Sustainable services planning. Methods supporting the design of cultural exhibitions

The sustainable design of product systems has been addressed in numerous research works. However, studies regarding the sustainability of services are fewer and they are focused mostly on the study of environmental aspects during the service provision stage. Regarding cultural services, the application of sustainability principles in their design process is increasingly required due to reasons such as environmental awareness, social responsibility, visitors' preferences and innovation strategies. Although up to date a limited number of initiatives have been promoted. The objectives of this work are the description of a specific sustainable design method based on the development of systematic tasks and supported on three complementary approaches, and the application of this method to the design of two different types of cultural exhibitions. The design of an itinerary exhibition, which is developed in a sheltered indoor space, and an exhibition, which is developed in the streets of a big city, are, respectively, carried out. The sustainability performance of different design alternatives are valued in each case by analyzing the incidence of those systems, activities, and stakeholders involved along the entire service development and using not only environmental but also socio-economic indicators. Thus, this research work aims at providing the appropriate methodological support to designers of cultural services and managers of cultural institutions, to carry out more sustainable projects.