WOOL AND AIR COLLECTION / MALAFOR

With furniture like this moving apartments would be much more easier. The AIR collection, by polish design studio MALAFOR, consists of a sofa, armchair and three variations of stools. Each piece consists of a metal frame and inflatable pillow, they are light and easy to dismantle. 

Inflatable pillow comes in a pillow cover and both are made of modern textiles. Inflatable bags are very durable and can withstand the pressure of 2 tons. If pierced, they can be quickly and cheaply replaced. The pillow cover is made of an extremely durable, non-flammable and easy-to-maintain textile.

[ Notcot, Feel desain, Malafor, Design and paper ]

  

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

//It is… advisable that the teacher should understand, and even be able to criticize, the general principles upon which the whole educational system is formed and administered. He is not like a private soldier in an army, expected merely to obey, or like a cog in a wheel, expected merely to respond to and transmit external energy; he must be an intelligent medium of action.//

[ John Dewey ]

THE TENT / IGOR PONOSOV AND BRAD DOWNEY

“This year, a speech delivered by Putin declared, with lips split by a smile, the purpose of Crimea’s annexation as, “protecting the interests of the Russian-speaking population in Crimea.” This absurd oversimplification undermines the reality of the actions that took place. The annexation resulted in disorder and chaos, and deep mistrust between countries. In yet one more simplification of this complex situation, governments in both the East and the West, have executed orders motivated by greed that resulted in tragic loss.

The artists, Brad Downey, an American, and Igor Ponosov, a Russian, developed an altruistic friendship, despite odds being against them. Physical distance and language barriers stood as challenges, but over the course of four years, the artists came to know one another as brothers. They realized projects together many times and travelled to meet each other in different countries. They hoped to do a project in Ukraine one day, since Igor had especially come to love spending time there. When they heard about the conflict in Ukraine, they decided that now would be the best time to finally realize the project they wanted to do there.

It would be a chance to symbolically subvert the greed displayed by government. They prepared for the trip to Ukraine by stealing advertisement banners, a representation of consumerism, hence purchases obtained by money and influenced by greed. Brad and Igor converted the appropriated advertisement banners into a mobile artist workspace. The tent could be deconstructed easily and stored in a small backpack. By the time Brad and Igor were ready to go to Ukraine the peninsula had been annexed. Instead, they went to the Russian territory of Crimea. They asked no one to help fund this trip, for they wanted to accomplish it without external influences, during a time and in a location where outside influence ruled. For three days, they hiked to reach the Crimea’s highest plateau. Throughout this period of living inside the creation, they cherished the beautiful countryside and mourned the actions, or lack of action, from both the East and the West.”

[ Rebel art ]

HOUSE PROTOTYPE / LUIS ROLDAN VELASCO + ANGEL HEVIA ANTUNA

//This project aims to build a prototype house with minimal ecological footprint through the use of locally sourced natural materials and the drastic reduction in energy demand; energy efficiency is achieved by using natural thermal insulation throughout the external envelope and by developing strategies adapted to equatorial latitudes for solar energy capture through greenhouse effect.//

Located in Sangolqui, Ecuador, this house prototype has a layout of only 50 m². To provide more useful data for research, it has been designed to be dismantled so that it can be transported and tested in other climatic regions of Ecuador. After its useful life it will be possible to reuse or recycle it's parts.

[ ArchDaily ]

  

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

//It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.//

[ Theodore Roosevelt ]

WELTSTADT - WHO CREATES THE CITY / GOETHE-INSTITUT

//Cities today are in constant flux, adapting to the many problems they are facing such as migration, mobility, security, social polarization and demographic change. Besides experts, politicians and investors, new actors and groups are answering to these challenges, questioning traditional practices of top-down city planning and development. Against this backdrop, the project Weltstadt – Who creates the city? asks: Who really creates the city today? And who will shape its future? Inspired by these central questions, Weltstadt aims to connect projects initiated by the Goethe-Instituts and their local partners worldwide, which all deal with new forms of local city-making. Weltstadt identifies projects that share a common interest in testing urban visions and are engaged in compiling new constellations of urban actors for a better tomorrow.//

[ Weltstadt, Pixelache ]

RHEI / DAMJAN STANKOVIC

Hearing the phrase //Panta rhei//, time is amongst first things that come to mind, but when a designer and an electrical engineer join forces, there comes a new way of seeing things: //Never before has a liquid substance been unveiled in its pure, unrefined form and controlled in a manner which allows it to display tangible shapes. There is a middle ground between the analog and the digital sphere, where the rules of mechanics and the laws of nature come together in order to create a liquid illusion reminiscent of a contemporary, digital form.// Behind these words hides Rhei - the prototype of an electro-mechanical clock with a liquid display. The clock has been created by designer Damjan Stankovic as a result of a year long passion project and executed in collaboration with Marko Pavlovic, electrical engineer, and //many other wonderful people.//

Rhei - time flows. Literally from rollercoaster on Vimeo.