Seeds of Resilience

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Bruce Sterling on Atemporality @Transmediale.10

Preview Image: Jonathan Gröger

Transmediale is an international festival for contemporary art and digital culture which includes exhibitions, competitions, conferences, film and video programmes and live performances. This year's subject of the festival, to which Bruce Sterling refers, was "Futurity Now!:

2010. It is a year which has been synonymous with past images of the future. Writers and commentators throughout the 20th century strove to depict 2010 as a shining example of a future framed by technological progress and social harmony.

But as 2010 draws nearer it is clear that global society is neither the utopia nor the dystopia traditionally presented in these fictions, architectures and theories of the future. Rather, it is an increasingly complex web of economic, political and cultural systems dependent on the convergence of rapidly evolving technologies. With the ubiquity of digital practices and social media firmly entrenched as an intrinsic part of our cultural code, we have caught up with our own notions of the future. The future is experiencing an identity crisis.

Futurity is a concept that examines what the 'future' as a conditional and creative enterprise can be. At its heart lays the intricate need to counter political and economic turmoil with visionary futures. With FUTURITY NOW! transmediale.10 explores what roles internet evolution, global network practice, open source methodologies, sustainable design and mobile technology play in forming new cultural, ideological and political templates. transmediale.10 invites artists, scientists, media activists, thinkers and visionaries to ask not what the future has in store for us, but what do we have in store for the future? (source: transmediale.de)

Urban Tools

The exhibition, Actions: What You Can Do With the City, which previously was on view at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal in 2008-2009, is now up at the Graham Foundation in Chicago. This exhibition (and accompanying catalog) offers 99 tools for actions that "instigate positive change in contemporary cities around the world." Ranging from urban agriculture to alternative modes of transport and dwelling, the actions reframe the urban terrain for new modes of creative occupation.

Urban tactics and self-organisation

As mentioned yesterday by Kathrin Bohm of Public Works, here is the information related to Atelier d'architecture autogérée, of which Doina Petrescu (the external examiner for the MA Design and Environment) is a member: "Atelier d'architecture autogérée / studio for self-managed architecture (aaa) is a collective platform which conducts explorations, actions and research concerning urban mutations and cultural, social and political emerging practices in the contemporary city.

aaa acts through ‘urban tactics’, encouraging the participation of inhabitants at the self-management of disused urban spaces, overpassing contradictions and stereotypes by proposing nomad and reversible projects, initiating interstitial practices which explore the potential of contemporary city ( in terms of population, mobility, temporality).

It is by micro-political acting that we want to participate in making the city more ecological and more democratic, to make the space of proximity less dependent on top-down processes and more accessible to its users. The ‘self-managed architecture’ is an architecture of relationships, processes and agencies of persons, desires, skills and know-hows. Such an architecture does not correspond to a liberal practice but asks for new forms of association and collaboration, based on exchange and reciprocity and involving all those interested (individuals, organisations, institutions), whatever is their scale.

Our architecture is at the same time political and poetic as it aims above all to ‘create relationships between worlds’."

Eco life style

In December I went around in Brick lane and there was a ECO fair.
Here are some of the product I saw..

ECO Nuts for your laundry

It is made from the sun dried fruit of the Sapindus Mukorossi tree and its Fair Trade. The shells of these nuts contain saponin, a natural detergent, which gets sudsy in water. Since Eco Nuts doesn’t leave any residue, you can actually skip the rinse cycle and save gallons of water, energy and money. As you can see its sell in recycle packag The seller said those shells is odorless and foamless, you can use it over times till the shell dissolve totally. I didn't buy them as I still have half box of family pack of washing powder.

Moroccan Rhassoul Clay wash for hair and body

It has a powerful negative charge and acts as a detoxifying agent. It come as power and you just need to add water before use.
Its 100% pure clay minerals and full biodegradable.
I bought that for 5pounds 100g and I am using it as facial wash and its better then what I except.

Natural Deodorant

Its the raw natural look crystal like deodorant which made from alum mineral salts.
Non-aerosol, no Aluminum Chlorhydrate, non-staining unisex formula and not tested on animals.

Also...

Recycle Knitting Kit

Its using those normal supermarket plastic bags and cut them into a long strip and use those strips instead of wool.

