In French here in Science du Design

Increasing ecological initiatives against the normative context of environmental policies highlights the paradoxes between the practices and the values of the latter. These critical alternatives show that the ecological commitment takes shape in another aesthetic than one promoted by the principles of sustainability. A photo-ethnographic survey was conducted in 2015 in a North American community bicycle workshop. The collected data revealed the agency of some aesthetics properties that creates continuity between beings and objects. Aesthetics has been for a long time associated to artistic experience and antirealism, whereas in design, its anthropological and pragmatic nature contributes to sustainable relationships. The knowledge obtained contributes to an understanding of aesthetic properties, and therefore allows designers to make informed decisions by mobilizing them as a powerful lever for the ecological transitions.