Summer Message - 2018 – Retro-Fitting UK plc: Deconstruction for Reconstruction....

Why Eco-Driven 'Industry 4.0' Regional Planning Should be Influenced by “Zen and the Art of Project Binky”

'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' was the equivalent of a 'secular bible' for the harried American company-man of the 1970s; who sought to recapture his soul, albeit for but a short time on a Sunday evening, to re-connect with his inner-being and true self.

Obviously in the world where capitalism rules and long hours worked, sabbatical visits to Indian ashrams, midday yoga sessions, tantric massage retreats and all else that “re-balanced the chakras” was out. Instead, he had a book about bike journeys and the contentment of attending to the inner-workings of the machine; and so, the slow satisfaction re-balancing the chokes on the carburettors was probably the closest he got to nirvana. A basic tool kit, the time taken to do a good job, the contentment of enjoying the motorcycle and a sense of self being in 'full tune'.

As the author R.M Pirsig stated, the central theme was that of the 'Metaphysics of Quality', which in layman's speak, is that which gives one's life meaning and value; born from the harmonious inter-connectedness.

Eighty years earlier, this had been the motivational force behind the previously described Garden Cities projects of Letchworth and Welwyn in Hertfordshire, UK; wherein Ebenezer Howard had sought to install and instill the essence of 'quality' into the average person's life. When able to exist in stable and uplifting surroundings people would themselves provide better quality professional work, undertake more productive pastimes and by means of a virtuous circle create improved communities and so society.

At its core was the ideal of the ability to raise consciousness and contentment through work, rest and play via self-fulfilling self-improvement, so that people could live lives at best as the euphemistic extended 'hand of god' – able to utilise being 'at one' themselves.

Today, beyond the relative rarity of beautiful park-lands, historic old towns and exhibits of museums and galleries in the everyday, we in the world at large arguably have very few contemporary examples of things made by man but seemingly 'touched by the hand of god'. Such items themselves born from a personal process of 'absorbed creation' that forms one aspect of the 'Metaphysics of Quality'.

As has been retold time and again, industrialisation and associated mass-scale productivity did and does still allow for the many to afford much, from cheap 'throwaway tat' at one end of the spectrum to intrinsically well designed, notionally long-lasting items at the other.

Yet whilst people enjoy much, from Primark clothing to Habitat ceramics, the general absence of either the truly hand-made, or better still the self-made, denies consumers and self-users a connection with either the original crafts-person or being themselves wholly subsumed for a period in the mystical creative process.

Ebenezer Howard (and the Garden City idiom) wanted to see people be both contented and become “the best of themselves”, and the importance of slow joy  to be had from  pastimes and hobbies of the period that promoted learnarom gardening to carpentry to tapestry weaving – each and much more,  central pillars to betterment.

Howard's effort was toward nothing less than the societal re-construction required from the negative results of an over-zealous capitalist system; one which had created a gulf between the enormously wealthy industrilists and financiers with allied managerial 'officer class', and the lives of the remaining masses: the working poor and destitute, with privation and vice-laden distractions.

But Howard and his “Social Reformer” peers weren't just seeking to spread middle-class values so as to end poverty, improve productivity and so enrich the nation; but to open the eyes of the less fortunate to become more at ease, mindful and content – in short 'to grow' beyond their own often self-damaging behavioural
limitations to find the inner peace and contentment that exists within Pirsig's 'Metaphysics of Quality' - which itself echoes the old spiritual belief systems of the East , from Persian Zoroastrianism to Chinese Tao.

Such personal contentment is experienced typically when one achieves something, or when practically working toward that goal in a manner which utilises skills gained thus far. Hence the satisfaction of practical hand-work, wherein the mind and body operates simultaneously in both parallel and unity.

Howard sought to re-construct his new towns in a deliberately hybridised manner, taking only the better aspects of city and country existence, and deleting the worst aspects of both places.

In short, as with any analytical design process...

”De-Construct to Re-Construct”.

