Hasta La Ideas

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pa href=”http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Why-Design-Now/”Why Design Now?/a, the Cooper-Hewitt’s fourth installment of the National Design Triennial, zeroes in on the segment of design that attempts to solve our biggest social and environmental problems. To best exemplify the international cooperation that lies at the heart of this outlook on design, the curatorial team extended their scope from domestic to global. Consequently, this show is the biggest yet. One hundred and thirty-four projects run the gamut from water-based eyeglasses to self-propelled high-speed rail./p

pAn interest in environmentally- and socially-responsible design is not a prerequisite for visiting and enjoying the show. There’s something for everyone. If you’re not so taken with giant infrastructural proposals, fashion, new materials, and furniture are just around the corner. For me, the impressive a href=”http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Why-Design-Now/project/z-10-concentrated-solar-power-system”Z-10 Concentrated Solar-Power System/a designed by Tarazi Studio, the demonstration of the a href=” http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Why-Design-Now/project/the-new-york-times-visualization-and-interaction-projects”New York Times Visualization and Interaction projects/a, and the a href=”http://exhibitions.cooperhewitt.org/Why-Design-Now/project/the-verticalvillage”Vertical Village/a by MVRDV were among the show’s highlights./p

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pemTop: Z-10 Concentrated Solar-Power System by Tarazi Studio. Bottom: a scene from MVRDV’s Vertical Village./em/p

pBut, why design now? /p

pThe exhibition catalog suggests, “designers around the world are answering this question by creating products, proposals, buildings, landscapes, and messages that address social and environmental issues and opportunities,” but there’s a disconnect here: the designers haven’t answered this question, they’ve only responded to problems and opportunities specific to their practices and contexts. The one hundred and thirty-four chosen projects represent just as many attitudes about design, and it’s up to the Cooper-Hewitt to digest these and offer larger answers to the big, broad question they’ve posed. Unfortunately, the quote mirrors the stance of the Triennial: that the projects say enough on their own. They’re left to fend for themselves in the sea of the exhibition, and, without sufficient explanation from the museum, it’s difficult to understand them beyond face value. /p

pIf the Cooper-Hewitt’s role is to clarify and present design to the general public, it’s not a good sign that even a designer had difficulty parsing the message. This is not a problem of content, but one of form; the situating of the projects should be as important as their selection./pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/ny_design_week_10/why_design_now_thoughts_on_the_4th_national_design_triennial_16628.asp”(more…)/a
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pa href=”http://www.epfl-ecal-lab.ch/page32323.html”emSunny Memories/em/a, a traveling exhibition exploring the application of dye-based solar cells, landed at the Center for Architecture during New York Design Week and runs through June 6th. Above, Laetitia Wolff of a href=”http://futureflair.com/”Futureflair/a and Nicolas Henchoz of a href=”http://www.epfl-ecal-lab.ch”EPFL+ECAL Lab/a walk us through 5 highlights./p

pThe story begins with a partnership between designers and engineers. The EPFL+ECAL Lab is an outpost of the Swiss technology bureau Ecole Polyteacute;chnique Fedeacute;rale de Lausanne (EPFL) that lives within the design school at ECAL. Their goal is to find ways to integrate and apply new technologies by bringing them straight to designers. /p

pFor this exhibition, the EPFL+ECAL Lab invited three other schools, the California College of the Arts (CCA), the Royal College of Art (RCA), and Ecole Nationale Supeacute;rieure de Creacute;ation Industrielle (ENSCI), to explore a colorant-based solar cell technology invented by Michael Graetzel at EPFL a few years ago. /p

