Back to the Big Apple, at its shiniest. First– thanks to our friends at ICFF, Artemides, Kartell, CITE, Design Within Reach, Blu Dot and the muNY Exhibition. Best!

BY THE WAY
If you look closely in the gallery above, you’ll spot Yves Behar from Fuse Project, Metropolis Editor Susan Szenasy, designers Manuel Saez and Colin Nourie, Scott Henderson, Stefan Spoerl from Humanscale and Nasahn Sheppard, Charlie Paradise and Jorn Vicari from Smart Design. Nice seeing you, folks!

WHIRLWIND IN CHINA

Hi Folks– Just a quick note on our progress over 15 days in China.

Spark started in Beijing (BJ), landing amidst the annual Spring sandstorms. NOT nice, spent two of 4 days cooped up in Gehua Hotel, although truthfully, I needed the time to write proposals. We’ve been asked to help with programming for the BJ Design Week.

So the only touristy stuff we had time for was an exquisite meal of (what else!) Peking Duck at the famous Da Dong restaurant. Truly up to its billing (thank you Anthony Bourdain). Our Spark winner and good friend, Joaquin Huang shared some good time together. He graduated GAFA and jumped right to Nokia/Beijing. Bright fellow! We also visited and lunched at the lovely Opposite House Hotel near Dong Yue Miao. This property was created by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, whose exterior “stuns with an emerald green glass overlay.” Well, it was pretty nice, and the food was great in their courtyard cafe… and over the courtyard door was an admonition writ in stone, suggesting we all nurture our inner Spark. I’d have to agree!

Next stop– Guangzhou (GZ), in the Pearl River Delta, China’s vast manufacturing center. It is also the base of SparkChina, our cooperation to promote SparkPro competition entries, Our friends at CitiExpo and in the GZ government made us very welcome indeed, with proposals of deepening our involvement and bringing more elements of Spark to the region and country. We also spent quality time with Prof. Tong and Asst Prof. Haishan Deng of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts– they are good friends and offer wonderful insight about Chinese design and designers.

This morning I’m looking out at bare brown fields of rubble from the 26th floor of our Shanghai Holiday Inn Express. The hotel is somewhat near downtown, next to the train station, and all but surrounded by construction debris. Jackhammers rattle day and night (hence the 26th floor!) and residents struggle to stay cheery– through slightly strained smiles they predict all will be finished in one month, in time for the World Expo. They’ve been under this duress for over a year, and I believe their relief is at last at hand. (BTW– this is a very nice, modernist, spare but cool hotel… let’s see–US $60 here, or $400 at the W. Hmmmmm.) (And only $38 during this blasted construction.)

Interestingly– ALL construction stops May 1, for six months, during the World Expo. Better get cracking, boys!

So, best be getting on with the day– first another proposal for BJ, another for GZ, then meetings with some great Shanghai design resources: Cathy Hwang and Rudy Muller at CBI and Parson Ge at PG Design & Branding. Tomorrow we are off with Prof. Jan Von Holstein to visit a brand new College of Design & Innovation at Tongji University. Jan sits on the Board and teaches at this interesting school, the creation of a stellar international academic committee.

Then we’re on to Hong Kong, for more rounds of research, friendship, Design and probably, sigh, proposals. This is shaping up into an exciting year for Spark’s international program, with prizes, awards shows, exhibitions and more.

All Best
–Peter

DIRECTION FINDERS

San Francisco. Mid-February. 57 degrees, a little foggy. Spark Interface Council met to chart 2010 roll-out of ProSpark & PopSpark. Scene: war room at Autodesk Design Gallery, home of USA Spark Exhibition, Jury & Awards Show.

On-board the Sparknwagon:
-Drew Takahashi, Filmmaker, Founder of Colossal Pictures
-Todd Lappin, Editor, websites like Cnet, CNN and Wired
-Nate McLaughlin, VP at FGI Interactive (home of Spark)
-Erin Bradnor, Autodesk Database Interpretor & Spark Sector Commander
-Nirman Bisla, Spark Energy Manager & Fallen Architect
-Clark Kellogg, Collective Invention, Spark Chief Thinking Officer
-Yours truly, Founder
-Kit Hinrichs, Foundation of Spark
Ronna Tannebaum, Margeigh Novotny, Maria Giudice and Joe Kwong couldn’t make it, and Jared Hendler stayed stuck in NY snow. But we had their input and soldiered on.

Clark, Todd & Nirman

What a fun meeting premise– taking a cool hard look at the current web setup, a version of which will continue to serve the ProSpark side– and imagineering the needs and look of the PopSpark community– to be created from whole cloth.

We want PopSpark to be a warm & friendly place you check into every day. We want the competition Challenges to come from the community (the POPS). (See http://twitter.com/sparkawards). We want the POPS to build a pool of challenge ideas and rank them, and the most POPular become the current challenge. That way, we can focus the community on one challenge at a time.

Sites like DIGG and REDDIT are much simpler– you just submit a link that you like. We want something that the POP creates. That’s a massive difference in commitment and involvement– which is wonderful if we can help it happen.

It would be interesting to list all the many ways a POP can interact with the community: 
–Submit Challenges
–Vote on ”
–Comment on ”
–work on a design
–form up with others and collaborate on a design
–Submit a design
–vote on ”
–Comment on ”
–View rankings of ”
–Adjust/add to or otherwise improve their entry
–Spread the word, lobby for votes
What else, folks?

Drew View?

Best!
–Peter

SPARKS OVER NEW YORK

Recently arranged a rare mid-winter SparkMeet with Council members Brent Oppenheimer, OH+CO Principal; Susan Szenasy, Editor in Chief, Metropolis Magazine and Manuel Saez, Principal of his own design firm (and creator of the award-winning CMYKelectric bike). We met on a brisk, brassy day at Monster Sushi on 23rd Street. These are always interesting exchanges–not least because we are good friends, so there is much catching up to do.

Susan is always a delight–another world-citizen like Brent, she brings the perspective and keen eye of many years of design teaching, criticism and journalism. She’s a child of the old forms, print and fonts and paper (like self!) yet adroitly expresses herself in the latest media to loyal audiences of all ages. Although all magazines struggle, new forms are on the horizon that will afford the continuation of professional writing and design.

(As Brent points out– the recently launched Apple Tablet– the iPad, is the harbinger of new interactive media tools that provide COLOR screens, ease of downloads, various payment schemes, thousands of apps and print combined with music, video, wifi and mobile. Many devices will follow.

In the real world, Brent also recommended the Design Indaba (its conference just took place), the South African organization that sprang into action as the country embraced democracy. Some wonderful people, work and ideas. “All very pertinent to Spark as well,” Brent commented. designindaba.com/

We quizzed Manuel about his CMYK bike plans. “Manuel–What a courageous decision– you’re a designer, taking his product to manufacture and market himself!” Manuel pointed out that this is not unusual– Tom Dair at Smart Design and Bob Brunner at Ammunition frequent these swirling waters. As Tom once mentioned… “Sometimes it pays off. Other times, you just want to forget about it.” On an optimistic note, Manuel has floated a plan (contact Manuel @ manuelsaez.com for more info), has secured manufacturing and is engaged in early marcom efforts. Sweet bike– put Spark on the mailing list!

So then to Spark. We focused on three projects and their linkages– 1. the new public Spark competition– how it works, who could partner, defining success; 2. the build-out of the Sparks Over China success– more/better! Plus logical brand extensions like touring exhibitions and educational sessions; 3. the evolution of the Spark Awards– a continuing effort to polish and finesse every aspect, from outreach to systems to judging and awards. These are giant subjects, and consume many of our Council and Board meetings. Why do we do this? And why do so many brilliant designers of all levels of experience spend the time and effort to help? Because we use these meetings to guide and plan changes. The idea is to remain relevent, with an ear to the ground, listening to the winds of change, chance and need. We Spark when you Spark.

Next Meets: San Francisco in February. UK in March. Shanghai & Beijing in April… God willing.

Best!
–Peter

ENTERED, JUDGED & CELEBRATED
And we were SO busy getting it on! The third Spark was a solid success, by any measure. The work was of excellent caliber, mostly aspirational and inspiring. The jury was challenged with an exciting array of designs in many media, from ceramics to steel. Check it out at the Sparksite:

Visit http://www.sparkawards.com/Galleries/09_Winners/09_Jury_Pix.htm

and http://www.sparkawards.com/Galleries/09_Celebration.htm

SO–WHERE’S SPARK BEEN LATELY?
Good question! Sparking, of course. After the incredible climax of the Spark Judging and Awards Celebration, we dug into the complex process of awards trophy and certificate production. Essentially this is all hand-work, with something unique for all the finalists and winners.

But adding to the fun was the production of the Sparks Over China Exhibition and mini conference for early December. In mid-November we pulled together the Spark winners– hi-res images or real pieces, for air shipment to China. Plus every conceivable media from mug-shots of the winners to videos, documentation, etc. This went into the able hands of our CitiExpo partner in China, Ready Zhang and our great task-ms-tress, Mabel Mai, who got the job done. We flew out on the 29th– first to fulfill our happy duties to the Global Design Network in Hong Kong.

GDN is part of the giant Business of Design Week, one of our favorite design expos and highly recommended. Fellow delegates included good friend Julia Chiu, of Japan’s Good Design Awards (and soon to be President of ICOGRADA), Geoff Fitzpatrick, head of the Australian Design Institute and Kigge Hvid, CEO of the INDEX Awards. Then we were off to the Guangzhou Design Fair, for some real Sparkn’ Chinese-style.
This delegate- stuff is not easy. One is kept busy from 830am to 11pm, in a constant whirl of meeting politicians, dignitaries, banquets, award-shows (we handed out trophies at 4 of them!), TV and magazine interviews, speeches and jury-duty for the Kapok award.
Our Spark mini-conference went very well. After the PK pitch (with excellent translation by Ding Zhong), Professor Tong, President of Design at the Gungzhou Academy of Arts related his tale of journeying to America, visiting many of the top design schools and judging Spark.

Also Asst. Prof and 2008 Spark winner Haishan Deng (on the left) spoke about the experience of Sparking, and why more Chinese designers should be entering competitions.

Then we handed out Finalist Certificates. These folks were SO happy! But BEST of all was the exhibition of Sparks. All of ‘em, from the last three years. Quite an accomplishment to get everything together–especially 09– in such a short time. We were so proud to see this great work being honored in China.


