It will however, be a very interesting project to follow, even though, as with so many other things, no designers were considered involved.
In my interview with Andersen, he expressed a great interest in the new 3D printing technology, which – one may imagine – can replace physical shops, and thus reduce a considerable amount of waste in between. One thing to be aware of however, is to avoid the same trap John Thackara mentions in his book “In the Bubble” about how the internet was supposed to contribute to a paperless society. One idea Andersen shared was that of a self-sustaining city, which would lead to a drastic reduction in logistics transport.
conclusion: we do need engagement like this, but I’d like to see more means and less meanings; there are plenty of good suggestions to what a better world will imply, no so many suggestions to how to realise them, and that’s the critical part ..isn’t it?