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pThe cells are best explained in the show’s catalog: /p

blockquoteA colorant is poured onto ceramic powder which is heated at 400 degrees and sits between two plates of glass. A liquid conductormdash;an electrolytemdash;serves as a kind of sauce, the final ingredient in this sandwich. An electric wire is connected to the top glass, another to the lower glass and the cell is ready to work. The technique used to deposit the powdermdash;the colorant’s supportmdash;comes from screenprinting and can thus be used for refined patterns and even texts./blockquote

pThe results are impressivemdash;the four schools produced work that touched all parts of daily life, from architectural pavilions to radios and horticulture. The new capabilities of the dye-based cell combined with the inventiveness of the students moved the projects away from the familiar aesthetic of the surface-applied, black and blue pholtovataic. The best part is that one-third of the projects shown are feasible now, and the rest within ten years. /p

pImages and descriptions of several of the projects follow./p

pENSCI: /p

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pemHelio/em by Leacute;a Longisbr /
Big time radio is back! In an era of miniaturization for electronic objects, Helio gives radio back the ability to captivate as it used to. Recalling the esthetic of tube amplifiers, the device showcases cells whose direction and colour complement each other to capture almost all of the light spectrum./p

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pemElectriflore/em by Alexandre Kournwskybr /
A wall fixture to encourage plant growth: a solar energy-fed electric current circulates in the floor to help plants growmdash;the new solar cells, inspired by photosynthesis, are making their tribute to plants. Electriflore can be bent as needed to allow the grower to add plant food capsules.br /
/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/ny_design_week_10/new_york_design_week_2010_dye-based_photovoltaics_at_sunny_memories_16633.asp”(more…)/a
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pimg alt=”todd-portrait.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/todd-portrait.jpg” width=”468″ height=”342″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pemTodd Bracher as featured in Intramuros Magazine this month./em/p

pWe love New York Design Week not only for the insane amount of design to see, but also because it offers an opportunity to meet people face to face and get a little bit of their backstory, outside of press releases and high-res images. At a href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/ny_design_week_10/new_york_design_week_2010_carte_blanche_at_dupont_corian__16580.asp”Carte Blanche/a, we caught up with a href=”http://www.toddbracher.net/”Todd Bracher/a, an American designer featured on the cover of this month’s issue of Intramuros. After working in Copenhagen, Milan, Paris and London, Bracher made a move back to the United States a few years ago to establish a studio in his native New York City. Below, Todd demonstrates emPhysical Illusion/em, his project for the DuPont Corian Carte Blanche exhibition./p

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pWe talked to Todd about why so many designers in the USA are eager to define “American Design.” What’s with the nationalism? He pointed out that designers in the USA are wondering who holds their flag: “Italians have brands like Moroso, Alessi, and Cappellini. The UK has Habitat and Established and Sons. They have a homeland advantage.” He acknowledged that America has Nike, Coke and Herman Miller, but they aren’t in the same game. The “emotional side” of design is not focused on here. The American prowess is in marketing, branding, and sales potential.” /p

pTodd is optimistic despite the lack of representation. He observed that in Milan, the scene has been changing. “Design has become less big business, more small producers, and the ideas are as strong.” The growth of the designer-maker is reflected in the American scene as well. “American designers are ganging up. They don’t need branding or manufacturers to represent their ideas.” a href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/featured_items/design_club_why_young_american_designers_are_ganging_up_14223.asp”We were happy to hear it/a./p

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pemPhysical Illusion, by Todd Bracher for Corian./em/p

pA growth of independence in the American design scene should also free designers up to explore some of the weirder and more wonderful corners of American culture. Through his work at a href=”http://www.materdesign.com/”Mater/a, a Danish company out to support craft traditions, Todd was sent to artisans in 3rd world countries, like stone masons in India, to develop design projects around their particular set of skills. But, Todd said, “Craft is dying everywhere. In New Orleans, there are quiltmakers and bootmakers without work.” We tend to go to 3rd world countries to try to “revive” them, but there is plenty to work with at home in the US./p

pTodd is fleshing out a project that works with some of these issues. Instead of designing an object with the tools of a particular trade, he is developing a tool specifically for a craftsman. This is not only to find new directions for a craft, but to also design a system that will create products, removing design one step from the actual output. /p

