Cape Town named World Design Capital 2014


Dezeen Wire:
Cape Town in South Africa has been named World Design Capital 2014 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid).

The city beat shortlisted candidates Dublin and Bilbao and becomes the first African city to be named a World Design Capital. It will host a programme of design-related events in 2014, focusing on generating social, cultural and economic growth through design.

Cape Town’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille said, “The World Design Capital bid process and title have helped to bring different initiatives together and have made us realise that design in all its forms, when added together, creates human and city development.”

You can see more information about the winning bid on the Cape Town World Design Capital 2014 website.

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Barbican to stream live OMA debate this evening


Dezeen Wire:
 London’s Barbican Art Gallery will broadcast a live stream of a debate featuring all seven partners of architecture practice OMA in public conversation for the first time ever at 7pm this evening.

The discussion will be chaired by Tate Modern director Chris Dercon. Click here to watch it via the Barbican’s Facebook page.

See our story on the OMA/Progress exhibition at the Barbican here and a collection of interviews filmed with OMA director Rem Koolhaas and other partners on Dezeen Screen.

Here are some details about the event from the Barbican:


Barbican Art Gallery: live streaming of sold-out OMA debate with Rem Koolhaas and Chris Dercon, Director, Tate Modern – 7pm tonight

Barbican Art Gallery is delighted to announce the live streaming of tonight’s sold-out event OMA: Show & Tell from 7pm on Facebook via UStream. Chaired by Chris Dercon, Director of Tate Modern and held in the Barbican Theatre, the special event brings together all seven OMA partners – Rem Koolhaas, Victor van der Chijs, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen van Loon, David Gianotten, Iyad Alsaka and Shohei Shigematsu – for the first time in public conversation.

OMA: Show & Tell is part of a vibrant events programme including talks, salons, debates, tours and workshops accompanying Barbican Art Gallery’s autumn exhibition OMA/Progress, from 6 October 2011 to 19 February 2012. This is the first time the Barbican Art Gallery has live streamed an event.

To view the live streaming, please click here, and ‘like’ the Barbican Art Gallery Facebook page:

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Design Council CABE director steps down


Dezeen Wire:
the Design Council in the UK is to appoint a new director for Design Council CABE following the announcement that Diane Haigh has left the post.

Haigh was formerly the Director of Design Review at CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment) and played a key role in the merger with the Design Council earlier this year – see our previous story.

Here are some more details from the Design Council:


Design Council seeks new Director for Design Council Cabe as Diane Haigh steps down

Diane Haigh, the Director of Design Council Cabe has announced her departure. Diane was Director of Design Review at CABE from 2007 and joined the Design Council when the two organisations merged in April 2011. Over the last six months, she has supported the organisation through a period of change, including re-establishing national design reviews.

David Kester said: “Di Haigh has been a great asset to Design Council Cabe as an architect, thinker and leader of Design Review. I am very grateful to her for all her help bringing CABE into the Design Council.  We now open a new chapter and I look forward to appointing her successor.”

Diane Haigh said: “Over the last four years it has been a huge privilege to work with so many terrific people, firstly at CABE as Director of Design Review and latterly as Director of CABE at the Design Council. It has been a fascinating time for me, having been involved in discussions across a broad range of developments. I am most grateful for the commitment of all those who have engaged with us in making design reviews into real opportunities to strengthen scheme proposals.

Having now achieved the successful merger of the CABE team into the Design Council as one integrated organisation, it seems a good moment for me to move on to fresh challenges. New ways of working are called for to respond to the changing context and a new management team can now take the vision forward. I wish them well in continuing the vital contribution that Design Council Cabe can make to achieving sustainable well-designed development for communities across the country.”

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“Humanitarian design project aims to build a sense of community”- The New York Times


Dezeen Wire:
in her latest article for The New York Times, design correspondent Alice Rawsthorn profiles Studio H, a humanitarian design project has spent a year teaching design skills to school children in a deprived part of North Carolina – The New York Times

Rawsthorn describes the process that Studio H founders Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller undertook with the pupils – providing basic skills that resulted in the creation of a 2,000-square-foot pavilion at a local farmers market – and outlines the benefits of teaching design to students at a formative age.

See links to more articles by Alice Rawsthorn here.

Gender and race on Dezeen

Gender and race on Dezeen

Dezeen Wire: Dezeen reader Salomé Francpourmoi has emailed us her analysis of the gender and race of designers whose portraits we’ve published on our homepage in the last seven months which, she says, shows a predominance of white males.