The work was in display cases or mounted on silk panels by students from GAFA, working with the Citiexpo team. Just beautiful. Great job.

So it went, so it goes. Blowing in the wind.

Back in Hong Kong, we found time for some deep thinking about our friendships and progress in this exciting land. Without getting too blogged- down, I think much is done for peace and cooperation–and progress and freedom– in weeks like this. So maybe we should all just get out there and meet people and make plans and just DO It. Because you can. And it helps. And you’ll get rich– inside. Thanks for the Sparks, China!

BACK TO BASICS–SOME SIMPLE STUFF ABOUT THE SPARKAWARDS

LOOK-SEE
The 2009 Winners Galleries are full of fascinating and inspiring work. Visit:
http://www.sparkawards.com/09_Winners.htm

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
We have all just been through an amazingly tough year. We hope and pray that the worst is now in the past, we’ve passed our trial and the new year will be happy, sustainable and prosperous. All best!

2010 SPARKS: ENTER ONE
This year will be an exciting adventure for Spark and Design. In our continuing search for fresh and relevent design interaction, we are launching PopSpark this Spring. Can’t publish many details yet, but PopSpark will encourage personal creativity and focus on specific arts and media throughout the year. It will compliment the original SparkAwards “ProSpark”, which continues in the Fall.

2010 SPARKS: ENTER BOTH
Which Spark is right for you? PopSpark is a forum for individuals, who may respond to a creative challenge in a specific discipline they enjoy working in. It is not for corporate or design firms. The Spark Design & Architecture Awards– ProSparks are the home for all professional firms and entrants– and aspiring pro’s.

ALL DESIGN
ALL DESIGNERS
WELCOME!

SPONSORS & FRIENDS
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FOUNDATION TEAM
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LINKED YET?
Our new group is now over 415 members. Join the buzz!
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1815249&trk=anet_ug_hm

OR HOW ‘BOUT THAT TWITTER! JOIN US THERE
Spark’s intrepid Communications Director, Mark Charmer, guided the creation of: http://twitter.com/sparkawards

CONTACT SPARK
Spark may be reached at +1.914.481.6106 or via email at info @ sparkawards.com. Visit www.sparkawards.com for more information. For competition details, try the ever-popular FAQ section at http://www.sparkawards.com/Call_for_Entries/FAQ.htm

SPARK WILL BE BACK SOON
Take care of yourselves!

July 23, 2009 by Clark Kellogg

It’s hard to find a person who is against sustainability. I can think of only two people I know. Sustainability is in the same league as Motherhood and Apple Pie. But in most conversations, sustainability’s approval rating nosedives somewhere between 14 and 31 seconds later. That’s usually the time when the gauzy notion of sustainability inevitably gives way to defining what it is (30 point drop in approval rating) or doing something about it (free fall).

What’s going on here? For one, humans are good at using our big brains to know a lot. But it doesn’t always translate into doing a lot. Second, we are on sustainability overwhelm. Staying current is like drinking from a fire hose – everyday.  And that’s hard to swallow.  Third, amid this explosive growth in knowledge and information the very meaning of sustainability has been diluted to the point of meaning just about anything, and thus meaning nothing.

We all support motherhood, apple pie and sustainability. We know what the first two mean and we know how to create them. Not so for sustainability. Even the Brundtland Commission’s definition – development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs  – is difficult to apply to the here-and-now of one’s own life. Paper or plastic?

Without an explicit shared agreement about the meaning of sustainability even the well-informed and well meaning among us cannot make much progress. Indeed, this lack of clarity enables avoiding the most neglected problem in sustainable design today: time. There are many projections about when catastrophic environmental events will take place (GHG, ice shelf melting, sea-level rise, water wars). It’s hard to know how accurate they are and it doesn’t matter. The plain fact is that we don’t have time to wait and find out if the projections are correct. What matters is taking smart bold steps now because here’s what we do know: the longer it takes to start meaningful healing of the earth, the less likely we are to have a viable future. In short, we don’t have time to waste.

Is there any hope? Yes, and its not false hope. Design – and design thinking – as a set of solution-seeking tools is spreading to every corner of the world. Indeed, we are all designers now and optimism is an onboard skill of designers (sustainable or otherwise).  More importantly, healing the earth is igniting the largest movement of human energy in the history of the planet. It is a movement without precedent; amorphous, unorganized, instinctive, and blessedly uncontrollable. Literally billions of people are on the job. It is already the single largest public works project ever.

If we can get as good at making sustainability as we are at making motherhood and making apple pie we just could be very happy, be well-fed and live long, balanced lives. Cloth or disposable?

THINK LIKE A DESIGNER

June 13, 2009 by Clark Kellogg

“Everywhere you look today, Design has taken on new meaning. Design isn’t just about decoration; it’s a critical component of how we communicate, collaborate and compete. But behind the “look and feel” of any good design are a host of carefully conceived principles; fundamental propositions that define the essence of the design. The trick is to learn those underlying rules–to think like designers.”

- “Design Rules,” Fast Co. Mag, October, 1999

Two things about this quote stand out. First, it recognizes design as a

useful process beyond object-making. And, it was published ten years ago. It was also ten years ago that I started teaching a course at UC Berkeley’s architecture school called, “Beyond Buildings; New Sites for Designers.” The purpose was to help students understand what habits of mind they come to know (often tacitly) through the design studio sequence of classes. Then, we looked at how those skills can be used to make things other than buildings. Over time, that work has boiled down to a list of qualities – or habits of mind – that one could arguably title “How to Think Like a Designer.”

It would be foolhardy to claim this list is absolute or even complete. It has started many conversations and some debates. We are reproducing it here in that spirit. For now, here is the whole list. Your comments and insights are welcome.

Design Thinking: Clark Kellogg’s Ten Habits of Mind:

1. Focused Creativity

2. Generous Collaboration

3. Drawing and Thinking in Pictures

4. Comfort with Ambiguity

5. Non-linear Information Processing

6. Multiple Solutions

7. Learning by Doing

8. Communicate for Understanding

9. Charrette Culture: Shaped by constraints and bounded by time

10. Curiosity is better than Judgment

Clark Kellogg, Partner, Collective Invention

From his perspective as a consultant, architect and graphic designer, Clark holds forth on Design At Large in the D/Views Blog. Clark Kellogg is a designer and partner at Collective Invention, found HERE

We had one heck of a 2009 competition last year, but adding to the fun was the production of the Sparks Over China Exhibition and mini conference for early December. Here’s the story:

Mid-November, we pulled together the Spark assets– hi-res images or real pieces, for air shipment to China. Plus every conceivable media from mug-shots of the winners to videos, documentation, etc.

This went into the able hands of our CitiExpo partner in China, Ready Zhang and our great project manager, Mabel Mai, who got the job done. We flew out on the 29th– first to fulfill our happy duties to the Global Design Network in Hong Kong.

We love this city.

Part of the giant Business of Design Week, one of our favorite design expos and HIGHLY recommended. Here’s Victor Lo, major player in the GDN and BODW and able event director Amy Chow.

Fellow delegates included good friend  Julia Chiu, of Japan’s Good Design Awards (and soon President of ICOGRADA).

We were happy to see our Asia-mentor and pal, Geoff Fitzpatrick, head of the Australian Design Institute.

And Kigge Hvid,  CEO of kindred-spirit aspirational INDEX Awards told us about new INDEX efforts to incubate good design.

Then– a quick train  zip to the even-gianter
Guangzhou Design Fair, for some real Sparkn’ Chinese-style!

I love this slide!

This delegate-stuff is not easy. One is kept busy from 830am to 11pm, in a constant whirl of meeting politicians, dignitaries, banquets, award-shows (we handed out trophies at 4 of them–gadzooks), TV interviews,   (Here’s David Grossman explaining the work of the Israel Design Works), magazine interviews, speeches and jury-duty for the Kapok award.

Press conferences are fun too. I had a nice view–
of the Mayor’s welcoming speech, followed by the delightful custom of loud explosions of confetti (the cleaners LOVE this I’ll bet)

Our Spark mini-conference went very well. After the PK pitch (with excellent translation by Ding Zhong), Professor Tong, President of Design at the Gungzhou Academy of Arts, related his tale of journeying to America, visiting many of the top design schools and judging Spark. Great stuff.

Also Asst. Prof and 2008 Spark winner Haishan Deng (on the left) spoke about the experience of Sparking, and why more Chinese designers should be entering competitions.

Then we handed out Finalist Certificates. These folks were SO happy!

Ah but BEST of all was our exhibition of Sparks. All of ‘em, from the last three years. Quite an accomplishment to get everything together–especially 09– in such a short time. We were so proud to see this great work being honored in China.

The work was in display cases or mounted on silk panels by students from GAFA, working with the Citiexpo team. Just beautiful. Great job.

Here’s a great group we’ve grown accustomed to: Jan von Holstein, and next to me Prof. Tong and Johan Adam Linneballe. Friends for life (count David Grossman in here, too).

It was a fine experience. We’ll be back soon, to march out the Spark exhibition and story to the other great cities of China and Korea.

So it went, so it goes. Blowing in the wind.

Re-zipping  back to Hong Kong, the wind at our back
we found a nice view out our window  and time for some deep thinking about our friendships and progress in this exciting land. Without getting too blogged-down, I think much is done for peace and cooperation–and progress and freedom– in weeks like this. So maybe we should all just get out there more, and meet people and make plans and just DO It. Because you can. And it helps. And you’ll get rich– inside.

The wrap-up. What a finale to this visit. (Actually, ALSO a nice start for the Asian Games) Thanks for the Sparks, China!

The End of the Beginning.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

PROFESSOR TONG HUIMING JOINS SPARK JURY
During a whirlwind tour of American design schools, Prof. Tong, Director of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, will take part in the Sparkawards Jury. Tong is one of the pioneers of Chinese industrial design and design education and a strong friend of Spark. http://www.sparkawards.com/Call_for_Entries/Jury/Tong.htm

SPARKS OVER CHINA
For many months, Spark has been engaged in a fascinating exploration of China and Hong Kong. In the course of this adventure we have made many discoveries and friends. We are happy and excited to announce a new partnership– a co-operation with CitiExpo, the highly regarded organization that produces the Guangzhou Design Week and the Designweek Award.

