Dupli.Casa by J. Mayer H.
Core friends Archinect have launched a new feature called 'ShowCase' and to kick things off, they've started with Dupli.Casa located in Ludwigsburg, Germany by Jürgen Mayer H. Completed 2006-07, the villa is based on the footprint of the house that was originally built on the site in 1984.
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Superstruct, the first MMO forecasting game
On 6 October, the Institute for the Future will launch Superstruct, the world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game.
This is more than just a game that allows for speculation of the future but actively solicits you to work on the problems we might face and how to keep them from destroying our planet.
Watch the five videos detailing the super threats and read the Global Extinction Awareness System report before you get started.
More background on O'Reilly Radar
via Smart Mobs
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Modeling the future: design or fiction? Will Wright speaks with the SETI Institute's Jill Tarter
What do an astrobiologist and game developer have in common? Well, if the game developer is the legendary Will Wright and the astrobiologist is Jill Tarter, then the answer is quite a bit--from visionary predictions of the role of artificial intelligence in the near and distant future to the potential of finding intelligent technology beyond our planet. Wright, who became a regular visitor to Tarter's labs at the SETI Institute while developing his recently released game Spore, sat down earlier this month with Tarter for seed.com's Seed Salon. Wright and Tarter's discussion weaves in and out of science and fiction, illustrating how slim the border between the two can be and how the imagination can allow a better view of both. As Wright explains:
I think of games as being an amplifier for the imagination of the players, in the same way that a car amplifies our legs or a house amplifies our skin. Not only are we able to build much more elaborate models on a computer, which can keep track of all the numbers and the repercussions, but we're also able to share and communicate those models to others. It becomes a tool of self expression.
So if you were looking for an excuse to spend more time playing Spore, here you go.
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Coroflot Creative Seeds: What does Alexander Romer look for in a designer?
Alexander Romer, the collaborative architect who helped Collectif EXYZT bring the Southwark Lido project to London earlier this year, has worked with a wide range of creative collectives, and an even wider range of designers and architects:
Whoever I hire would need to make space for others; interpret and advance an initial idea, and also, of course, take pleasure in developing projects with others. But probably the most important trait would have to be patience: a collective decision is often followed by the disappearance of some of the members...
Read the full interview
More Creative Seeds
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Ferrari motorcycle concept
The V4 Ferarri motorcycle concept (by Israeli ID'er Amir Glinik) is cool, but to me it's the opposite of fried chicken: I think it's better with the skin off.
via industrial & art
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Design criticism for the 21st century
Is "Good Design" enough? The recent emergence of design criticism and writing programs at a number of design schools suggests that the answer might just be, "no." This past fall New York City's School of Visual Arts (SVA) added an MFA in Design Criticism to their range of studio-based MFAs, in October of this year the University of the Arts London will launch its new MA in Design Writing Criticism, and in March 2009 Victoria University of Wellington's School of Design (NZ) will debut a new undergraduate degree program in design criticism. These programs and others like them represent a much needed response from within the design community to the growing presence of design across popular media, from mainstream news stories on Target's latest design conquests to the proliferation of lifestyle magazines promoting a popular (if watered down) kind of design literacy. Alice Twemlow, co-chair of SVA's D-Crit program, said in a recent interview for subtraction.com:
To me it's clear there's momentum gathering around the need to clarify design criticism's purposes and processes. D-Crit will work alongside these other initiatives to improve the quality of public discussion about design. Our specific goal is to help provide a new generation of critics with the tools to generate writing and thinking that is imaginative, historically informed and socially accountable.
While architecture and the fine arts have a long tradition of theoretical and critical discourse, the comparatively young design disciplines are just beginning to establish a supporting body of critical writing. The slow development of criticism within design may in fact be related to the very concept of "Good Design," which traditionally has prioritized rationalism, functionalism, and aesthetics over a deeper recognition of the broader cultural and contextual implications of design. But the reign of "Good Design" may be coming to a close as the discursive floodgates open, fueled by design criticism graduates with new ways of thinking and writing about design.
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4 billion mobile phone users by the end of 2008
The world's love affair with the mobile phone shows no sign of abating, with the head of the UN's agency for information and communication technologies predicting that there will be 4 billion mobile phone users - or more than half of the planet's estimated 6.7 billion inhabitants - by the end of this year.
Hamadoun Touré, secretary general of the International Telecom Union, said growth has been driven by consumer take-up in developing markets such as China, India and Latin America.
