Designing for energy transition through Value Sensitive Design

Designers can do much for a more sustainable future. Sustainability transitions research and empirical assessment of its course in a specific context can be used to identify a relevant space-time for different design initiatives. We explore this reasoning in advancing solar photovoltaics in heritage, where a loss of aesthetic qualities and the heritage value of buildings may curb where solar arrays are sited. By using the Value Sensitive Design framework we illustrate how a working compromise among the seemingly conflicting values involved can be found. The value mix used and the resulting concept informs solar proponents in siting solar in culturally sensitive ways and shows the heritage constituency that solar technology does not categorically mean a misfit with cultural heritage.