CitiExpo will undertake development of SparkChina and be our exclusive representative, acting as a bridge to help Chinese designers to enter Spark at the international level.

Many more designers will now have an opportunity to take part in Spark, and we expect our friendship with China will be the model for future partnerships throughout the world.

http://www.sparkawards.cn/

CHINA: CREATIVE CAULDRON OF THE 21st CENTURY

July 28, 2009, by Professor Jan Staël von Holstein

Statistics are not easy to produce and verify in China. The scale of everything is gigantic.

On creativity: Sixty million violin players – now making China the biggest producers of the finest instruments in the world. Forty million piano players. Why do you think the Chinese now consistently win all the biggest music competitions around the world…

Last year there were allegedly 500,000 graduates in engineering.

The fine Arts are conquering the international world like an express train. Thousand of art galleries are blossoming around China.

According to the information I have at hand, design education is developing at a very fast pace. As you know “innovation” is a theme frequently used and referred to by the central Government as essential for China’s future.

When I first came to China in 2003, there were about 350 design schools. Now there are some 1200.

At Tongji University in Shanghai, I was part of an international team to structure and create a new multi-disciplinary design college launched in May: The College for Design and Innovation. This is destined to become one of the leading schools in China.

Many other initiatives are under way. As you know there are now two strong, financially driven forces in Shanghai and Guangzhou with their expanding “Creative Weeks.” In Hong Kong the BODW is now in its seventh year.

Shanghai has a policy of setting up what they define as Creative Clusters, reshaping old factories to attract creative talent. There are now eleven such centers and more are being added. There are more than 15 other cities in China with the same ideas and on the same pursuit.

The Icograda world Congress takes place in Beijing in October.

Then we have World Expo and all this pulls along in creative work. At that time there will also be the first Cumulus meeting in China organized by the new Design School in Shanghai.

Many other events and exhibitions are being planned to go along with the heady ride of the biggest Expo the world has ever seen. Over 220 participating countries, mega pavilions crammed with the latest ideas on everything from sustainability, to the latest mind-boggling technologies to advance our world.

Sixty million Chinese visitors are expected just for starters…

Add to this numerous competitions, conferences and events like Pecha Cucha and you have what I would define as: “a truly explosive, unstoppable, ambitious, creative atmosphere.”

Professor Jan Staël von Holstein

Chairman, The Network with a Silver Lining

Shanghai

SUM TIME!

May 21, 2009 by Peter Kuchnicki

Asked to sum up our recent China visit, here’s our wrap notes–

We undertook this trip with four goals in mind:

–Learn about China and its design scene

–Exhibit and promote Spark winners and their work, to this huge marketplace

–Gain more entries and participation from Chinese designers

–Begin a regular cooperation between the Spark network and Chinese designers and institutions

I think we’ve accomplished our goals– and even made a small contribution to further understanding with our Spark Creative Seminar. How do we gauge this? Well, Clark and I hadn’t been to China, so any exposure to this culture and landscape would have to be very educational! (However, we were greatly helped by Manuel, who counts 35+ trips here.)

As noted in earlier blogs, the very scale of new construction in South Eastern China just blows the mind. It’s all new–or being torn down to create something new. It’s mostly highways, tall office structures and high-density living spaces.

We shared many precious moments with the students and faculty of GAFA. I think this was the most impactful part of our visit. Listening was more valuable than speaking. The audience at the Seminar was bursting with questions, and assertions too!

The Q&A went on almost as long as the lectures, so I was glad I had bright colleagues to handle the heavy design questions. We learned some interesting and sobering statistics here, too. Over 10,000 design students will graduate in China this year. That’s a lot of people looking for design jobs. Many students see their future in designing for the growing Chinese middle class. Many will be happy for work in parallel design disciplines. So, Spark’s emphasis on a multi-disciplinary approach has some resonance here.

The Exhibition looked fine and made us very proud of all the designers who have entered, become friends and encouraged us to “grow forward” with Spark. We hope and plan to be exhibiting your work for many years to come. Certainly, the visibility provided by Professor Tong and GAFA will help our quest for greater Chinese participation and entries. It may take some time, but this is a good path for us.

The opening of direct communication and new partnerships in China is also critical to fulfill our international goals. No other design competition or award has an aspirational mission like Spark. So perhaps this unique design viewpoint offers China an opportunity to “grow in a healthy way,” as one friend described it. As we’ve stated before, Spark is not a strictly commercial design competition. We aim for higher ground. I think we found great interest in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Foshan, Shunde and Shanghai.

Thanks, Clark, Huang and Guang for the great pix!

So, what does China look like through my eyes?  Vast. Strong. Young. Friendly. Free-thinking. Interested. Capable. Constructive. And eager to share the world stage of design.

RISING TOGETHER

May 16, 2009 by Peter Kuchnicki

In interviews, meetings and conversations this week we heard statistics of growth that would humble the highest. Often they were in praise of this region or that. Always with ample proofs and ardent conviction. And always with primacy among citystates foremost in mind. For that is how high positions are gained.

It’s true, these endless stretches of new-poured concrete and immense hi-rises spread out in grids like some enormous French tree farm, these are astounding. But so to were those in that city we toured yesterday.

And comes often the question: “Perhaps Spark would recognize our efforts, and find a home here?” Or partner, or collaborate or cooperate?

These are all good–even great things, we reply. But shouldn’t we be Spark to all cities?

And shouldn’t China find its place on the world stage of design, as China?

We dined with Professor Jan Staël von Holstein last night in Shanghai. Jan is a global authority in corporate and brand identity creation and teaches at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Known in China as Yuen Shi Dao, Jan is the founder and co-chairman of The Network with a Silver Lining with 15 offices around Europe and the USA.

He delineated the importance of this concept, and the difficulty. “It is not an easy thing to promote. Each of these regions are like countries unto themselves.” And I’ve seen that each region’s people, food, style, manner–even attitudes differ. They are rightfully proud of their culture and prosper because of its success.

Still, still… I often heard the unease among designers about their place in context of world design. Many worry about departing from (or not) the ancient pattern of emulating the Master. Some blame the whole issue of copycat design on their clients. Others don’t care, have their heads in the Internet and can better see that inspired design is possible and their role is to create it.

The key seems to be context. The wide world of design must be the measure and context.

Spark’s idea is to open a door and invite our friends into the Designing Worlds.

Best!
A TASTE OF CHINA

May 14, 2009 by Clark Kellogg

Greetings from the heart of bustling Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta. It is Wednesday morning here and Tuesday afternoon in California.

What an adventure this is! Yesterday was the big lecture day at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.  Lot’s of enthusiasm for design, for our lectures, for cooperation, etc. Our hosts have been kind and gracious beyond any expectation – scheduling meetings, meals, tours, introductions and more. Food is fantastic – completely fresh as you often go into a separate room full of live fish, snakes, birds, insects and choose what will be cooked. I am happy to leave that particular task to our expert hosts!

The Spark exhibit at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts museum was impressive. So were to other shows in the museum of contemporary art from Chinese artists. The “major” talk in the “900-seat Hall” as it is called, was very fun even as the lead up to it was hectic complete with tech scares, translation hiccups, etc. but it went off flawlessly. I was so impressed by their interest in all facets of design.

Speaking of pictures, I’ve attached just a few:

1) Hong Kong harbor at night from the Star Ferry

2) A portrait of “life on the street” of Guangzhou

3) The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts; the new campus

4) The Pearl River from University Island where GAFA is located

OK: Let’s talk scale. Think big. Guangzhou is  city of 15 million. 20 years ago is was pretty much a one-story place. The pace of change is staggering. Last year, the Academy moved to University Island on the edge of the city. It now has 11 major universities on it where 180,000 students study. The building in the photo of the Academy was constructed in 10 months.

Every single person we’ve met has been delightful. I don’t want to sound trite, but it really has been an honor to meet everyone. Our main host is Prof. Tong Huiming the Dean of the College of Design. He is a warm, sincere and kind man who has almost single-handedly built the design program at GAFA. They now teach 9 design disciplines. (I didn’t even know there were nine design disciplines).

It is well…warm here. The evenings are pleasant. Last night I took a long walk through what appears to be an endless landscape of density. Think Manhattan but make it more crowded. At ten o’clock in the evening the shops are starting to close. Lots of young people out strolling, shopping from the stores and from a vast number of pleasant street vendors selling just about anything you can imagine and some things you can’t.

I don’t think one can live in Guangzhou if you don’t have a cell phone (and talk/text constantly). The street scene is crowded, friendly, lively. Walking along, one passes millions of tiny, dear scenes; friends strolling arm-in-arm or holding hands, parents with children walking their dogs and chatting, young lovers holding hands and whispering to one-another. Shop keepers stand at their doors welcoming (but not pestering) people to enter. If you need shoes, come to Guangzhou.

Today – shortly – we are being picked up (punctually) by another delegation of hosts and going to a meeting at one of Guangzhou’s industrial design firm to see their work on consumer electronics – phones, handheld stuff, small appliances.

In Guangzhou cars drive on the right side. In Hong Kong cars drive on the left side. In both places cars go fast. Traffic lanes? no need. Turn signals are useless but horns aren’t (nor are they effective). Bikes are plentiful and operate with the same rules. Somehow it all works and I’m very, very grateful to be driven everywhere in new air-conditioned small SUV type vehicles from Chevy, Toyota and Honda which are all made here in China.

Tomorrow afternoon I will, regrettably, depart for Hong Kong and my last night in China. It is a two-hour train ride between HK and Guangzhou through an industrial landscape. Hong Kong operates at a pace that makes Guangzhou feel like Mendocino, but that’s a whole other story for next time.

THREE TRANSLATORS, ONE INTERPRETATION

May 17, 2009 by Peter Kuchnicki

Keeping up was always in question. Getting ahead was not. Over the last eight days we were blessed with the services and energy of three fabulous young people. Their job was to interpret and to generally keep us out of mischief, which they did admirably.

Huang & PK Emily

Huang and Guang are designers from GAFA, and the third, Emily, works for a regional government department. They were a great help in our meetings with Tan Zhi Liang,  Director of the Science and Technology Bureau of Foshan, Jimin Shao and Jack Cui of the brand new Shunde Industrial Design Park,  John Chen of New Plan Design and Evan Liao, Design Director for Donlim Design.

