Straddling the line between art, product design, and activism, artist Michael Rakowitz’s 1998 paraSITE project is often used as a teaching tool by slowLab in order to demonstrate the far-reaching implications of slow design. Using plastic bags, tape, and other easily accessible materials, Rakowitz constructed inflatable homes for the homeless that make parasitic use of a building’s heating ducts for warmth. “A tactical response to a seemingly un-responsive or unsupportive environment”, paraSITE confirms slowLab’s assertion that slow design can serve as an impetus for “individual, socio-cultural, and environmental” well-being.
     And despite the name, Strauss insists that slow design doesn’t aim to “eradicate speed”. Rather, the many projects that are fostered within the slowLab think tank are an attempt to “find a balance within a full spectrum of slow and fast”. In doing so, slowLab is steadily achieving its aims of radical social change.