Those new 'model' towns and suburban expansions helped re-ignite local, regional and national economies through humanitarian principles that ultimately through better lives delivered improved products, services and lives for all. Well directed and use of the Humanities in 'mission' and policy-setting so as to then better direct the Sciences in commerce and education.

[NB For Letchworth, the results of that attraction  was in its day, the many  light-engineering SMEs, such as automotive and railway firms, the positive ripples of which seen  in the educational slant toward the STEM subjects in its schools].

Today, more than perhaps ever since that crucial period, Britain needs to 'De-Construct to Re-Construct' at the macro and micro levels:

1. National Level - regards properly considered Regional Development Planning

2. Personal Level – regards capabilities and sense of self of the lowest demographic.

Aspects of the current national development projects appear ill-considered, and simply default to historical policy-planning.

The supposed panacea that is HS2 and 'Northern Powerhouse' Rail is in actuality little more than the application of increasingly obsolescent infrastructure from a very different age. Railways were created to supplant canals in the transport of initially heavy commodities such as coal, iron-ore, and thereafter other goods (often time critical) and thereafter people. It was a freight haulage system suited to the needs of the then myriad of Primary and Secondary Industries, thereafter consideration about the conveyance of people, with obviously regional commuter rail by far the most important current need – as with the new Elizabeth line.

Besides the interests of specific FDI backed mass-production (vehicles most obvious) Britain has been effectively been post-industrial for nearly 40 years. Yet the economic development policy reliant upon the expansion of rail – notionally argued as more eco-friendly – actually harks back to a now defunct age of coal mines, steel mills, textile mills, potteries and beer brewing towns.

Also obviously, the invention of the telephone reduced the need for personal travel enormously, applied en mass a century after the initiation of rail, and and so again with the internet nearly a century later again.

Unless Brexit actually results in the very opposite of Britain's re-globalisation aim, and by which Britain must again produce all itself for itself, the returned 'railway mania' appears very odd, unless for vested interests. Even then the necessary 'clean-burn' use of LNG and CNG and the improved affordability of naturally sourced eco-energy generation, increasingly on a local basis, means that further investment in rail appears less convincing than better considered infrastructure projects.

To this end state-planning ought to be better 'de-constructed and re-constructed' given the critical ROI demands of PPFI backed by investor institutions that have long-horizon pension liabilities to the British population.

That said, this web-log, seeks to focus upon the individual – men, women, boys and girls alike - and the importance of creating a living environment that promotes education, practically applied learning and the basis for a new and meaningful economic template that necessarily relies to a great extent upon the re-use of already 'circulating materials' via sophisticated recycling and redeployment.

The phrase 'reality bites' has never been so prescient, and it is an unpleasant reality which won't go away for many people, even with statistical GDP growth and the popularity of nationalistic efforts such as Trump's 'America First' policy.

The everyday reality of tight-budget living by many, and the contraction of job opportunities after 2008, especially affecting the young, was precisely why the highly popular Macklemore-Lewis song 'Thriftshop' became such a meaningful theme for so many 15-40 year olds.

Critically, changed times call for changed economic templates.

Which is why investment-auto-motives conveyed many years ago and so soon after 2008 that the economic western 'new norm' of low western growth, itself predicated upon reduced future demographic demand, and the long-lasting sociological effects of the Great Recession, would demand a new approach by sections of banking and business – far beyond the fascination with the likes of Lidl, Aldi and Poundstore – and into new realms.

Some may recall the long weblog series devoted to the futuristic philosophical redesign of emergency service vans, with special focus upon police demands given the massive diversity of tasks within that arena.

Hence, it is the central theme of 'Deconstruction / Re-Construction' that should be far better considered.

- At the personal level to generate learning and interest......

- At the local level to create a model of 'eco-procurement' hubs.....

- At the commercial level to generate new business models......

- At the national level to enlarge the positive impact of a recycling economy......

Many of those entering adulthood after 2008 entered a very different world to their parents previous experience, most recognising that the 'good times' had gone and they would have a harder time of things, as with student debt, decades of home-renting instead of property buying, the shift away from marriage and life-time relationships, etc...and together with increased social friction given the consequences of socio-economic decline actually views the world at large more cynically, even if they must publicly appear open and upbeat to befit the social zeitgeist.