It was a long day–as you can see, I am progressively melting in the attached pictures. But our crew held fast, documenting the proceedings and communicating the Spark position. Best of all, by day’s end, they didn’t need me at all. They can explain Spark to anyone–and we hope they will continue to do so!

S.O.C. IT TO ME

May 14, 2009 By Peter Kuchnicki

Dateline: Thursday–Foshan/Shunde City, Sparks Over China Tour

Sparks Over China–Wowo–what an experience so far. Immersion in the immense. So good to see this great culture and people up close and very personal. We are just catching our breath after three days of minute-by-minute scheduled activities. More to come of course.

Seems to be part of the hospitality in these parts– we eat, meet, discuss, eat, drink tea, repeat. A fine education into the differences and similarities between cultures, and a window into design.

He’s Happy…

The Exhibition closed yesterday, but it was grand. The Seminar went well, with a nice sales pitch by PK, a thoughtful call to creativity by CK and a hip, contemporary “lifestream” by MS, that visually took our (mostly) student audience (500) on a journey from his earliest inklings of design, through a few rolled cars and misadventures, girlfriends, Argentina, Montreal, Berlin, Alaska– and back to some fine NYC design. They loved it. And him!

This is our great host, Prof. Tong, Director of GAFA’s Design School, and self with a very handsome FLIP camera donated by Smart Design

And these are the Four Horsemen of Spark: Manuel, PK, Clark & our fine friend, Haishan Deng, who first invited Spark to China

HERE AGAIN AND LIKING IT

May 10, 2009 By Peter Kuchnicki

Hi Folks–

Great Flight over the North Pole. Ice. Rocks. No bears tho.

Landed in Hong Kong. Met with Spark entrants and good friends this evening. Here’s the first “Dr. of Design.” PhD Prof Franke Ng of Hong Kong Polytechnic and Clark. We learned a bunch and like this guy a lot!

On Tuesday we’ll visit the Spark Winner’s Exhibition at the Art Museum at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, followed by our lectures. If you are in the area, join us!

And if you have thoughts on “must see” (or must eat!) highlights of the area, please let us know. (We’re also heading to Shenzhen and Shanghai later this week.)

SPARKS OVER CHINA BLAST OFF

May 09, 2009 By Peter Kuchnicki

The DAY has come at last. I’m off to Hong Kong shortly. As promised, we’ll be relaying our experiences right here at Sparkaward. Our general plan is to chat with our design friends and local luminaries, find out what’s up, how they’re coping and what they’re hoping. We’ll interject a few opinions, look for interesting designs along the way and–have fun!

Please bear with us whilst we learn the ropes–and do give us a shout once in a while.

*BTW– these handsome nozzles are actually very very large a/c vents out my hotel window, spewing ever-more hot smog up up and not so far away.

February 17, 2010 in architecture, Cities, Design, Leon Krier, Observations, Parking, Poundbury, Prince Charles, Sustainability, urban design | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

FREE: The Web as Big Box Retailer

July 15 by Tad Toulis

A few days ago I stumbled across an interesting pair of companion pieces:  Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker review of FREE and Chris Anderson’s response to that review – Dear Malcolm: Why So Threatened?  Read back to back, the two pieces make for an interesting, if disjointed, debate.

Anderson has shrewdly tapped into (and consequently helped frame) an emerging and controversial debate over the future of business. Taking a page from Stewart Brand’s “information wants to be free”, the core observation of Anderson’s book is that the triple threat of ever cheaper processing, unlimited storage and increased bandwidth conspire to drive web based business models toward a no-cost formula. It’s a sexy premise and one that’s clearly in evidence all over the web.

While I generally agree with the observations Anderson sets forth in FREE, I can’t help but find the premise worrisome. The present recession not withstanding, the information economy is in full swing all around us – and there are some troubling signs amidst its apparent success. The 24/7 media culture that started with the mainstreaming of cable television some twenty odd years ago has taken up full residence on the web. That’s hardly surprising given the role that cable providers had in helping to boost broadband subscriptions. With the proliferation of cheap ubiquitous internet access, the hucksterism many of us sought to steer clear of, by turning to the web, has increasingly become standard practice. Which raises a question very much at odds with FREE’s premise. What chance does ‘free’ on the web have of avoiding the ‘Buy one Get one Free’ culture that defines ‘free’ in big box culture?

Many, including Anderson himself, believe that the meritocracy of the web will somehow help it circumvent a noisy future full of digital penny-saver equivalents and cash back coupons – but I for one remain doubtful. Sure, the web has a great history of fighting to maintain its neutrality but those days fueled by an academic altruism are fast receding. The popularization of broadband brought about through bundled cable packages and device offerings like the iPhone, the PalmPre and $300 Netbooks have introduced more and more consumers to the possibilities of the web. This surge in demand has helped fuel the web’s meteoric growth and made much of it easier to use, but this same influx has meant that the web has necessarily had to change, becoming increasingly reflective of the world beyond it.

While much is made of the web’s ability to support a place for everyone and everything, recent events in China and Iran demonstrate that like all other broadcast media– the web can be manipulated and controlled. If that strikes you as paranoid think of it this way– control need not come from an organized nation-state, it can come from the passive censure of popularity and relativism. Within the fresh vision that FREE sets forth, resides a parochial soul: more stuff to more people for way less. That vision should inspire as it simultaneously cautions us. Given that the consumer in both the physical and digital world remains us, the dynamics that drive commerce are still dangerously subject to the same old same old: Business as Usual.

FEATURISM IS FAT–AND NOT THE GOOD KIND
Lessons on consumerism from the organic food movement
June 19, 2009 by Tad Toulis

A month or so ago I attended a conference in Portland, Oregon held by the APDF where I caught a presentation by Benjamin Linder from Franklin W. Olin’s College of Engineering. Among the slides in Linder’s lecture was one which re-imagined Michael Pollan’s bestseller In Defense of Food as “In Defense of Product”. This idea struck me so violently; I stood up, walked out of the auditorium, went directly to Powell’s and bought a copy.

For some time I, like so many in design, have been trying to conceive of the next ‘big’ model. Seeking to reconcile, often with mixed results, what it is I do for a living with the world I see taking shape around me. Equating product with food isn’t new, but when re-examined in the contemporary context, the corollaries between organic agriculture, low impact manufacturing and environmental sustainability become as numerous as they are thought provoking. What’s more, having achieved critical mass, the mechanics of the organic movement are finally mature enough to start informing other sectors of the economy.

The premise of Pollan’s book is summed up in his eater’s manifesto: Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Central to his argument is the notion that nutritional marketing is a shell game devised to sell processed foods as the technical equivalent of their natural counterparts: whole foods. Pollan goes on to explain how longstanding scientific tampering with nutrients has left the North American diet chemically rich but nutritionally vacant. When seen through the product lens, the practice of adding nutritional value to industrial foods reveals itself as the produce equivalent of adding features and upgrades to poorly conceived product lines. It’s self-deluding tomfoolery: a myopic focus on capability over need that ultimately leads to systemic and environmental ruin.

Extending the metaphor, the strategies that Pollan describes for coping with industrial agriculture can be viewed as sketches for how we might re-imagine our relationship with mass production as a whole. Viewed in this light, the growing popularity of Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSAs), Cow-Pooling and the interest in Urban Farming become potential benchmarks for tomorrow’s production, distribution and revenue schemes.  By artfully wedding long-standing components of small and mid sized production with hyper coordinated demand and delivery, these programs successfully and consistently deliver high quality produce in a schema that’s both efficient and sustainable.

Most provocative of all, food – cutting as elegantly as it does across issues of sustenance, commerce, and culture – has the capacity to affect societal change on a massive scale. Perhaps, motivated by the growing body of evidence implicating industrial agriculture in rising rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes, consumers may yet surprise us all and demand the type of legislative change so sorely needed to bring about real change. Something, which the comparatively abstract issue of sustainability, has thus far failed to do.

I’ll leave it to you to imagine the full depth to which the food movement could invigorate design. But incase you find this whole conceit laughable consider this, in preparing this piece I debated a comparison between slow food and slow design only to find the concept already well established. So let me leave you with this my fellow traveler: Buy Stuff. Not too much. Mostly services.

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John Norquist lives in Chicago and serves as President of the Congress for the New Urbanism. He previously served as Mayor of Milwaukee from 1988 to 2004.

More about John here and the Congress here.

BLOGGER #2: JOHN CARY!

Executive Director, Public Architecture and Co-founder, ArchVoices, John writes and speaks extensively on issues relating to architectural education, internship, licensure, and public-interest design. John’s views will be posted right here in the P.ARCH blog

BLOGGER #3: KRISTEN RICHARDS!

Editor -in-Chief of the very popular architect website, ArchNewsNow, Kristen has written about the industry, the firms, and the personalities for 20 years. She is also Editor of Oculus magazine and e-Oculus for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York Chapter.

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NEW CENTURY FASHION
August 25, 2009
You have until September 26 to catch the superb work of an iconoclast in Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out at The Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT.) http://www.fitnyc.edu/aspx/Content.aspx?menu=FutureGlobal:Museum:Exhibitions
Known only to cognoscenti until Michelle Obama donned her lemongrass wool lace coat and dress ensemble for the Inauguration, Toledo is a mistress of draping and shaping. Her approach is architectural and sweeping, often using fabrics of her own design.

Cocoon Sleeve gown, taupe silk taffeta, spring/summer 1998
Photo by William Palmer, courtesy of the Museum at FIT, New York

The huge selection on display is a delight, reflecting Toledo’s wide-ranging interests. It’s obvious why she was chosen to receive the 2008 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion. Her husband, Ruben, shares honors with his marvelous illustrations that help her realize her creations.

Hermaphrodite dress, circa 2005
Garnet silk taffeta
Photo by William Palmer, courtesy of the Museum at FIT, New York

Both clothing designs and illustrations feature in the terrific coffee-table book catalog that accompanies the show. It’s printed in Italy with all the quality that implies. (By Valerie Steele and Patricia Mears, Yale University Press, $60.)

FIT usually provides extensive web coverage of its exhibits and this one is no exception. http://www3.fitnyc.edu/museum/Isabel_toledo/
Although less familiar than the Metropolitan Museum’s fashion extravaganzas farther uptown, FIT shows are more focused and far easier to navigate.

