Archive for March, 2009
Steven Heller interviews Compostmodern 09 speaker John Bielenberg
Steven Heller, co-founder and co-chair of the MFA Designer as Author program at the School if Visual Arts in New York, editor of the AIGA Journal of Graphic Design, and author of several art and design books, interviewed Project M founder John Bielenberg.
Heller, intrigued by Project M’s motto of “thinking wrong,” asked Bielenberg to explain. “Thinking wrong is really about challenging our conventions, processes and orthodoxies, especially during the idea-generation phase of design,” says Bielenberg. “At Project M we use a variety of exercises to short circuit our biases and connect things that wouldn’t normally be connected. It doesn’t mean that the final project looks or feels ‘wrong.’”
Full interview here.
Compostmodern 09 connects the dots: design & social responsibility
Brian Scott, founder of Boon Design, said in his overview of Compostmodern 09 on Design Assembly that the conference served to “connect the dots between design practice and social responsibility.”
Scott said that “Saul Griffith, inventor extraordinaire and founder of Makani Power, was by far the most entertaining and yet most frightening presenter of the day.” Griffith encouraged designers to start doing some math, and gave an example from his own life: for a year, Griffith tracked his personal energy consumption in terms of watts, and scared the Compostmodern audience with his results. You can calculate your own energy consumption by logging on to Griffith’s website, Wattzon.com.
Scott’s full article, located here, contained a more detailed look at speakers Allan Chochinov, editor-in-chief of Core77, and Emily Pilloton, founder of Project H Design. His final comment was, “ultimately, as designers we need to strike the balance between sustaining our livelihoods and sustaining the planet, especially if we aim to help as may people in need as our planet demands.”
Special offer for all Compostmodern followers
Get 15% off Nathan Shedroff’s book Design is the Problem, his webinar “Getting to the Point Quickly with Sustainable Design” and all other Rosenfeld Media products. Simply use code COMPOST when you buy.
Compostmodern 09 prompts designer Hilary Pittman to action
This letter was sent to the Compostmodern team by Compostmodern 09 attendee Hilary Pittman:
Hi Gaby,
Just thought I would pass this along and feel free to share with others……This is what Compostmodern and various other events caused me to do—I sent the following email to a my local mayor Davis of Vallejo, et al. The subject of the email was “A New Vallejo.” I wanted to say thank you for having such a inspirational group of speakers that empowered me to act!
Sincerely,
Hilary Pittman
_____________________________________________________________________________
Hi Mayor Davis, Council, and Manager Tanner,
My name is Hilary Pittman and I’m a Vallejo resident. I’m emailing you this morning because I recently attended a sustainability conference in San Francisco called Compostmodern. It was at this conference that my passion for a sustainable future was once again ignited and now I’ve been called to act. Vallejo is a wonderful city that has tons of potential…Back in November I attended a planning meeting for the parking structure that is going to be built where the post office is on Georgia and Santa Clara. This was my first Vallejo City Hall meeting. I attended the meeting hoping to talk about community gardens, but instead talked about solar energy. I couldn’t believe that in the 21st century renewable, zero carbon energy was not part of the plan. Second, I didn’t understand why we were building a parking structure when there are plenty of parking spaces downtown. Third, right now downtown has a lack of businesses and traffic, so, why build a parking lot? Not to mention this is all part of a 3 phase building project that includes resdential and commerical space. So, why not include solar panels, wind power, gray water, etc? This is the type of building that attracts buyers. Here is a link to a place in Sonoma that can’t build fast enough and 3000 people are waiting to get ‘in’.
My issue goes beyond building sustainable structures for people with money. I envision every house and every building in Vallejo and the world with a solar panel(s). And, I think we should start with the low middle, working class and poor. By starting small and helping the people most in need we could create a snowball effect that rolls across the country. By allowing people to generate a fraction of their energy costs you are helping them off-set their finicial needs to other things like higher education or maybe starting their own business (which creates jobs). Also, building and installing solar panels creates a jobs. Thankfully, I just discovered that I’m not the only person that thinks this way. An organization in Oakland called Green For All has already proposed what I believe must happen in all cities and towns across America.
Mayor Davis, Council, and Manager Tanner I urge you to take the time to read and sign the petition so that Vallejo can set the example for the rest of the United States and the residents of Vallejo can be proud of where they live.
“Let’s do it now—together. There is no time to waste.” – Green For All
Sincerely,
Hilary Pittman
Inhabitat describes Compostmodern 09 as “Groundbreaking”
Inhabitat’s Piper Kujac posted a visual essay of Compostmodern 09, which she referred to as a “groundbreaking event” that “brought together design luminaries from around the world to address issues of ecology, business, and social responsibility.”
Kujac outlined each presentation given by the “eight uber-talented guest speakers” and included photographs from AIGA’s Mark Adams. Full articlehere.
