BBC Radio 4’s Analysis show spends some time looking at Maintenance and interviewed Truth & Spectacle’s, Alex Mecklenburg.
As Chris Bowlby discovers, keeping our infrastructure in good condition is one of the most crucial and creative challenges we face.
They look at the creativity required in maintaining and improving the roads, bridges, buildings, and technology we already have and don’t look after properly.
Alex talks about responsible innovation and the role of maintenance and legacy in ensuring we make a better world. She makes the case for responsible innovators and says;
“You can maintain something in innovative ways. ”
It’s a really interesting look at getting maximum value from good ideas. Even if they aren’t your own.
David Edgerton (@DEHEdgerton) who teaches History King's College London had an interesting comment that helps contextualise the world we work in now;
“Most of us are imitators rather than innovators […] Creativity today means getting rid of the idea that we live in a radically innovative culture and to set about our world in new ways that may not be quite as dramatic as the false prospectus that is on offer.”
It’s definitely worth listening to if you work within an existing structure and have the responsibility of maintaining and improving it, whether it’s a bridge or a brand.