Woodgrain dress and jacket, Spring/Summer 2008
Black and white silk moiré ikat
Photo by William Palmer, courtesy of the Museum at FIT, New York

Valerie Steele is director and chief curator of the museum and gallery at FIT.  Her eye is impeccable and she’s given fashion fans many glorious reasons to visit FIT on Seventh Avenue at 27th Street in New York City. I’m still dreaming of the mysterious and gorgeously gloomy fashions that made up the Gothic: Dark Glamour show last year. http://www3.fitnyc.edu/museum/gothic/
Alexander McQueen forever!

DON’T LEAN OUT TOO FAR

July 20, 2009 By Constance Crump

It’s one thing to cruise around some murky Cancun lagoon in a glass-bottom boat.  What about looking down through a glass floor to see the street 1,353 feet below? Ack!

The Ledge First Steps, Photo courtesy of Willis Tower

The Ledge at Skydeck in Chicago’s Willis Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, offers the latest opportunity for a heartfelt ack! At least two more thrilling glass balconies are available in North America – at the Grand Canyon Skywalk and Toronto’s CN Tower.

Kicks just keep getting harder to find – and ever more expensive. These three viewing stations are blissfully affordable, unlike, say, Virgin Galactic’s sub-orbital space flights. Perhaps a $200,000 plane ride is OK for your tax bracket, but most people would have to give it some deep thought.

The Ledge across the Ledge, courtesy of Willis Tower

The Ledge is actually a series of retractable glass boxes that extend from the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower – both building and balconies were designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM.)  Another thrill: the multi-media elevator ride is one of the fastest in the world. Check two boxes on the bucket list. These Skydeck thrills can be yours for only $14.95 for adults.

A few hundred miles northeast, in Toronto, the venerable CN Towerboasts that it’s the world’s tallest building and free-standing structure. Not at the top but plenty high up, a glass-floored balcony is 342 meters (1122 feet) above ground. Adult tickets are around $30 Cdn. YouTube has some scary, er, pertinent videos such as “CN Tower – The Glass Floor” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I0S9MFgQBc&NR=1.)

Grand Canyon Sky Bridge, courtesy of Grand Canyon Skywalk Development

Out West, where Arizona and Colorado meet, the Glass Bridge at Grand Canyon Skywalk hovers 4,000 feet above the canyon floor and the Colorado River. It is awesome (for real, not the teenager “awesome.”) Nature and the Hualapai Tribe of Native Americans have collaborated on one of the most thrilling experiences available to the average human. It’s a bargain for $30 plus whatever Dramamine costs at your local pharmacy.

Some people can’t even look down and see their feet. It’s all about the view.

WHATEVER IN THE CITY

July 15, 2009 By Constance Crump

Early on, I vowed never to live anywhere without pay phones or public transportation. R.I.P. pay phones, thank goodness. Still, I’ve kept my promise to enjoy city life for life, albeit in a city of little significance except to its denizens.

Then comes Monocle Magazine and others, ready to rank burgs worldwide for quality of life, aka liveability. The lists proliferate daily. My city is Top 10 for places to retire and to walk around, also the second healthiest place to be pregnant and the fourth smartest city in America.

None of those cut it with Monocle’s ilk. Their liveabilty is based on other factors. Zurich and Copenhagen are Monocle’s cities with the mostest. I adore Copenhagen. (See Chez Spark archives.) Never been to Zurich.

New York and London weren’t in the top 25.  Neither was Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Despite its backwater location – off the route of wagon trains headed West in the 19th century, among other geographic deficiencies – Ann Arbor is quite liveable.

Please don’t tell anyone – 135,000 people are enough.

Editors of fancy magazines would sneer at our lack of amenities. Ann Arbor has ignored its once-beautiful riverfront. Its proximity to Detroit makes it a tar baby from the same brush that paints Motown a goner.

Southeastern Michigan is not dead. Sure, it looks bad. Nobody wants our cars. But we’ve got fresh water – and beautiful – up the wazoo. Don’t tell anyone about that, either. Chinese and Indian companies are bringing operations here – go figure. No good Szechuan food for miles; a fair amount of decent curry.

What makes it liveable? There are trees when you leave the house. You can walk most places and bus to the rest. There’s more to do than you can do. Food resources are terrific. The airport is 25 minutes away.

Michael Skapiner says convenience is not important. The Financial Times (www.ft.com) columnist wrote recently that the fun of city rankings is that they get people worked up. He supports the criteria used by A T Kearney, which favors those cities whose ideas and values shape the world. I’ll drink to that, too.

COPENHAGEN IS AN URBAN MARVEL DESPITE SECOND-PLACE FINISH

June 29, 2009 by Constance Crump

There’s no shame in being the second most-livable city in the world, even if it’s a downgrade.  Last year, Copenhagen topped the quality of life rankings by lifestylist Tyler Brûlé and Monocle Magazine. This year, it slipped to second place behind Zurich.

Credit: Ukendt/VisitDenmark.com

A recent Chez Spark visit to the island city found that things are still just ducky in the Danish capital. A duck would feel completely at home. Glorious sea views abound.

Credit: Cees van Roeden/VisitDenmark.com

The neighborhood around Nyhavn (New Harbor) is the epitome of hygge, the Danish word for cozy, a great base for exploring the city.  The canal (new is a relative term) is lined with warehouses converted into chic shops, florists and restaurants. They retain their classic color schemes: old gold, soft but bright blue, ochre and brick red.

I

Credit: Henrik Stenberg/VisitDenmark.com

Everything is within walking distance – especially the lovely window displays of the pedestrian shopping streets – or a short subway ride away. Danish bakeries caused some marital discord, as the choices were so varied that bickering ensued over which apple tart to try.

Hotels nearby range from loft-like contemporary spots (Hotel 71 Nyhavn) slotted into renovated warehouses to a vintage sailors’ refuge.

Visit the Round Tower, a unique brick ramp that once served as an observatory, for birds-eye views of the central city. Nearby, design shops and fashionable boutiques line the linked streets and squares that form Stroget, a pedestrian haven.

Credit: Ole Christiansen/VisitDenmark.com

Don’t miss the design museum, fine arts museum, public gardens and most of all, the restaurants devoted to smørrebrød, Denmark’s signature open-faced sandwiches. The landmark Restaurant Ida Davidsen offers more than 80 varieties of smørrebrød. It’s heaven to bite into an impeccable little pile of crawfish tails on pumpernickel or wrap your lips around the Vet’s Midnight Snack, a classic combo of liver paté, salt beef and onion rings. Whatever you choose, it’s accompanied by beer and a tiny glass of aquavit.

JADED? OVERCOME IT WITH GOOD DESIGN

June 14, 2009 by Constance Crump

It’s easy to assume the obvious is boring. The Prince Regent’s Royal Pavilion at Brighton suffered my indifference for years. Two factors moved it to the top of the to-do list. A movie and the weather got me to Brighton and I’m grateful.

Before traveling, I saw “Beau Brummell,” a 1954 MGM film. Beau ran with Prinny, the future King George IV and builder of the Royal Pavilion. While in the UK, a chill rainy day made an hour on a southbound train look good compared with staying in the London congestion zone.

Good call.

The Royal Pavilion is one of the world’s best buildings. Why?  It’s thrilling, unique, bizarre.  Like all memorable travel experiences, it transports you to another realm.

Like other historic sites (the Leaning Tower at Pisa, for instance), the Pavilion stands in a dense urban setting. You come upon it without warning.

The palace with Indo-Sino-Moorish flourishes is currently under restoration.  It was heavenly for a pair of old-building fans. (The loved one is a restoration craftsman.) Seeing the nuts and bolts behind the elegant décor gave the flavor of the structure’s back-story.

Normally audio tours are despicable. The Pavilion’s exceptional audio explains the quirky themed rooms, dragon chandelier, incredible wallpapers, magnificent kitchen (with palm trees!) and traffic flow – a visitor-controlled guide to the dazzling environment.

While not pristine yet, the Pavilion’s imperfections are endearing.  Prinny would feel right at home and so will you.  It is a tourist attraction not to be missed by design mavens.

Photos courtesy of The Royal Pavilion, Brighton

–Constance Crump writes about travel, food and design from Ann Arbor, Michigan.  She loves low fares but only if the flights are non-stops.

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ARCHIVED CHEZ!

MS Crump’s Views From 2008:

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Frank Gehry’s design for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute is of interest even simply as a model. The web site for the Institute features several views of the future Las Vegas memory research center. Construction is set to start this year.  According to the Wall Street Journal, the project will anchor a mixed-use development on a 61-acre former rail yard near downtown to be called Union Park

Style guru Tom Ford, former Gucci designer and Hollywood wannabe, talked to the Wall Street Journal about what’s ahead for fashion:

·    Expanded personalization in accessories, custom scents

·    More name-designer cheap chic from quick-fashion chains like H&M

·    More celebrity marketing (as if we needed any more)

·    Fewer logos plastered on asses or elbows

·    Sensual is the new sexy – more subtlety, he avers

Don’t jump on trends if you don’t feel comfortable was his final advice. Thanks, T – I’ll put down that $6,000 bag right now.

–CC

Contributors include Sally Dominguez, Dan Sturges, Dave Muyres, Mark Charmer and Joe Simpson. Gentlefolk, start your powerplants!

Pedal Power

Sally Dominguez Driving the Green Line, Courtesy Sydney Morning Herald

A few years ago a mate and I decided to make our fortunes with a silicone driving sock we named Foot Franger. The Franger would sit rolled up in the door pocket ready for use and its rough-rider-style rubber grip would ensure the contained foot stuck to the pedal. When I sought research to determine whether a thin sock was safer drivewear than sneakers or riding boots I came up blank: seems there is a lot of speculation but very little published fact on the co-operation of shoes and car pedals. Foot Franger was relegated to the backburner.

Suddenly a four-million-car recall by the world’s largest manufacturer has turned table talk to the otherwise unremarkable topic of car pedals. Rogue floor mats may be Toyota’s pedal diddlers, but off the record plenty of pedal near-misses closer to home have happened to drivers via their unpredictable footwear, whether its flip-flips bending under the brake pedal, mules snagging the clutch or Crocs coming off completely. Accident statistics don’t list the footwear involved and regulations rarely attempt to intervene but if you do regard your shoes as reckless, consider the quandary of driving unshod. Is it legal to drive in bare feet? (yes it often is, unless you are driving in Hong Kong). Is it comfortable to drive in bare feet? (try the Dr Scholl-like feel of the Honda Type R’s rubber studs before you answer), safer to drive in bare feet? (Brazil apparently thinks so, at least when compared to driving in “slippers or clogs”).