>> Read article
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Nokia's vision of the near future
Speaking of communication, Nokia developed Agenda 2015 (pdf) as a vision of how the physical world will fuse with the digital world seven years from now. It's a look at how people will be connecting not only with one another, but also with every place and thing in the world, as well as the surprising ways in which they will use these connections to enhance their lives.
Over the coming years, Nokia's research will focus on eight areas identified in Agenda 2015. Together, they explore the experiences people will have seven years out, the technology and interfaces they will use, and the infrastructure required to make it happen. computing, and device integration.
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Why Business People Need to Think More Like Designers Think
The Rotman School of Management, part of the University of Toronto, brings their Design Thinking Experts series to New York next week, with an event on Oct. 2. The line up features John Maeda (President of RISD), Roger Martin (Dean of the Rotman School), and Tyler Brule (editor Monocle Magazine), debating this topic for an hour or two, followed by a reception. This is a great opportunity for designers to here some smart folks discuss what is certainly a hot topic, these days more than ever.
The Rotman School regularly produces events at their main campus, and occasionally in cities around the world, discussing the intersection of design and business. A complete listing can be found on their site.
Oct. 2, starting at 4PM
Thomson Reuters Building, 3 Times Square, New York
Regitration here
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Innovation by design
Innovation by Design is an Irish programme of workshops, research and mentoring, run by the Centre for Design Innovation, aimed at business growth through user-led design.
The programme enabled the companies and organisations involved -- a precision toolmaker, an agricultural co-operative, a software developer, an educational institute, an airport, and a heavy machinery manufacturer -- to launch new brands; generate hundreds of ideas; explore new markets; create prototypes for new products; redesign their product development processes; deliver new and enhanced services to their customers; brief and contract design agencies; and in one case, to rename their company.
>> Read the report with all six case studies (pdf)
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Stefan Sagmeister installation removed by Amsterdam Police
Apparently Police in Amsterdam didn't fully comprehend Sagmeister's contribution to the ExperimentaDesign festival removing his installation — a sentence made from 250,000 Euro cent coins — within 24 hours of it launching. Scott Burnham, creator and curator of the Urban Play project for Droog Design describes the events on his blog.
It seems that the Amsterdam police were called by a resident of one of the overlooking buildings early Sunday morning to report that someone was "stealing an artwork". As the story goes, people were pocketing a few of the coins, which was also expected, but things got a bit out of hand when a resident saw this happening. So the police responded, and, in a rather bizarre instance of police efficiency, they proceeded to "secure" the artwork, by sweeping up the entire installation.
Police are now willing to return the coins and Burnham is seeking suggestions for what to do with them. ExperimentaDesign will run through till November 2nd, surely enough time for a witty response.
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Designism 3.0 at the Art Directors Club
It's that time of year again: The past two Designism events at the Art Directors Club in NYC have been provocative, maddening, fun, profane, and yes, enlightening, so don't miss version 3.0 of the annual event. Here are the details:
Join the third annual gathering of leading creatives committed to social activism and instigating change through media. The evening promises controversy, conversation and includes a moderated debate, lightening round presentations and the launch of a new support system to help put your ideas into action.
The evening takes place on Thursday, October 2, 2008, ADC Gallery,
106 West 29th Street, NYC.
5:30-6:45pm
Sappi Ideas that Matter Exhibition and Opening
Drinks & Snacks
FREE with RSVP (for opening only)
7:00-9:15pm
Designism 3.0
$30 Members, $40 Non-Members
Design activism deconstructed! Participate in an evening of discussion, debate, and presentations on Design Activism produced by Brian Collins, COLLINS, and Benjamin Palmer, The Barbarian Group.
Click here for the lineup. All details and RSVP are at the ADC site.
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White Paper Calling for "Nutrition Labels" for Houses
Green Prefab Architect Michelle Kaufmann has released a white paper calling for "Nutrition Labels" for houses. The white paper highlights the need for a universal sustainability labeling standard that would empower homebuyers to make smarter, more sustainable homebuying decisions.
"Nutrition labeling allows consumers to purchase food according to the quality of its nutritional content. We want homebuyers to be empowered with the same sort of information when it comes to making a decision about what house to live in," said Michelle Kaufmann, founder and chairwoman of Michelle Kaufmann Companies. "We have to start holding the houses we live in to the same standards as the food we eat. Our habits concerning both are vital to our own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of the environment."