Gender and race on Dezeen

Her research covers the 50 most recent full head shots published on Dezeen (pictured above), of which 75% are white males, 8% Asian males, 2%middle-eastern males and 15% white females. Note: the collage of portraits from Dezeen shown above was created by Francpourmoi.

Here at Dezeen, we’re keen to hear your opinions and feedback on this issue – please use the comments section below to let us know what you think.

Francpourmoi’s email to us is copied below:


Dear Dezeen editorial team,

I would like to share with you the following thoughts, provoked by the daily browsing through your magazine – which I appreciate a lot, for it is most of the time an enjoyable read.

I am currently making several small studies about it, for despite its quality it puzzles me in some respects.

Attached is study #1, which follows a simple rule: gather the last 50 designer portraits in full head shot featured on Dezeen. [the images are shown in counter-chronological order from October 20th, 2011, to March 23rd, 2011.]

I observe, with some discomfort, that over the past half-year (taken as the random timeframe of my study), the breakdown in designer portraits is the following:

84% men
12% women
4% couples

90% white
8% asian
2% middle-eastern

75% white men
8% asian men
2% middle-eastern men
15% white women (including one who is not a designer, but a dancer who happened to be performing at an event)

Naturally, using the concepts of race and gender in such dry-cut terms is a slippery slope – and I don’t enjoy putting a subjective label on these people’s heads. I dislike being labelled myself, especially in terms of race and gender. However, another part of me is simply thinking: ‘Man. Everytime I open this page I am greeted by a white dude.’

I have nothing against white dudes, of course. But I have a problem with the skewed perspective created by a magazine which proclaims itself ‘the world’s most influential online architecture and design magazine’ – and indeed is read by millions. Granted, there might not be as many women in architecture and design as there are men. However, from the few statistics I was able to find, there has to be more than 15%, especially in anglo-saxon countries (which your publication also seems to have a bias towards, but that is another study).

As for architects and designers ‘of color’, I am pretty sure they exist in the real world. Such distortions start suggesting in a subliminal way that the best design from around the world is produced mostly under the authority of white males.

This furthers a problematic world view, which promotes as model a very specific group of people by giving it overwhelming visibility for no obvious reasons, while suffocating the possibilities for new types of voices to be heard. In any field, it is hard enough to rise when you belong to ‘the margins’ (as defined by people who put themselves in the center), without having to endure the shushing of role models who could make a difference by showing their existence.

As a widely-read publication, you have a responsibility towards the representation of society you send back to the world.

One way to be fair would be toning down your definition of yourself, and acknowledge that you bring ‘a carefully edited selection of the best architecture, design and interiors projects from western, preferably white male designers’.

The other way – and I hope you will consider this option feasible -, would be to get more actively interested in representing the world’s diversity, even if it means going out of your way to do it.

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WSJ. Magazine announces winners of inaugural Innovator of the Year Awards

Dezeen Wire: artist Ai Weiwei, architect Bjarke Ingels and designer Joris Laarman are among the winners of WSJ. Magazine‘s first Innovator of the Year Awards, a prize honouring the world’s most creative and progressive individuals.

The winners were chosen by editors of the Wall Street Journal and a panel of experts and will be presented with the awards (designed by Laarman) at a ceremony at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on Thursday.

Here is some more information from WSJ. Magazine, including the full line up of winners:


WSJ. Magazine’s first annual Innovator of the Year Awards celebrate the people and ideas changing the world

WSJ. Magazine has announced its inaugural Innovator of the Year Awards, honoring the most creative, disruptive, and influential individuals in the world today. In conjunction with the November issue of WSJ., seven winners will be honored at a dinner on Thursday, October 27, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The November issue of WSJ. will hit newsstands on Saturday, October 29, as part of WSJ Weekend.

“Our goal was to determine who is shaping our world the most creative, groundbreaking ways,” said Editor-in-Chief Deborah Needleman in announcing the awards, “whether it’s something we behold or live in, marvel at, participate in or consume.”

The winners of the 2011 WSJ. Magazine’s Innovator of the Year Awards are: Ai Weiwei (Art); Katie Grand (Fashion); Elon Musk(Technology); Bjarke Ingels (Architecture); Steve Ells (Food); Joris Laarman (Design); and The Giving Pledge, founded by Warren Buffetand Bill Gates (Philanthropy).

The Innovator of the Year Awards were chosen by editors of The Wall Street Journal, with input from a select group of experts in each field. The award itself was designed by the winner in the design category, Joris Laarman. This year’s awards are sponsored by Audi and Cartier.