Any conversation regarding appropriate driving footwear inevitably reaches driving in heels. Its not illegal and apparently one in four women do it – that’s around 2.6 million Australians – yet most people regard it as unsafe and no vehicle directly addresses the very different mechanical action of an angled foot and elevated ankle on the pedal of a car. The International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors suggests that an accelerator pedal be angled between 35 and 45 degrees (depends on seat height) to control the amount of force exerted from driver to pedal. The force on the pedal is also controlled by my the angle of thrust – higher seats create a downward pressure on a pedal, and the lower the seat the more forward motion comes into play. The good Encyclopedia notes that pressure feedback from the foot “can be largely masked by footwear”. Since even a 3cm boot heel substantially changes the angle of the foot, the area of foot brought to bear on the pedal, and the thrusting movement of the foot, men in Cuban heels are as compromised as boot-skootin’ gals by the average car pedal.

Heel guards on the driver side foot mats were pioneered by Carla Zampatti in her 1985 Ford Laser interior to prevent wear and tear at the back of the driver’s shoe. This design feature is now fairly common, suggesting that many auto makers know women drive in dress shoes and just haven’t tweaked their engineering to suit. Things are changing however, at least at Ford where a recent chat with Bob Coury, Core Vehicle Architecture Supervisor at Ford headquarters revealed a new, innovative approach to the ergonomic design of pedals.

Bob was the lead engineer responsible for introducing adjustable pedals to Ford vehicles via the Territory (Expedition to Bob) in 2003. Adjustable pedals had been around in concept cars since the 1950s, allowing driver access into difficult and restricted cockpits. In 1971 the Maserati Bora pioneered adjustable pedals in a production car courtesy of hydraulics by Citroen. French auto makers ran with this trend yet oddly, at a time when almost every part of a car can be automatically tweaked to suit, movable pedal boxes remain largely an under-utilized after-market add on for the rest of us. Not so for Ford. The 1996 Dodge Viper had used adjustable pedals to deal with a cramped foot area and Bob rigged up a prototype electric pedal box for his Boss’s Mustang to demonstrate their usefulness. When the 5’1 wife of the 6’5 boss used the moveable pedals she deemed them essential and the electric adjustable pedal box was born.

In itself the adjustable pedal box represents safety progress for the vertically-challenged because it allows short drivers to sit further away from the wheel – and the airbag – and still remain in control of their vehicle. Pedal extenders in various strange forms are the after-market alternative to adjustable pedals – studies suggest they are commonly used by female bus drivers – although these would conceivable completely change the force of foot on brake and create a Thunderbirds puppet-like pedaling effect. As race driver Amanda Hennessy notes “the trick is to keep the heel planted and roll the foot” – easily done in flats, harder in heels, downright tricky on stilts.

But Ford’s pedal innovation does not end at adjustability. Bob acknowledges that car companies model their CAD pedal calculations based on averages and percentiles, always assuming that the driver is wearing shoes but never inputting data on the shoe other than its size (some morph between Women’s 7 and Men’s 13). As Bob saw it his team knew that a successful pedal design was more than angle and anatomy, but “ struggled with the time, energy and research needed. We didn’t have the manpower or the money – so we did some creative thinking”.

In 2008 Ford employed a shoe industry consultant to supply them with the facts and figures normally used to stock a store: the most common sizes, and the proportion of sandals to stilettos to snow boots. User types were input into the database with pickups weighted towards boots and mustangs and minivans deemed more heel-friendly. Armed with an extensive matrix of sizes and shoe types, Ford is venturing where no other auto maker has gone in tailoring pedals to the reality of shoes.

Today’s cars offer every mod con from heated seats to DVDs – some even accommodate a ponytail in the headrest. Compared to a heel-compatible, adjustable pedal my Foot Franger doesn’t rate for driver convenience.

As Carla Zampatti says, “ I always drive in high heels. I don’t have time to change my shoes”.

Finding meaning in Frankfurt – 2009 auto show review

Ferrari’s 458 Italia was the prettiest looking core-model Ferrari since 1994’s 355. The stunningly executed Rolls Royce’s Ghost showed Bentley’s Mulsanne the way in elegance terms, showcasing some particularly fine English craftsmanship – check out those door inners, and ingot-like door handles.

Rolls Royce Ghost doors

Lexus and Saab still disappoint. The Lf-Ch was predictable – somehow feeling a little too close to Toyota’s similar sized cars in its execution, and bringing little new to the premium C-segment dominated by the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. SAAB’s 9-5 doesn’t really stand cross-examination against Audi or BMW either. While a welcome new product on a stand starved of product under GM, it suffers from a slightly dated feeling (not surprising really, as its design was signed off some time ago). We wonder how – and if – things will change for SAAB under Koenigsegg.

Citroen Revolte’s interior raised a few eyebrows

Citroen’s ReVolte was much talked about before the show as being a modern interpretation of the 2CV. Yet for all the talk of plundering a heritage line, this was Citroen having a bit of fun. Drawing inspiration from a certain section of Parisian society, the interior takes on the feeling of a boudoir in the rear (crushed red velvet) and clashes it against an integral rear-facing child seat and hi-tech, pilot-like driver’s chair. If nothing else, it made us smirk, and provided an amusingly playful contrast to the seriousness of the Germans.

Sister brand Peugeot produced an intriguing concept in the form of the BB1. A sub-Smart sized city car, the BB1 actually seats four, although they may want to be more than just good friends with one another before all climbing aboard. Cleverly for a product that in size approaches something many might hesitate to classify as a car, there is strong use and reference made to Peugeot’s road bike heritage (bike inspired front seat perches, bike-based driving controls). It felt like an authentic gap-bridging vehicle between car and bike. We expect to see much more of this type of thing aimed at the urban populations of mega cities. Certainly Renault’s Twizy appears to be just that, too. It provides an interesting contrast to the BB1, being physically smaller but designed to imbue the driver with the sensation that they are in a real car, in a way the Peugeot passes over.

Four passengers in the Peugeot BB1 – they’re all good friends…

Favourite vehicle of all for me was the VW L1. Some explanation is appropriate here. Last year I finished an MPhil at the RCA, and my final project was a VW-branded city car, arranged in a tandem formation, and in part inspired by the 2002 1 Litre concept – brainchild of Ferdinand Piech. For many reasons, a very aerodynamic, light, narrow, tandem format car makes sense for our future world.

VW L1

Yet just eighteen months ago (when completing my project) I thought VW had shelved the 1 litre. It was a Piech pet project, and featured rocket science tech that was too expensive, too weirdly packaged to ever see the light of day in a production car. Never underestimate Ferdinand Piech is the message to take from this… more than ever, he’s very much in charge – and in the seven years since the original 1-litre car, the production techniques and cost of making its carbon fibre monocoque have fallen. Meanwhile, the two-cylinder diesel motor has entered the realms of economic reality too – as it’s likely to be pressed into service under the hoods of future Up! and possibly even Polo models, as the internal combustion world continues to downsize. So the L1 is very much set for future production according to VW.

The headline is that the L1 has a drag factor of just 0.195cd (the lowest I’ve heard of – and for comparison, today’s best the Prius, is 0.25), and weighs under 400kg – the monocoque accounting for a scarcely credible 65kg of that. But after talking to designer Maximillian Missoni, there’s a sense that the real achievement has been to create a beautifully spare exterior style, reflecting the purity of purpose in the engineering, with design language that is recognizably VW, and acceptably car-like.

The low cockpit, and side-hinged canopy enclosure make sitting in the L1 feel more akin to piloting a fighter jet than merely driving a car, an idea that is intentional. The design theme was inspired by aeronautics, and intended to convey a sense of speed. More than that though, Missoni says that there was a desire to create a positive sense of drama and forward thinking here “you want to be able to drive up in front of a restaurant, and not feel embarrassed, you want to feel “I’m a pioneer’”.

Compare this to the other future we’re presented with; the forgettable, dumpy forms of the Prius or Leaf – essentially the cars we have today with new powertrains underneath. There’s much merit to what these cars have done to condition markets and move consumer’s mindset. Yet there’s also evidence that – from both an environmental perspective, and an urban mobility one – we need to go further, rethink some first principles. For me, the L1 is that car, it shows a really different way forward – in a positive way. VW’s a huge car maker, but it’s proving that size isn’t a hindrance to thinking differently.

So while the Prius may be a green darling, and its current iteration reputedly very good, the VW is – in many regards – much more elegant when viewed from a holistic design and engineering point of view. Of course, you won’t be able to fit a family of four and the dog in an L1, so many will dismiss it. But think about how often you travel alone, or with just one other – and think about how menial a task day-to-day driving has become. The L1 shakes those ideas up, and says that the future could be different, but the future could have a real sense of adventure, a sense of fun about it. If VW is truly saying that a car as pioneering as this can now be produced, at a cost those pioneering individuals can afford, then it suggests there is every reason to be optimistic about the future – of not only the car, but of how we can push the boundaries of travel itself within the constraints of the world today.

Posted by Joseph Simpson on 23rd September 2009

Four Minutes In Frankfurt–Video

Four Minutes In Frankfurt

Are You Electric?

The NYTimes reports a different, perhaps more confident mood among would-be electric vehicle makers. What do you think?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/automobiles/14electric.html?ref=business

The last 12 months of auto design – our favorites

August 24, 2009 by Joe Simpson, with Mark Charmer

Pininfarina Bluecar (nee Bo)

Electric and hybrid cars need to look apologetic and dumpy don’t they? Ergo, all cars of tomorrow will look like the Prius, right? Wrong! Pininfarina, the Italian design house better known for styling Ferraris, took the unusual step of developing their own-brand car, in conjunction with French battery maker Bollore, to showcase a small, electric city car. At its unveil at last autumn’s Paris auto show, words like ‘cute’ and ‘funky’ were the order of the day. Pininfarina even put solar panels where the radiator grille would have been (because it doesn’t need one), and showcased an interior whose design picks up where their brilliant Sintesi concept left off. All in all, this ought to be the car that moves the game on beyond Prius.

