Oct 26
Oct 26
Critics’ reactions to Libeskind’s Military History Museum
Posted in: Daniel Libeskind, Dezeen Wire, Do not show on the Homepage
Dezeen Wire: architecture critics have been offering their thoughts on Daniel Libeskind’s divisive Military History Museum in Dresden, which opened earlier this month.
The Observer‘s architecture critic Rowan Moore praised the spaces where the old museum meets the new addition but admonished the shard-like extension for its lack of functional space, stating: “The design’s weakness is its belief that sheer shape can speak on its own.”
In a review for The Wall Street Journal, Mary M. Lane described Libeskind’s intervention as “a piece of shrapnel freshly fallen from the sky” and outlines the architect’s motivations for working on the project, as a child of Holocaust survivors.
Writing in German publication Deutsche Welle, Ronny Arnold said that Libeskind’s renovation marks a new beginning and claims that “the museum is moving away from the mere presentation of war equipment and toward multidimensionality,” while Erin Huggins of The Local obtained a positive response to the building from museum spokesman Major Lars Berg, who said: “It’s an interesting combination of conventional components and something very progressive that one wouldn’t expect from the military.”
Libeskind’s design has had our readers up in arms – see the article and comments here and see all of our previous stories on Daniel Libeskind here.
Oct 26
Designing Conversations at MoMA’s Talk to Me Symposium
Posted in: Uncategorized
Radiolab Panel
With the title Talk to Me, the design exhibition currently on view at MoMA is naturally required to include some lectures, talks and curated conversations around and about the content. That content, which includes recent design work using and addressing technology to communicate, is fantastic, but also takes some time and focus to get through. The objects, videos and concepts on view are both about, and often require, the complexity and delight of communication and interaction. Simply, it’s not a show one can merely peruse (great stimulation = quick brain drain). Lucky for us, MoMA Senior Curator Paola Antonelli hosted a Symposium last week in which, appropriately, several designers, artists and activists talked about the works in the show, design and communication.
The event kicked off with a keynote conversation and presentation with Antonelli, Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich of Radiolab, writer Steven Johnson, and Eyewriter co-designer Zach Lieberman. In a loosely-guided discussion, they talked about designs, both in our everyday and the exhibition, which address the increasingly blurred line between human and machine. (One irresistable highlight being “Hi, a real human interface” by Multitouch Barcelona that we wrote about last week.)
The Radiolab guys talked about their uneasy attraction to “Julie,” the perky and friendly computerized voice of the Amtrak customer service system. (Watch this Saturday Night Live skit where Julie mingles at a party, and you’ll get it.) And of course, with it just released a week prior, Siri, Apple’s new assistant-on-demand living in the iPhone 4S quickly came up. They also discussed a few more blatantly attractive (by way of being cute) responsive robots: the talking stuffed animal Furby, and Kacie Kinzer’s Tweenbot, which is in the exhibition.
Furby
Kacie Kinzer’s Tweenbot
With a simple cardboard body, with big red wheels, two rectangle arms, and paunch belly, topped off with two big black eyes and a smile, the Tweenbot is an endlessly interesting design prop for studying human behavior. Its robotics are totally simple—it rolls. Forward. The key element is its flag, which implores anyone nearby to help it get to where its going. Everyone who sees it smiles, nudges it along, turns it around when it hits a wall. Onstage on Tuesday, Antonelli started it up, and it was saved from falling off the stage a few times.
Radiolab also played a clip from one of their episodes, in which computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum discusses his invention, ELIZA, a computer therapist. The therapist voice (again female) conducts a conversation with the user by merely repeating back what has been said in a different way or question form. (i.e. Person: “I feel sad today.” Computer: “Why do you feel sad?”) Weizenbaum found that his employees, even knowing that it was a program, couldn’t tear themselves away from talking to it.
With Siri, Julie and ELIZA in mind, Antonelli, Abumrad, Krulwich and Johnson discussed the fast-approaching line of questionable ethics that these robots-disguised-as-humans raise. Johnson pointed out that “one of the biggest fears of humans is mistaking the robot for humans.” Are people being deceived by these technologies and designs? Have we lost control to them? Hasn’t that always been the fear with new technologies?
Oct 26
ZIMA, grown by Morphocode
Posted in: Uncategorized
Zima is a set of minimal coasters produced by Morphocode. The design is based on the growth of snow crystals and cellular organisms. The aggregation p..