Sound Of Soil: Alunda Church Choir plays the soil of northern Uppland

“The vinyl is dead. Good. Now listen to the beautiful noise of the earth. In this performance Alunda Church Choir, conducted by Cantor Jan Hällgren, plays the soil of northern Uppland (in Sweden)."

Introducing: the terrafon, a large version of the horn gramophone, amplifying the sounds in the track it ploughs. What I like in particular about Olle Cornéer und Martin Lübcke's work with the title "Harvest" is the participation of local ensembles "playing" their soils, the analogue approach and the use of soil as a media: putting the soil on the level with vinyl discs to which one can listen to. These performances offer a complete new experience of soils. I have never had the chance to listen to soil before! Check also Diego Stocco's similar but more digitised work on music from Sand or from a Tree.

Paper dress

What can we do with old phonebooks lying around? One of the best ways to get rid of old phonebooks is to recycle it, to reduce waste, reduce usage of raw material and many more benefits. But another good way is to up-cycle it into another product using the most of its potential. Jolis Poans is an artist who makes dress using old phonebooks. This dress is made by hand, from being sewed, glued and stuck together. Instead of making dress using regular material like cotton, this material is a good substitute to make beautiful dress in order to reduce carbon emission.

The pedal powered stage

Sam Isaac - Carbon Dating - The Pedal Sessions from Magnificent Revolution on Vimeo.

Here's a nice video of the pedal powered stage I've mentioned this afternoon. You might want to check out Magnificent Revolution's other projects such as the pedal powered cinema or pedal powered home on their website. They're also organising bike generator workshops across britain in which you can learn the basics about building one by your own.

Green thing

"Green Thing is a not-for-profit public service that inspires people to lead a greener life. With the help of brilliant videos and inspiring stories from creative people and community members around the world, Green Thing focuses on seven things you can do - and enjoy doing."

>Do the Green Thing

Gathering Spaces

Debate of architecture is offer the opportunity to possibility of to experience architecture. It can mix the disciple and bring things together which may bring an interesting out come together.

Architecture with no wall will allow everybody into the space and become part of the freedom in the park.

A gathering space is a structure which invite people to interact, to climb on, to go inside, start to walk around and walk pass the structure.

The two images above are the fixed open structure which allow people gather around. They bring the "new experience" to the local and become some kind of landmark and attraction. They are in different form the 1st one the structure melt into the surrounding by using aluminum plate as a roof and reflect the sky. The 2nd one just like bring something normally in indoor to outdoor which represent as bring something out to the public.

Air Forest to create the public to converge and spark dialogue across the city through innovative cultural initiatives. The structure is to create a temporary public space to be utilized in a vast array of scheduled events (such as the Yoga Health Festival, a cocktail party for the convention, a high school play, Dialog: City closing party) as well as for the general public to enjoy.

The dome expands and organically adjusts to its surroundings, be it in a field, a wooded park, or below a highway overpass. The material is a sturdy, specially-designed translucent plastic, allowing the varying events taking place inside of the shelter – dance parties, lecture series, or dinner buffets – to be entirely visible from the outside and likewise the exterior environments become the events’ backdrops.

3rd and the 4th are inflatable structure using membrane and air pump to create the form. They have a high flexibility and can be easily transport. Air forest is more close to the nature as it didn't draw any boundary. The dome create a transparent indoor space and create an intimate atmosphere.

Low2No Competition

Helsinki's sustainable future ( City as Living Factory of Ecology, Winning entry)

There is a small percentage and small scale project on new built building with "ECO" concept, but how should we due with the existing building as a whole???

The Subversive Gardener

by Vabessa Harden (MA Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art)

Mk II Agent Deployed Field Auger (A.D.F.A.)

Precision Bombing Device I

This project explores various methods of disguising gardening paraphernalia in everyday attire and accessories, drawing on influences from militaria and spy gadgetry.
Secretly dropping seed bombs on their way to work or planting flowers on their way home, these designs allow guerrilla gardeners to integrate their assaults into their everyday routine.

http://vanessaharden.com/

MARIO CUCINELLA home for 100.000 euros

Architect proposing a project: building house at zero CO2 emissions.

http://www.mcarchitectsgate.it/index.php?id=5