Design

Thomas BüschNew Zealand’s future flag? A suggestion handed in by Jesse Gibbs Until today it’s red, white and blue, it contains the Union Jack and four stars. It looks in some way similar to other countries’ and reminds too much of the former colonial power, as PM John Key states. New Zealand is searching for a new flag currently and options are plenty. A state’s flag is an important item. French sociologist Emile Durkheim called goods like this „totems“ in his works: A thing on which collective feelings can unify. A thing that reminds of higher, transcendental ideas such as a state structure. A thing representing citizenship and sometimes even a feeling of home. And it is nothing to make fun of: Flags are burnt during riots or wars and many countries protect their’s legally against all kinds of disfigurement. The Kiwis – as New Zealand’s inhabitants refer to themselves – in contrast seem to see this a little more relaxed than big parts of the rest of the world. Their current flag was firstly flown in 1902 and until now didn’t really make it to become an appealed national symbol. With a quarter of it occupied by the Union Jack it reminds too much of the countries’ colonial history, critics say. And the four stars symbolizing the Southern Cross do not represent a unique feature of New Zealand, they add.   New Zealand’s current flag Until now there were different attemps to establish a new flag in the Oceania state every some years. Primeminister John Key has started another one now to find new symbols representing the around 4.5 million inhabitants. In March 2015 he announced a new and remarkably democratic referendum process lasting until 2016. In the first step Kiwis were asked to hand in propositions for the new flag design – and more than 10,000 of them acted on the suggestion. Literally every New Zealander in the possession of a drawing program and an internet connection could participate, which led to a great variety of sketches: There are sheep standing on a rainbow infront of mountains, pentagrams on a pastel-colored background, a kiwi bird with laser-eyes or a sheep next to some ice cream – „because we have lots of sheep and love hokey pokey ice cream“ as the presumably childish designer Jesse Gibbs justifies.   Unfortunately the sheep and ice cream proposal is most probably not going to be New Zealands future flag. A jury picked the 40 most promising designs and published them now as a long list. Dominating colors are black, white, red, green and blue and more than half of the designs once more incorporate the stars of the current flag. Many use the koru, a helix shape deriving from arts of the Maori, which already Friedensreich Hundertwasser focussed on with his flag-suggestion in 1983. The presumably favored suggestions embed another national symbol of the „Shire“-state: The silver fern leave, which is already now depicted on coins, on Air New Zealand’s plane fleet and additionally serves as emblem for the country’s national rugby team, the All Blacks.   The 40 proposals which are on the table now are going to be reduced to four by a governmental commission during the next months. By the end of the year, Kiwis will be asked to chose their favorite design out of them. In 2016 finally a plebiscite is going to be held, where citizens will have to vote: for a brand-new flag or their good, old one.   [...] Read more...
Thomas BüschThe protests in Istanbul indicated one simple thing for architects (designers?): We need new definitions for architecture in situations when architecture is removed from architects. Turkish architects are creating line drawings of protest shelters and structures following the recent occupation of Istanbul’s Gezi Park. Thousands of citizens took to the streets earlier this month to join one of Turkey’s largest anti-government demonstrations in decades and non-profit organisation Herkes Icin Mimarlik – which translates as Architecture For All – has since initiated an archive of photographs and drawings, documenting the makeshift shelters, tents, and other temporary structures that have been constructed. “The protests in Istanbul indicated one simple thing for architects,” writes organisation co-founder Yelta Köm on the Tumblr page for the project. “We need new definitions for architecture in situations when architecture is removed from architects.” He continues: “Each unique structure that we encounter in the streets and Gezi Park has its own in-situ design and implementation process. Documentation of these temporary structures is of huge importance for further examination, considering their limited life-cycle.” “We really want to document as much as possible,” says the team. “While we are drawing what we could find, we are also open to contribution from everyone.” First published in DEZEEN Magazine Facebook site of Herkes Icin Mimarlik see also Transformation of Taksim Square at Sense of Time   [...] Read more...
Thomas BüschSkylights: Dumbo is a site-specific sculptural pavilion that utilizes ambient lighting within Brooklyn Bridge Park to show star constellations on the ground via cast shadows. The pavilion is organically shaped by site and programmatic constraints such as orientation, views and shadow paths. With its specific shape, location and perforation, the canopy is illustrates the complete star map of New York for the evenings of September 28-30th, the dates of Dumbo Arts Festival 2012. The motivation behind this project is to poetically address the politics of light, and specifically side effects of light pollution in urban settings. By using the streetlight as the source for the star map, the project challenges the visitor to reconnect with the larger planetary scale, the stars that enshroud us. The project has been exhibited in Brooklyn Bridge Park for the Dumbo Arts Festival 2012 Design Team Engin Ayaz Adrià Navarro López Rozit Arditi Esther Sze-Wing Cheung Skylights: Dumbo [...] Read more...
Sabine Küper  Cem Kozar and Işıl Ünal (Pattu Mimarlik) contributed an interactive Istanbul-O-Matik to the first Istanbul Design Biennial. The visitor can activate an electronic Istanbul model by stepping on highlighted fields on the ground. You blow up the town while it is continously reconstruced with new buildings. The different time periods and it’s specific achitectual manifestations are shown as well as visions for a future Istanbul. [...] Read more...
Thomas BüschThe Istanbul Design Biennial at Istanbul Modern curated by Emre Arolat seen by Thomas Büsch on October 10th 2012 questioning urban transformation and social housing as well as comparing changes in technologies. Have a deeper take: – at Becoming Istanbul by SALT – why bye why at Sense of Time – creative cluster by InEnArt – Reprototypes by Simon Starling in collaboration with SUPERFLEX – Inventing Alternatives by Amber Fest – Creating Spaces, Empowering Citizens: Matt Baillie Smith, University of Northumbria [...] Read more...
Thomas BüschWatch our impressions from the Istanbul Design Biennial adopting its theme Imperfection, infinite layers, charged with a vitality that comes from engaging with rapid social, cultural and urban change. These are first impressions from the exhibition venue at the Greek Primary School, a part of the Biennial which is under the sub theme Adhocracy considering the Biennial as a laboratory rather than an exhibition platform. Adhocracy that the maximum expression of design today is to be found in networks that involve the users in the process of definition of the end product. Adhoracy is the reference to the move towards an approach that embraces bottom-up innovation. Istanbul Design Week – October 13 – December 12, 2012, organized by IKSV Curator: Emre Arolat, Joseph Grima OccupyAirSpace: – Protesters Launch ‘Robokopter‘ Drone in Poland November 2011 seen at the Istanbul Design Biennial 2012 [...] Read more...
Thomas BüschExplore the Istanbul Design Week through the eyes of Mara and Verena from the Institute for Arts and Media Management Berlin. Come back and follow the continuation… Authors of the video: Verena Blättermann and Mara Ann Kristin Fiedler [...] Read more...
Thomas BüschDuring the urban development of Istanbul, Istanbul Design Week – IDW – is constituted on the role of design notion where the East and the West meets. IDW is hosting designers and design exhibitions from around the world in the old indsutrial district of Hasköy, Istanbul. Istanbul will reflect its design culture to the whole world through world media and international designers. Today, what differentiate each product and service are the urban development and the design notion, that provides interaction amongst cultures, locations, workshops and industries. Venues: Old Hat Factory, Hasköy Wool Spinning Factory, Rahmi Koç Museum Activity Dates: 26 September – 30 September 2012 Opening Hour: 11.00 Closing Hour: 19.00 Check the Programm of the Istanbul Design Week on the Design Week Website [...] Read more...