Oct 26
Shadow play
Posted in: Uncategorized
Working in hand-carved Linden wood and bronze, Turkish artist Yasam Sasmazer creates life-sized figures of children: her first UK exhibition is at London’s Aubin Gallery now
Illuminated Darkness features several of Sasmazer’s figures, lit to create dramatic shadows on the walls behind. According to the artist, shadows represent the darkness in our souls’ hidden side and the most frightening part of our personality.
Illuminated Darkness is at the Aubin Gallery, Redchurch St, London E2 until November 4. Details here
Oct 26
Incase is seeking a Product Photographer in San Francisco, California
Posted in: Uncategorized
Product Photographer
Incase
San Francisco, California
Incase, the global lifestyle brand and leader in carrying solutions and innovations, is currently looking for a Product Photographer to work in their award-winning design and development studio located in the SOMA district. He or she will be responsible for shooting all product photography to be used in print and online and working with various teams to ensure quality and consistency across the product imagery.
The best design jobs and portfolios hang out at Coroflot.
Oct 26
Sinforosa
Posted in: Uncategorized
Seduction with character: the Sinforosa lamp is fully concentrated on its lacquered metal core and on the lightness of clear-cut lines which curve gen..
Oct 26
Documentary claims that architects are not the solution to urbanisation
Posted in: Dezeen Wire, Do not show on the Homepage
Dezeen Wire: a feature-length documentary outlining the dangers of poor urban planning and including contributions from leading architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Norman Foster has been released by film director Gary Hustwit.
Urbanized completes Husvit’s trilogy of design-related films. Previous instalments Helvetica, an examination of the iconic Swiss typeface and Objectified, which focused on the creative minds behind manufactured objects, were cult hits with viewers working in the creative industries.
This film outlines the challenges that will result from future urban expansion and contraction, and offers insight from those currently involved in the process of ensuring that future cities meet the needs of their occupants.
Following a screening of Urbanized in London, design critic Justin McGuirk of The Guardian praised the film’s critical stance on architecture’s contribution to urban design, stating: “To its credit, the film is unequivocal that architects – especially starchitects – are not the solution.”
The film currently has a limited release (see details here) and will be shown at the Barbican in London from 16 December with a DVD release scheduled for early next year.
Oct 26
Birding The Net
Posted in: Uncategorized
Lazy birdwatchers will be excited to hear that they no longer have to venture into the great outdoors to indulge in their favourite pastime, as a new campaign from the National Audubon Society in the US releases a series of digital birds across the net.
The campaign, created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, works in a similar way to Poke’s Balloonacy campaign for Orange, but this time birds are released unexpectedly across websites, where they fly elegantly by, occasionally stopping to perch on a masthead (a flock of pelicans flying over The New York Times home page is shown above).
Gulls on Slate
The campaign aims to draw attention to the National Audubon Society, whose mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosytems, focusing on birds and other wildlife. The game operates through a Facebook app, which encourages users to compete with friends online to spot the birds in order to win prizes. Clues of where the birds will pop up next are also appearing on two Twitter streams, @FloridaScrubJay and @RufHummingbird.
The campaign will run until November 7. To see non-live examples of the birds on websites, click here for The New York Times or here for Slate. There is also a little bird on this site (this one’s more subtle). More info on the National Audubon Society is at audubon.org.
Oct 26
“Abu Dhabi’s cultural vision suffers setback”- Financial Times
Posted in: Dezeen Wire, Do not show on the Homepage
Dezeen Wire: plans for branches of the Guggenheim, Louvre and other museums in Abu Dhabi by leading architects have been dealt a blow by delays to a key construction contract, according to a report in today’s Financial Times.
The article claims that a government spending review has led to the cancellation of the concrete works tender for Frank Gehry‘s Guggenheim and could affect the other proposed buildings in the Saadiyat Island development including a branch of the Louvre by Jean Nouvel, national museum by Norman Foster, maritime museum by Tadao Ando and performing arts centre by Zaha Hadid.
The first buildings were due for completion in just over two years time but the developer, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), has already announced that the estimated delivery has been put back at least a year. Officials from the TDIC, Louvre and Guggenheim have all claimed that the projects are continuing as planned but news of the spending review has cast doubt over the validity of these claims.
See our previous stories on the launch of the Saadiyat Island development here, Frank Gehry’s design for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum here and Jean Nouvel’s proposal for the Louvre here.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.