The 2011 WSJ. Innovators of the Year

ART: Ai Weiwei, the acclaimed artist and creator of the Bejiing Olympics’ “bird’s nest” stadium, who became the worldwide symbol of free expression when he was jailed this year by the Chinese government. Artist Marina Abramovic will accept the award on his behalf.

FASHION: Katie Grand, the visionary stylist and right-hand woman to trailblazing designers such as Marc Jacobs and Miuccia Prada, whose ability to interpret and create new trends is unmatched. Designer Marc Jacobs will present the award to Grand.

TECHNOLOGY: Elon Musk, for revolutionizing three of the biggest industries in the world–automobiles, energy and space exploration–simultaneously. Musk envisions a world where cars run on electricity, where homes and businesses are powered by the sun, and where humans colonize Mars. Artist Tom Sachs, whose recent work is based on the imagery of space, will present the award to Musk.

ARCHITECTURE: Bjarke Ingels, for his wildly expressive structures, including the radical re-imagining of the New York high-rise apartment building, his commitment to sustainability and his philosophy of “pragmatic utopianism.” Richard Wurman, the author, architect and founder of the TED conferences, will present the award to Ingels.

FOOD: Steve Ells, chef and founder of Chipotle restaurants, for his dedication to sustainability, reinventing fast food and changing the way America eats. Presenting Ells with his award will be best-selling author and organic food advocate Jonathan Safran Foer.

DESIGN: Joris Laarman for seamlessly melding the invisible logic of science with the ornamental nature of design, mapping out a bold new aesthetic with robots and 3-D printers. Presenting the award to Laarman will be Murray Moss, founder of design art company Moss.

PHILANTHROPY: The Giving Pledge for its revolutionary effect on Philanthropy. Launched just over one year ago by Warren Buffett andBill Gates, The Giving Pledge has turned into the biggest fundraiser in the world, attracting 69 billionaires so far and a total value of more than $150 billion.

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Shanghai to ban glass curtain walls on many new buildings

Dezeen Wire: safety concerns have led local officials in Shanghai to propose the introduction of a regulation banning the use of glass curtain walls on new schools, hospitals and residential buildings – China Daily

A number of recent incidents involving falling glass in the city, which has the highest number of glass-clad buildings in China, have led to concerns that poor installation and maintenance are increasing the chances of injury to the public.

“Confidence about overall workloads remains fragile” – RIBA Future Trends Survey


Dezeen Wire:
the Royal Institute of British Architects‘ Future Trends Survey for September points to a drop in the number of architectural practices anticipating increased demand for their services.

Unemployment in the industry is also a concern, with fifteen per cent of practices expecting staffing levels to drop and an increased number of architects reporting that they had been unemployed in September.

See past RIBA Future Trends Survey results here.

RIBA Future Trends Survey results for September 2011

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Future Trends Survey for September 2011 shows that confidence about overall workloads remains fragile.

The number of practices expecting more work dropped from the previous month. This represents a fall in the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index at -10, down from +2 in August.

The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index also fell in September, down from -3 in August 2011 to -7. Fifteen per cent of practices expected staff levels to drop, although the number expecting an increase rose slightly. Large practices – those with more than 51 staff – are more inclined to feel able to increase permanent staffing levels over the next quarter than small and medium-sized practices.

The number of architects reporting that they personally had been underemployed during September increased.

Sector forecasts also reflect the challenging conditions facing the profession: 15 per cent of practices expected work levels to grow in the private housing sector and practices, down from August, and practices expecting workloads to decrease in this sector rose to 21 per cent.

Expectation of work in the commercial sector also fell: 21 per cent of practices predicted a decrease, although the number predicting growth remained constant at 16 per cent. The outlook for the public sector workload remained unchanged from August: 29 per cent of practices expected a fall in workload, with 5 per cent predicting an increase.

The statistical analysis of the survey enables the RIBA to track regularly two key indices of confidence within the profession: future workloads and staffing levels. Both fell in September. 2011.

Adrian Dobson, RIBA Director of Practice, said:

“The September results for the Future Trends Survey clearly show that confidence about future workloads overall over the next quarter for UK architects remains fragile, although large practices remain relatively more confident, particularly in the commercial sector, than small and medium-sized practices.

“Although overall demand for architects’ services continues to be very weak in some sectors, anecdotal evidence from the survey suggests that niche markets such as high-end bespoke housing, conservation works and certain healthcare sectors remain resilient.