Ford Smartgauge

Just under a year ago, Ford was smarting from being (wrongly) lumped in with GM and Chrysler over auto bailout shenanigans in the US. The perception was that the US auto industry didn’t do green, because it didn’t make a Prius competitor. Step forward the Fusion Hybrid, a car which drives just like a regular car, looks like one, but gets better gas mileage than any other hybrid in its sector. But all of this wasn’t really the reason for excitement. No, it was the Fusion Hybrid’s Smartgauge cluster – a four-way configurable digital instrument panel, which helps drivers to get the best economy from the vehicle. Using ethnographic research done with IDEO, Ford have come up with a system that adds layers of complexity and information as drivers learn and want to know more about how their activity affects economy. Ultimately, it just makes the car more engaging and fun to drive… and I never thought I’d write those words about a hybrid.

Toyota iQ

Arguably as innovative as the Gina, the iQ is a sub-3m long city car, which (at a squeeze) seats four, can turn on a six-pence, and yet will let you walk away from a 40mph crash alive. The Prius is often lauded as Toyota’s greatest engineering achievement – but this car trumps it. Among other things, Toyota completely rethought and redesigned the air conditioning and HVAC system to take up less space, remodeled how the steering rack / differential / front axle arrangement worked allowing the distance from front wheel to driver to be reduced, and built a fuel tank to fill the (tiny) few spare spaces they had left under the passenger compartment. It out-smarts the Smart car in one move. Shame Aston Martin want to do crazy things to the whole concept…

Honda Insight Speedometer

A lot of people criticise Honda’s new Insight, but it can be applauded for an approach which – rather than adding complexity, which is inherent to most hybrid cars – seeks to simplify. So the electric motor and hybrid system is smaller, simpler, sitting like a ‘pancake’ behind the engine. And rather than the all-singing, all-dancing driver displays found in some hybrids, the Insight keeps you driving economically with a really simple piece of design. The digital speed display, sitting at the base of the windscreen and in the driver’s line of sight, simply glows green when you’re driving economically, and goes purpley-blue when you’re being lead-footed.

Volvo S60 Concept

Changes are afoot at Volvo. Ford is keen to sell its Swedish subsiduary. Steve Mattin – the chief designer – left suddenly, and now one of the blue oval’s top designers, Peter Horbury – who made his name at the Swedish firm, is returning to head up the design team. If he gets the next S60 into production looking anything like the concept car unveiled at January’s Detroit auto show, there’ll be lots of happy people in Gothenberg. Not only did the S60 concept look sleek and fast, but it had an interior of such jaw-dropping beauty and detail design attention, that it was many people’s star of the show. Criticised for deserting its Swedish roots under the stewardship of Ford, the S60 emphatically hit back, featuring a huge chunk of glass dashboard that flowed between the seats and into the back of the car. Done in conjunction with Swedish glass firm Orrefors, the end result was an interior that embodied everything great about Scandinavian interior design values, and felt as Swedish as Abba, but a damn site classier.

What do you think? Lists tend to create disagreement, so let the debate begin! What blindingly obvious thing have I omitted? Ultimately, there’s nothing too out of the ordinary here. No Tesla. No Aptera. No Jetsons-esque flying cars that start to creep into the kind of ‘reality’ one expects to see South Park satirizing. The auto industry doesn’t do ‘innovation’ in a way that’s highly visible, or that changes the world, very often. In fact, it’s largely still doing things the way Henry Ford did 100 years ago, which many argue is why it’s in the state it finds itself today. Yet for some (and I include myself here), it’s possible to take delight in the new models, and the little details which showcase the behind-the-scene hours spent by engineers and designers, who’ve dedicated their lives to shaving off a kilogramme of weight here, or an inch of unnecessary flab there.

It’s the little things, those moments where you’re made to feel ‘someone in the development team thought about me’, that still ultimately make cars the special, coveted objects that they are today.

Posted by Joseph Simpson on 19th August 2009

Disclosure – Ford is sponsoring The Movement Design Bureau’s design and research work in 2009, Honda provided an Insight test car free of charge for review purposes.

Images: BMW Gina – Steve.Jackson, Nissan Cube – winni3, Audi A5 – philippluecke, Pininfarina Bluecar, Ford Smartgauge, Honda Insight – all Joseph Simpson, Toyota iQ – Mark Charmer, Volvo S60 – potatowedge

LAUNCHPAD

July 1, 2009 by Peter Kuchnicki

It’s appropriate to launch the GOING blog with a launch by friend and Spark Council member, Tom Matano.  Tom is also Director, School Of Industrial Design for the Academy of Art University and ex-chief of Mazda Design. In a somewhat cryptic PR from LED (Louisiana Economic Development), plans are outlined for a new eco-car, designed by Tom and an impressive team. When I asked Tom “What else can we put in the GOING blog about this? How about sharing some design guidance, mission, drivetrain, etc?” Tom responded, “Unfortunately, I can’t give you any more than that the plant site has been selected… If this goes as planned, it will be another ICON like Miata has become.”

We’re rooting for you, Matano. And dig the VC masters of the universe-types behind this startup. Watch out Elon! Here’s most of the PR:

RELEASE: Louisiana Economic Development

V-Vehicle Company, or VVC, is a new American car company that will produce a high-quality and fuel efficient car for the U.S. market. Its goal is to provide the American car buyer greater product value and a superior automotive experience. By designing and building its cars in the U.S., VVC wants to help re-establish American leadership in the global automotive industry.

• VVC was founded in 2006 by Frank Varasano, a former Oracle Corp. and Booz Allen Hamilton executive. The vehicle design team is led by Tom Matano, who is best known as the “father of the Miata,” which was recently named the “most iconic” car of the past 25 years by BusinessWeek.

Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., VVC intends to locate its first manufacturing facility in Monroe, La.

First Plant Location Selected

• VVC selected Monroe, La., as its first plant site after an extensive and competitive, multistate evaluation of potential candidates against a detailed list of critical factors. Key to its decision was the availability of an existing facility, the quality of the labor pool, its confidence in the state and local leadership and a creative incentive package developed by the Louisiana Economic Development team that addressed core needs and provided value where it was most needed. KPMG advised VVC in the selection process and CBRE acted as real estate broker.

• VVC plans to renovate, retool and expand the former Guide headlamp facility in Monroe, approximately doubling its size with the addition of about 325,000 square feet of production space. The construction project is expected to begin later this summer. Gray Construction of Lexington, Ky., has been chosen to design, engineer and supervise the project. CKGP/PW & Associates of Troy, Mich., will provide process and manufacturing engineering support. Both organizations have impressive resumes in automotive plant design and construction.

• Once completed and at full capacity, the Monroe facility will employ over 1,400 workers. The majority of these workers will be employed by VVC, with approximately one-third employed by several colocated supplier companies. VVC intends to take full advantage of the Louisiana FastStart™ program to help recruit, screen and train a world-class workforce. Production hiring is expected to begin in the summer of 2010.

V-Vehicle Company Funding In Place

• VVC has been funded thus far by the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, or KPCB, under the stewardship of VVC board members and KPCB partners Ray Lane and John Doerr. KPCB is one of the world’s leading venture capital companies, with success stories including Genentech, Amazon, Compaq and Sun Microsystems. VVC and KPCB are currently in the process of closing a second round of equity funding.

• VVC has applied for engineering and manufacturing loans under the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program, a $25 billion loan program established by Congress in 2007 and administered by the U.S. Department of Energy to spur innovation in automobile technology.

For more information, visit www.OpportunityLouisiana.com.

BIOGRAPHIES

V-Vehicle Company Selected Investors & Executives

John Doerr
Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

“V-Vehicle Company coming to Louisiana, I think, is a great statement and a great catalyst for all kinds of new, innovative economic opportunities.”

Ray Lane
Managing Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

“The thing that excites me the most about V-Vehicle is that it is a holistic change, so we’re thinking about – from beginning to end – how to reconstruct a car company.”

Horst Metz
Vice President – Assembly Operations, V-Vehicle Company

“Designing a car in America, building a car in America, selling the car in America – we’re going to show that it can be done.”

T. Boone Pickens
Founder and Chairman, BP Capital Management

“I’m excited to be an investor… and I believe that the automobile industry will survive in America, but it won’t look like it did in the past.”

Frank Varasano
Founder and CEO, V-Vehicle Company

“Our vision for a new American car company is coming to life here in Monroe, La.”

Tom Matano
Director of Design, V-Vehicle Company

“My belief is to do a good design that lasts longer. It’ll make people happy.” Tom Matano has 30 years of experience in the automotive design industry. In addition to his responsibilities at VVC, he serves as the executive director of the School of Industrial Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Matano joined Mazda in 1983 and progressed through numerous design positions, ultimately becoming general manager of Mazda Design, with responsibility for the chief designers’ group that created Mazda’s entire line of car designs, as well as the European and North American studios. His accomplishments at Mazda include the MX-5, the RX-7, the 929 Miata “M-Coupe” concept car and many other projects by the design teams he managed and created. Earlier in his career, he held design positions at General Motors and BMW.

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GREEN AUTO PAPER PLAY

By Sally Dominguez

Cardboard as a construction basic is serious paper play for adults. From Frank Gehry’s Wiggle Chair to the Finnish designed acoustic cardboard listening space Mafoombey, cardboard is an oft-ignored heavyweight contender for green building.

What about a finer-gauge of paper, though?  Brazilian Claudio Dias brings a technical eye for minute detail to the art of paper models to create serious paper play for kids and adults. Worried that China-made toys are invested with lead? With a bit of imagination, and some help from Claudio, you can follow his FREE fold ‘em and keep ‘em models to create intricate origami toys such as the Delorean in Back to the Future and the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. No nasty side effects included.

Stuck on the freeway in pouring rain?  With a little forethought and some glue you could be whipping up the Interceptor on your dashboard.  Feeling finicky?  Try the crazy detail on the Ghostbusters Ecto 1.

Best of all – these cool designs are free!!  With detailed instructions you just print, cut, and fold like a loon.

I felt the need to connect – as they say in the USA – with this master autorigamist:

Claudio, the detail on your models is incredible.  Do you have a basic outline you tweak for each paper car design, or is every new model painstakingly conceived from scratch?

When I want to design a new model, I search the internet to find any reference material that could be used. Ortho views, schematics, pictures, and even 3D mesh. If you have something ‘technical’ like views or 3D, it makes easier to design the model. If not, you must be creative to say the least.