Part of this is the recognition of self-reliance and the need to expand their skills-base to get-by and enjoy.

Video-upload platforms such as Youtube highlight many younger (and older) people trying to find new social roles and related income streams. The 'new norm' prompting a wide range of self-publishing responses from thrift-shop 'hauls' to food foraging to 'living off the land'. The need for low-cost living, ideologically supported by eco-consciousness, has moulded youth and many people's mentality toward that which is either wholly 'DIY' directed, or re-set toward the communal ideal of combined effort.

However, whilst undoubtedly there is renewed interest in the 'Good Life' (as depicted in the 1970s comedy TV series) by the few seeking 'hippy living', most often today's examples of DIY learning aren't about ethically driven, drop-out, life-changing habits, but simply about pursuing personal enjoyment.

Wherein a person – often as part of an on-line based special interest group - chooses (in an arguably very infantile manner) to partake in a personal sublimation into the escapism of the cartoon worlds that exist inside the video screen.

This of course the trend of 'CosPlay'.

Ironically, though facing less real-world problems that those in reduced circumstances, it has been the 20 and 30-somethings of the middle-classes who are able to devote time and money to this escapist past-time.

However, the positive outcome has been a growth in self-created items and associated the handicrafts devoted to the making of costumes and accessories.

To recreate the characters and outfits of screen-based figures they have had to utilise both imagination and their limited resources, stretching the former to bypass the latter.

Increasingly popular annual Comicon events have seen the costume efforts of its participants evolve from poorly executed using odds and ends, a glue-gun and spray-paint, to highly sophisticated interpretations deploying much from artisan old craft-skills to 3-D printed accessories.

This renewed and specifically directed interest in design and making (albeit upon a presently small comparative basis) has undoubtedly helped to add to the new-wave of designer-makers.

Added to this has been the TV programming trend for re-constituting, refurbishing and re-purposing old furniture, materials and fabrics. Such activities much assisted by the now long existent interior design trends of yesteryear 'industrial-chic', the more soulful 'distressed', 'age-worn' aesthetic', and eclectic bric-a-brac, that long ago opened the younger generation's eyes to 'crafting and curating' something personal and unique; albeit actually within accepted resonating styles.

Such trends led to fascination for the old, such as motorcycles, typically from the 1920s to the 1980s, along with interesting curios like old metal signage and much else besides including esoteric task-dedicated machinery so well illustrated by agricultural equipment.

But is has been the plethora of TV car-based shows predicated upon the formula of reconditioning for resale, and that of a vehicle-owner commissioning of a personalisation project, that have been the greatest prompts towards a re-popularisation of repair, re-use and customisation.

The programmes seen on TV however, rarely illustrate the reality of a vehicle rebuild or major re-design; oft edited to obtain a 25 minute progression story behind which have been 100s of hours of thinking and much physical effort.

However, the best results are achieved through even slow, more relaxed concentration.

TV typically depicts supposed money-making exercises to enthuse the masses and create social trends, and in this instance drive up prices in the classic car sector. Yet all too often the reality of the time, cost and effort required doesn't accurately 'stack-up' as a profit seeking exercise.

For the most part the business model of piecemeal classic car restoration is rarely a money-making exercise unless either for rare vehicles at the 'top-end' that have high demand, or for specific models awaiting their demand-upturn bought at the right time and at the right low cost (invariably meaning much work). Or when the business is so well financially supported and large enough to enable a mix of  client projects  from light reconditioning to full restorations . This the template behind the rise of various auto-manufacturer's own business  strategy expansion into the classic sphere, with finance, time and  authentic origin.

Neither do most television shows to convey the true essence of such undertakings, mostly done by men who do it as a personal hobby and/or challenge. It is a 'journey' in itself and for the satisfaction of completion at some unknown future date. 

But there is an exception in TV-land, something approaching the central message of 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', and that was 'The Re-Assembler', presented by James May of Top Gear fame.