“Practices based in the South of England remain much less pessimistic than those in other parts of the country, with those in Northern Ireland and Wales and the West currently the least confident about future levels of work.

“If UK economic production continues to stagnate, the Government may introduce some fiscal stimulus in 2012, which may include bringing forward some infrastructure capital spending. This could open up opportunities, for example, for practices with expertise in the transport and energy sectors.”

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Libeskind’s Military History Museum should be “more than a gesture”- The Observer


Dezeen Wire:
 in his latest review for The Observer architecture critic Rowan Moore criticises Daniel Libeskind‘s angular five-storey extension to the Military History Museum in Dresden, stating that ”something so large and conspicuous should surely be more than a gesture.”

Moore claims that the new intervention interacts successfully with the existing 1870s building but adds that some of the spaces are not as interesting as they should be and describes the projecting shard as “at once breathtaking, verging on the wonderful, and breathtakingly dumb.”

We had an amazing response when we published our story on the museum a few weeks ago. One reader described the design as “insensitive and inconsiderate,” while there was some praise including this comment: “Brave and bonkers. Excellent!” – see the story and comments here and all of our previous stories on Daniel Libeskind here

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Winners of 2011 Dutch Design Awards announced


Dezeen Wire:
the twelve winners of this year’s Dutch Design Awards were announced at a ceremony in Eindoven this evening, including a robot that prints chairs from recycled refrigerators, street lamps with no poles and a bunker that’s been cut in half.

The Golden Eye prize for the best design in 2011 went to iPad documentary Money ​​& Speed: Inside the Black Box (VPRO Tegenlicht) by Daniel Gross and Joris Maltha of Arnhem studio Catalogtree.

A lifetime achievement award was presented to Dutch designer Marijke van der Wijst, design brand Ahrend won best client and Bart Hess, designer of Lady Gaga’s Slime Dress, won the Mini Young Designer Award.

All the nominated projects remain on show as part of Dutch Design Week until 30 October.

Here are some more details from the Dutch Design Week organisers:


MONEY & SPEED best NL design
Twelve awards for the best Dutch Design presented to unique winners

During the spectacular Award Show in Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, twelve Dutch Design Awards (DDA) were granted. The awards were presented in the main categories of Product, Communications and Spatial; also a number of special prizes were awarded, among which the MINI Young Designer Award (incentive prize young talent), the Best Client Award and the BNO – Piet Zwart Lifetime Achievement Award from the DDA. The international jury awarded The Golden Eye – the prize for the best Dutch design in 2011 – to the iPad documentary Money ​​& Speed: Inside the Black Box’ of VPRO Tegenlicht by Catalogtree (Daniel Gross and Joris Maltha). From a field of more than 680 participants and 45 finalists, the work Money & Speed was ‘the best of the best’. Besides the honour, Catalogtree wins €20,000 in prize money.

The international jury said the following about the winning work: “Money & Speed ​​has the capacity to inspire a wide audience to change. It shows that design can actually contribute to a better world: an eye-opener. ”

The international jury led by Hedy d’Ancona made ​​the following statement on this year’s contest. “Designers want to change the world, but they can’t do it all on their own. This year the jury noticed that the key subject of many contemporary design concerns the changing world and the issues associated with it. The engagement has been a constant subject of conversation, also with the jury, who in an exceptionally lively discussion has taken the decisions. At the same time, the jury stresses the fact that the power of ‘design thinking’ should not be underestimated. The designs of the finalists proved to be rich and differentiated, which shows that even in these turbulent times, Dutch designers hold their heads high. They feel passionate about creating a better future.”

The Award Show, directed by Cultuur-Ondernemen in collaboration with Praaning & Roekens, was presented by Hadassah de Boer. The (inter) national professional audience in a jam-packed Muziekgebouw was in an excellent mood. Besides the Golden Eye for Money & Speed, more prizes were awarded. The MINI Young Designer Award was won by Bart Hess; the winner of the BNO – Piet Zwart Life Time Achievement Award was Marijke van der Wijst, and the Best Client Award went to Ahrend.

During the Award Show, Timo de Rijk presented the first copy of the second edition of the Dutch Design Yearbook, published by NAi Publishers in association with the Dutch Design Awards to Mary-Ann Schreurs, Alderman Design, Innovation, Culture and Public Space in Eindhoven. During Dutch Design Week, the designs of all finalists and winners will be exhibited in the Brainport Greenhouse at the Stadhuisplein. This is also where on October 30 at 03.00 pm. the winner of the DDA Public Award will be announced. The audience can during DDW still vote for the winner of this award.