pPick up this month’s issue of a href=”http://www.intramuros.fr/Intramuros/a to read more about Todd Bracher Studio, or visit the a href=”http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces_Commercial/en_US/news_events/events/CarteBlanche_event_2010.html”Carte Blanche/a exhibit at Corian Dupont, open through July 2nd, 2010. /pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/ny_design_week_10/new_york_design_week_2010_todd_bracher_on_american_design_16609.asp”(more…)/a
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pThe Future Perfect’s show ema href=”http://thefutureperfect.com/blog.php?id=26″Lift Hold Roll/a/em challenged designers to create an object using a clamp, pulley or caster #8212; or any combination of these #8212; resulting in a tightly curated and at first glance, a very functional looking range of furniture, lamps and objects./p

pLimited to these simple utilitarian tools, most designers took the opportunity to add a layer of playfulness through the use of simple mechanical actions, unexpected function, and bright colors. Our favorite detail was the decorative treatment to the metal on Carrie Solomon’s em”Portable Candelabra”/em (pictured last)./p

pemPictured above: The Future Perfect in Brooklyn,”Ring Max” by Karl Zahn, and the Lift Hold Roll exhibition space./em/p

pbr /
img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/05/lift-hold-roll_2010_02.jpg” width=”468″ height=”328″ alt=”lift-hold-roll_2010_02.jpg”/br /
em”Coat Rack” by Seth Quest Megan Heacock White/em/p

pbr /
img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/05/lift-hold-roll_2010_03.jpg” width=”468″ height=”493″ alt=”lift-hold-roll_2010_03.jpg”/br /
em”Gun_Tackle Pulley Mirror” by Barion Garzon/em/p

pbr /
img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/05/lift-hold-roll_2010_04.jpg” width=”468″ height=”328″ alt=”lift-hold-roll_2010_04.jpg”/br /
em”Desk Lamp” by Evan Clabots, Nonlinear/em/p

pbr /
img src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/2010/05/lift-hold-roll_2010_05.jpg” width=”468″ height=”328″ alt=”lift-hold-roll_2010_05.jpg”/br /
em”Euclid on a Roll” by Sarah Yerkes (Age 92)/em/p

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pimg alt=”MICA 1.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/MICA%201.jpg” width=”468″ height=”312″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pimg alt=”MICA 6.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/MICA%206.jpg” width=”468″ height=”312″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pThe emMaryland Institute College of Art /em(MICA) just won an ICFF Award for their stand in the Javits Centre. The project presented is called also MICA, standing for emMaterial Inspired Concepts and Artifacts/em. The brief was to get inspiration from traditional natural materials that have been around since centuries and are therefore “proofed by history”./p

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pemDig, Shift, Make… Earthen Play/em is a natural toy kit designed by Leslie Giron and Heiji Jun, including digging tools, a storage box with a sifting screen bottom and bamboo molds, to introduce kids to play with dirt./p

pimg alt=”MICA 4.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/MICA%204.jpg” width=”468″ height=”312″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pemTwist, Push, Pull…/em by Stephanie Sevich and Pati Pogodzinski is an interactive multipurpose object, inspired by a clarinet which uses cork as a fastener./p

pimg alt=”MICA 3.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/MICA%203.jpg” width=”468″ height=”312″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pWith his project emMaking non-woven objects by Sitting/em, Sunny Chong created a felted bag by attaching a plastic bag filled with felting wool and soap to his car seat By sitting on this plastic bag during long car journeys, i.e. applying pressure to the wool fibre-soap mix by sitting on it, a felt bag was created./p

pimg alt=”MICA 5.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/MICA%205.jpg” width=”468″ height=”312″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pThe emNatural Hemp Body Pillow/em (summer and winter version) is designed by Christi Chung. Theem Jute Spool Seat/em was created by Karine Sarkissian, using a traditional technique from Scandinavia./p

pimg alt=”MICA 7.jpg” src=”http://s3files.core77.com/blog/images/MICA%207.jpg” width=”468″ height=”312″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pThe emGreen Wood Rocking Stool/em by Antoine Heath is a simple yet very sweet rocking chair made from green wood (as the name suggests)./pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/ny_design_week_10/new_york_design_week_2010_icff_mica_presents_mica_16588.asp”(more…)/a
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