It provided a deliberately slow, peaceful, and considered atmosphere for the re-assembly of various yesteryear consumer products, spanning: a model locomotive, electric guitar, petrol lawnmower, monkey-bike (motorcycle), GPO telephone and other items.

It was produced as a light-hearted social antidote to the madness of modern time-compressed, unthinking and reactive, modern-life; the antithesis of today when Britain itself (through both rose tinted spectacles and sepia image) supposedly felt as slow as a long Sunday afternoon.

May – himself nicknamed 'Captain Slow' – provided the perfect insight into the original high-mindedness of the (mostly men) who created well designed and manufactured 'quality' products for all ages and interests.

He reflected the high-idealism of what could be called proper industry, when company reputations were built on long-lasting goods available to an ever expanding client-base, between the 1920s and 1960s.

'Integrity' was the watchword, built into the product, into the company and into the people.

And it is very likely this idealism, of time taken for a job well done, that compels the 'men (and women) in sheds'.

Yet of course such people are rarely widely known, even if the  those who do exist might be said to form the ethical backbone of Britain and elsewhere.

So, to find a true evocation of the RM Pirsig message, one must seek-out the very best from on-line video content-makers, those who operate in the realms of vehicle deconstruction / re-design / reconstruction.

The best by far seen to date has been the project build from 'Bad Obsession Motorsport., with their wholly entertaining and completely absorbing 'Project Binky'.

The endeavour itself relayed with passion, humour and modesty.

It involves the efforts of two men located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, who are jokingly depicted as 'master and apprentice', and who on a part-time weekend and holidays basis, seek to fit the body-shell of an original Austin Mini with the engine, gearbox and 4WD drivetrain of a Toyota Celica GT4 Turbo.

Whilst others within the Mini-sphere have updated with off-the-shelf upgrades or gone as far as to install far easier transplants, typically the eponymous Honda VTEC or Suzuki Hayabusa engine, the endemic aim of Project Binky goes far further and far deeper..

It is as much about the process as the outcome, if not more so.

With very detailed reconfiguration of the engine-bay, front-end, front bulk-head, under-floor, rear bulk-head and most other engineered 'hard-points', it includes an enormous amount of necessary (and debatable unnecessary) custom-made, and heavily adapted, parts, from the Mini, the Celica and a host of other vehicles and new shop-bought parts.

Moreover, the ambition demands more than simply practical know-how, but periodically delves into the STEM subjects, such as when needing to use trigonometry to calculate the required swept-area of the front and rear screens, or to calculate the volumes of a newly fabricated petrol tank, HVAC system and hydraulic reservoirs.

Thus requiring intellectual inquiry and conclusions.

Humour and self-mockery are constant elements throughout, well illustrated by the use of their version of 'CAD'. Normally applied to Computer Aided Design, its the synonym for 'Cardboard Aided Design' that describes the cardboard templates (that themselves become origami artforms) so well appreciated by the amateur or professional repairing or renewing body-shell components.

Of specific note is the deliberate slow pace of progress, which itself is a welcome antithesis to the frenetic pace of the modern world. This because of the time limitations available given their other professional and family responsibilities. Hence episodes appear as and when ready, not to a prescribed schedule and time-frame.

Yet, it is precisely the correlation of the time required to achieve such micro-detailed substance, and the similar quality of video-production, that rewards the viewer. Something to truly ogle, in the old and prototypical sense of the word.

'Project Binky' is quite unlike anything else depicted on television or Youtube for its adherence to the innate ideal of 'true quality', the striving for which provides meaning and satisfaction for many likewise automotive obsessed addicted viewers.

A Utopian world hardly exists, but if people would choose to view and appreciate life though greater introspection and aforethought – known in engineering design philosophy terms as 'QFD' (Quality Functional Deployment process) – one day it might.

Time for QFD in the nation's analysis of Eco-Industry 4.0, supporting National and Regional Planning, use of financial resources and human education and talent, and within ourselves to become higher quality people.