GOLDEN EYE
Money & Speed: Inside the Black Box (VPRO)
Catalogtree, Daniel Gross & Joris Maltha

Money & Speed mixes different aspects of media in a unique manner and without loss of objectivity. While traditional
media nowadays often evade difficult subjects and replace them by images, this iPad documentary expressly does not
avoid complexity. In Money & Speed, the viewer takes part in the problems at issue. Money & Speed therefore has the
capacity to inspire a wide audience to change. It shows that design can actually contribute to a better world: an eye-
opener.

MINI YOUNG DESIGNER AWARD
Bart Hess

A perfect presentation in which the tactility of the materials that are used, is transferred in an extraordinary way. His work
is sensational, almost dramatic through the use of modern techniques and materials. He creates his own stage and
international collaborations with high-profile names such as Lady Gaga, Palais de Tokyo, Iris van Herpen and Lucy
McRae.

BEST CLIENT
Ahrend

Ahrend demonstrates, as it used to do in the past, great love for design. Design is even more in the company’s genes
than in its strategy. Design is primarily tactical and intuitive. The role of the management is crucial in the design strategy
and the realisation of the collection and brand positioning. The commitment to sustainability through the application of
new materials arisen from the knowledge of external designers as well as the role of internal designers in coaching
external designers can be called exceptional. The fact that Ahrend sees the external designers as partners and offers
them an attractive royalty fee is clear evidence of good and sustainable clientship …”

BNO PIET ZWART LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD OF THE DUTCH DESIGN AWARDS
Marijke van der Wijst

Marijke van der Wijst is an exceptionally disciplined designer, who cannot be captured in any design discipline. Her
oeuvre is extensive and wide in scope, the design itself attests to severity and restraint. We commend the way in which
she shapes her collaboration with clients, her contribution to the education of young designers – encouraging, inspiring,
and critical – and her role in the board of BNO. She has made a significant contribution to the development of the
professional field.

COMMUNICATION

BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN
Illustrations picture book ‘Wilde Dieren’
Rop van Mierlo

The book ‘Wilde Dieren’ is an icon inviting people to tell stories. Meanwhile, the illustrations are so strong that it does not
really need a story. Universal, understandable for everyone, from young to old and all over the world.

BEST MOTION DESIGN
Videoclip ‘Elektrotechnique’, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig
Lernert & Sander

A breakthrough in the world of music videos. This animation balances precisely between art and commerce. At the same
time, the clip contains a healthy dose of humour. This combination gives this work a unique signature.

BEST DESIGN DIGITAL MEDIA
Money & Speed: Inside the Black Box (VPRO)
Catalogtree, Daniel Gross & Joris Maltha

Money & Speed: Inside the Black Box combines an intelligent way of presenting with all aspects of design. This iPad
documentary makes an intelligent statement in a journalistic manner, which enables Money & Speed to create multiple
layers of understanding.

PRODUCT

BEST CONSUMER PRODUCT
Colour Carpets and bed linen for HAY
Scholten & Baijings

In this collection, the tea towels make a big impression. Good graphical image is carried by a surprising colour palette,
on the one hand creating quality, and on the other introducing beauty and fun in the kitchen in an affordable way.

BEST PROFESSIONAL PRODUCT
Philips FreeStreet, street lighting
Philips Design

Philip FreeStreet is a new type of product in the current product category. The playful structure provides new ideas for
other designers. It responds to issues of security while lending the public space a different look.

BEST AUTONOMOUS DESIGN
Endless
Dirk Vander Kooij

Endless is an example of the chemistry of the 21st century: it transforms waste into practicability and beauty.

SPATIAL

BEST EXTERIOR
Bunker 599
Rietveld Landscape | Atelier de Lyon

Bunker 599 marks the present and the past. It represents many archetypal values, including vulnerability and protection,
hope and optimism. The design does not look back but forward, while the weight of the past is preserved in the material.

BEST INTERIOR
Vacant NL, where architecture meets ideas
Rietveld Landscape (curator), design team: Ronald Rietveld, Erik Rietveld, Jurgen Bey, Joost
Grootens, Saskia van Stein, Claus Wiersma, Barbara Visser

25% of the buildings in the Netherlands are vacant, while students cannot find accommodation in the cities. Vacant NL
tries to change the mindset involving a social problem and to put the issue on the political agenda.

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