1966 Batmobile, Mad Max Interceptor, Delorean were the only ones I found technical information. All the others cars were from scratch.

What paper should your designs be printed on for the ideal result?  Is there a particular weight and texture you design for?

The weight depends on the level of details. As a general rule, I recommend 90-120gsm paper for small parts (folks that means all your used office paper can be turned into star vehicles so save it and print Claudio’s patterns on the back) and 15-180gsm for bigger ones.

The final look of the car determines the texture. I use glossy paper for shiny cars. The Tumbler, for example requires matte paper.

What is your favourite paper model to date?

Well, it’s not a car… It’s a robot that transforms into a car : Bumblebee. Speaking of cars, the 1966 Batmobile. It’s my first model and it reminds me my childhood.

Has there been a car that you have tried but not been able to model in paper?

No. I’ve finished all models I’ve started. Perhaps, I keep distance from the impossible ones… A friend of mine once asked me to join him in a project – The Nemo’s car from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  It’s a simple car, however those silver ornate details made me say NO to him. I know how to design them, but they’ll be very hard to assemble.

Which is saying a lot because the models we can download are pretty complex.  For instance, there are 72 steps for the 1966 Batmobile.

And for the selfless, and health-conscious tot-toting readers, Claudio’s site www.paperinside.com also has models of PowderPuff Girls and Bruce the Shark which you can whip up for the young ‘uns, safe in the knowledge that they are relatively chew friendly.

MORE SERIOUS PAPER PLAY

by Sally Dominguez

Paper bags and cardboard boxes, butchers’ paper and newsprint hats.  Paper plates, papier mache and the versatile matchbox, boxes for packing and moving and play– visionaries like Gehry and Shigeru Ban use it for structure but, whether the blame rests with neat stacking Lego and Lincoln Logs or span-worthy Meccano, most of us don’t consider cardboard as a construction basic.

With around 85% recycled content typically found in corrugated card, the material offers sustainable credentials that many other product and building materials cannot match.  Frank Gehry’s seminal 1969 Wiggle chair, featuring 60 layers of corrugated card “Edge Board” screwed into compression, is a plain sexy investigation of how to achieve strength and sculpture through the opposite layering of corrugations.  Shigeru Ban’s equally groundbreaking use of cardboard structure in halls, office buildings and houses epitomizes economy in use and lifecycle, marries the strength of the helically wound paper tube with simple, repeatable, affordable connection details.  As the architect says, “I don’t like waste”.

Wiggle Chair

Shigeru Ban’s temporary studio, Pompidou Center

Online a smattering of origami-based modules demonstrates all manner of flat packing structure, like Bloxes, flat packed card blocks that interlock for DIY internal walls and structures.  Swiss architect Nicola Enrico Staubli and his free, downloadable Foldschool designs. Eschewing the asymmetrical fold for the uniform concertina, the patented Liquid Cardboard creations of US-based Cardboard Designs are poetic and “freely transforming” vessels.

Bloxes

More pedestrian in form but super useful, compressed paper panel materials like Paperstone and EcoTop provide a paper-based replacement for pulp boards like MDF, utilizing the density and strength of papers en mass.

The ultimate in DIY cardboard emersion and superior acoustics has to be Mafoombey, a corrugated space both poetic and functional, designed for listening to music as part of the Finnish Habitare Fair 2005 by students Martti Kalliala and Esa Ruskeepää.  In awarding Mafoombey first prize Jasper Morrison commended the design for simply “turning the humble material of cardboard into something so wonderful”.

Mafoombey

AS SIMPLE AS A,B,C… OR NOT

June 12, 2009 by Sally Dominguez

Paid up unexpectedly for an article published yonks ago I decided to shout myself a design treat.  For years I have yearned for an Ray Eames walnut stool.

Originally designed for the lobby of NYC’s Time-Life Building where they were coupled with leather armchairs, A, B and C in solid walnut have always captured my imagination.  In an exhibition long ago I even tabled my own version in threaded, spun stainless steel sections as an all-weather, industrialized and slightly rustic interpretation.  When Athol, my crusty but loveable old metal spinner died from inhaling decades of metal dust, Australia lost an irreplaceable craftsperson and I lost the only person who could spin stainless back on itself in a close take on Ray Eames’ curvaceous walnut B.  Before then, and more so since, I have wanted an Eames stool.  I always thought I loved B.

I love that this stool works either way up.  I love that its gentle concave is a forgiving cup for any-sized bottom.  I love the abstract references to chess, dumbbells, cogs, knuckles and axles.  So with all that love in my soul I paced into the Mill Valley Design Within Reach to finally take my baby home.

I have never been a fan of the “apple-core-ness” of C so it was a tossup between A and B and when it came down to that – I was stuck.  I tried visually separating the two into a neutral setting.  I tried context, rearranging most of the DWR floor in growing desperation. With about 10 minutes before closing and no plans to exit sans stool I was in a decision-making quandary.   Was it B, my favorite til that point, with its central squashed ball and positive outward curve?  Or the tribal squat of A…….  The ghost of Ray echoed in my head  “You know what looks good can change, but what works works”.   Well, they ALL work Ray…..

Suddenly, what luck!  Random product designer to the rescue.  Male.  Apparently working on a new and tiny portable sound mixer.  Rode a rockstar vintage bike.  And made the observation that B is feminine, A is masculine, and he didn’t care much for C.  My concentration thus broken I looked again at the punchy angles of A… and the deal was done.

What do you think?

Sally Dominguez, Rainwater Hog LLC

Architect and product designer Sally aims her sharp Australian wit at the design scenes on both sides of the Pacific. Check Shapesters and ASIANLINE for Sally

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TIMES SQUARE: PULL UP A CHAIR

June 12, 2009 by Jennifer Bostic

Jennifer Bostic, Principal, Paper Plane Studio

Specializing in corporate visual voice projects, print systems and books, identity design, and exhibition design, Jennifer is a welcome leading voice in the GRAPHIK Blog

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D-DAY FOR DESIGN

June 6, 2009 by Nathan Shedroff

(Here, in honor of the 65th anniversary of D-Day and the invasion of Europe in World War II—- a new call for courage. Ed.)

This past week, I spoke on a panel at the Sustainable Brands conference about the potential end of conspicuous consumption. Koann Vikoren Skrzyniarz, the founder of the conference, asked three of us to talk for 15 minutes about whether we had, indeed, entered a post-consumer world (as many writers posit these days) and, if so, what that means. For myself, I’m not sure we’re quite there, though I hope we are. The biggest issue is that we don’t yet know what it looks like, and our visions of what a more meaningful, sustainable, and post-consumer world might be are either too much in the past–like our entire history up until the 50s, or the future–imagine the latest vision of Star Trek.

One of my co-panelists, Teaque Lenahan, from gravitytank, a Chicago consultancy, showed a video his firm created. What it made clear was that our grandparents experienced not only a more sustainable world but one where reuse and recycling was standard operating procedure. In fact, during World War II, this was equated with patriotism.

People planted Victory Gardens, saved and recycled materials and didn’t use other materials unless absolutely necessary. People gladly sacrificed for the good of the nation.

Now, compare that to today. Perhaps, the most extreme reversal came in the moment after 9/11 when our president asked us all to go shopping in response. It may have even been a good idea but the lingering cultural reverberation is that patriotism = consumerism and that’s ever more scary. I’ve made my own case against the concept of “retail therapy” in my latest book, Design is the Problem. In addition, just about every study looking at the intersection of happiness and consumption shows that the two seem to be opposed (the more we consume, the less happy we are). Now, students and scholars are actually building-out the notion of Gross National Happiness, a term coined by the Sultan of Brunei, into a real economic indicator: http://grossnationalhappiness.com

One of the problems we face is that we don’t actually know what this new, better world looks or feels like. We can look to our past or find clues in the present from places like Cuba (the most sustainable country on the planet at the moment), India (the country with the least consumerist people), Curitiba, Brazil (a city that has transformed itself socially, economically, and environmentally–all on a budget), or Sao Paolo (a city that banned outdoor advertising in 2007). I was reminded at the conference that Vermont banned outdoor ads in the 70s. Though these places probably don’t resemble what the USA or other countries need to grow into, they all offer glimpses into a more sustainable, meaningful, and less consumerist culture. So, they’re a start. But they’re not the vision we need.

The reason why visions are so important is that most people need one in order to step off in a new direction. This is what leaders do so well. The more visual, aural, and verbal the vision, the more people it communicates to and the more vividly it communicates.

Gil Friend, who runs the company Natural Logic and whose new book, The Truth About Green Business just launched, took us to task after our panel for not approaching the most important question of this brave, new world: what are the new economics? For example, if everything lasts twice as long–or more–then which is more sustainable? And if people consume less (possibly because they don’t feel a whole lot of meaning in their lives), then most companies are selling half to a quarter to less of the goods and services they do today. What do their business models look like? How do they survive? And why is it in their interest to change?

I don’t yet have the answer to the fundamental change part of this question–the one that is really about the macroeconomy. However, I do have an answer to the questions posed by companies about why they should care about sustainability, transform their offerings into services where possible, and get ready to make less stuff overall. The answer is simply: if they don’t, they’ll be beaten to market by those that do. Learning these lessons early and devising the solutions to these challenges will put forward-looking companies in a stronger position, with a brand promise that resonates with customers more deeply. Try being late to this party– when a handful of companies have already reached radical resource efficiency, innovated their products and services, and aligned themselves with the customer trends that connect at the level of meaning–the deepest and most powerful point of connection possible.

These won’t be connections that can be broken by features, performance, or price. Apple’s already made that clear to anyone paying attention. We’re reaching an inflection point that combines Darwinian evolution’s first premise with the most hardcore market capitalism: this is going to be a test of Survival of the Fittest like we haven’t seen since the Great Depression. General Motors has already shown that playing the frog in the slowly warming water will no longer cut it in the marketplace. It’s astonishing that it took 35 years for the water to boil, but companies can’t count on that slow of a reaction in the hyper-global world today. Quite simply, those companies that don’t make rapid, significant strides in sustainability and meaning won’t be around in ten years. Period. And, we’ll all be the better off for it.

Nathan Shedroff, Chair, Design Strategy MBA, California College of Arts

Nathan connects interaction and information design in the Re:Start and DIGE Blogs. Cutting edge we think!

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