The white paper is available for download at www.mkd-arc.com
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More comfortable flights: the Airborne Hotel concept
It sounds too good to be true, so let's face it, it probably is: The Airborne Hotel concept--another nifty entry in the Create the Future contest--purports to increase airplane capacity while affording more individual comfort.
The Airborne Hotel, or abh, is an innovative seating system for wide-body aircraft that optimizes the available cabin space, ensuring a fully-reclining seat-bed for every passenger on board, while maintaining--and even increasing--passenger capacity of aircraft.The design's functionality is based on the bi-level configuration of its seating modules, which enables the utilization of the otherwise empty overhead space in an aircraft cabin. Each module is designed to weigh about the same as a conventional airplane seat; this is possible because the modules' honeycomb structure allows for multiple points of anchoring and fastening to the aircraft's fuselage, thus enabling the use of lighter materials. Another element of the design is its unique implementation of three aisles throughout the passenger cabin; this feature is essential to the design's efficiency, and also increases corridor space by 50%.
I'll tell you right now, I could deal with constant flight delays and being trapped on the runway if I could sleep through the whole ordeal. If this concept hits prime time, I'd look forward to the extra shuteye.
via the airline blog
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Android phone officially unveiled today
Today T-Mobile pulls the wraps off the G1, the first smartphone to use Google's Android operating system.
The G1 is something of a reactive product that targets both the iPhone and the Blackberry; the G1's touchscreen is meant to rival or at least compare to the former, while the free, no-data-plan-required Gmail access targets the latter (Blackberry users pay at least $15 for e-mail access). The addition of a slide-out QWERTY keyboard should also appeal to Sidekick users.
Google's Android operating system is meant to usher in a new generation of smartphones, with Motorola, LG, Samsung and others all slated to release phones (of different designs, naturally) featuring the system.
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The New School appoints Bruce Nussbaum Professor of Innovation and Design
The New School has announced that Bruce Nussbaum, one of the leading thinkers and writers about the intersections of innovation and design, has been appointed Visiting Professor of Innovation and Design. He will work broadly across The New School, with a faculty "home base" in the School of Design Strategies at Parsons The New School for Design, which houses degree programs in design and management, integrated design and environmental studies.
Nussbaum will surely find a highly stimulating environment in an excellent university so defined by its rich history of dissent and democracy, European exile culture and social research. In short, we couldn't be more pleased.
Congratulations, Bruce.
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London Design Festival 2008: All posts in one place
And finally, check out the complete list of Core77's event coverage of London Design Week 2008 in one easy-to-browse place.
London Design Festival 2008: 100% Design: Is Design Sobering Up?
London Design Festival 2008: 100% Design
London Design Festival 2008: 100% Design: Good Design Manifesto
London Design Festival 2008: Plastic Fantastic
London Design Festival 2008: Tent London
London Design Festival 2008: Changing Dimensions
London Design Festival 2008: Create Berlin
London Design Festival 2008: Cardboard Cafe
NEW THIS WEEK
London Design Festival 2008: Designersblock: Selfridges Window Displays
London Design Festival 2008: Complex Cities
London Design Festival 2008: Tom Dixon Factory
London Design Festival 2008: Foundry Popup Store
London Design Festival 2008: Heather Gillespie's glass creations
London Design Festival 2008: Designersblock: Seoul Young Designers Pavillion
London Design Festival 2008: Designersblock
VIDEOS:
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: What's on Wattson?
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: Mathias Hahn at OKAY Studio at The Aram Gallery
London Design Festiva 2008: Video Drive-By: Hiroko Shiratori at OKAY Studio at The Aram Gallery
NEW THIS WEEK
London Design Festival 2008: 100% Design: Video Drive-By: Hector Serrano's Waterdrop
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: Designersblock
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: Designersblock: Gnocchi Bar by Arabeschi di Latte
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: Tent London: Theodosis Zeniou's Domestic Landscape
London Design Festival: Video Drive-By: Tent London: Custhom's Thermachromatic Lamp Shade
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: Designersblock: Seung Kwan No's Digital Painting
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: Designersblock: Nosigner's BentoBox
London Design Festival 2008: Video Drive-By: Designersblock: Haidee Drew's Cog Containers
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Special thanks to Mark Vanderbeeken and Margaret Maile for their contributions to this week's newsletter!
Please share the Monday Morning Must Read with colleagues, clients and collaborators. Many email programs do not forward messages in their original format, so please use this link: http://www.designdirectory.com/blog/newsletter
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