design

image: jay silver

drawdio is a DIY music project by designer jay silver that let's users draw the instrument of their choice
on a piece of paper and play it with their finger. the drawdio can actually be used with a variety of objects
to make music. silver has kits available to build a standard drawdio, but users are encouraged to remix
the design and create their own version. the concept uses the same drawdio circuit in all incarnations.
when used with a pencil, the graphite acts as a circuit on the paper, transmitting the electric signal across
the drawing to produce a different sound based on the specific form.

http://web.media.mit.edu/~silver/drawdio/

image: jay silver

image: jay silver

japanese furniture company maruni wood industry has added new pieces to their hiroshima series
for their 2010 collection.

'hiroshima chair'
all images by yoneo kawabe

one of the new pieces is the 'hiroshima chair', a small chair which follows the same look as the
'hiroshima arm chair'. the design keeps in mind the texture of the wood used to finish the legs,
back frame and top rail of the seat which look as if they are seamlessly one piece. the thin upholstered
seat can be removed for easy maintenance.

up close

side view

front view

back view

'hiroshima ottoman' with 'hiroshima lounge chair'

a new ottoman has been introduced to the collection and has been designed to be used as
a set with the classic hiroshima lounge chair designed by naoto fukasawa.
'hiroshima ottoman'

'hiroshima ottoman' (detail)

'hiroshima lounge chair' in brown

a new color has also been added to the finishing choices, brown for oakwood,
along with the introduction of leather seat covers exclusively for this color finish.

'hiroshima lounge chair' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair and dining table' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair and dining table' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair and dining table' in brown (detail)

'wirtschaftsformen der erde', in gesellschaft und wirtschaft. bildstatistisches elementarwerk, leipzig 1930
image © MAK

the exhibition 'otto neurath. gypsy urbanism' is dedicated to the work of the viennese
philosopher and economist otto neurath (1882–1945). this scientist, housing activist and
museum director, who constantly worked for the advancement of participative forms
of democratic exchange, collaborated with architects, designers and artists of his
day – including franz schuster, josef frank, and margarete schütte- lihotzky – and with
protagonists of the so-called vienna circle, of which he was a member.

'gesellschaftsgliederungen in wien', in gesellschaft und wirtschaft. bildstatistisches elementarwerk, leipzig 1930
image © MAK

the exhibition concentrates on four essential aspects of neurath’s work. the first part
contains artifacts and never-before-seen film sequences showing the viennese
'settlement movement' of the 1920s, a period during which neurath began his career
and worked together closely with the architects franz schuster and margarete schütte-lihotzky.
following the dissolution of the austro-hungarian monarchy, austrian social democrats
made housing construction in vienna their top priority. when settlers laid claim to public
lands and began building houses and setting up gardens 'like gypsies', neurath recognized
the phenomenon as an opportunity to institute housing reform measures that were to be
based on grass-roots organization and barter.

the focus of the MAK exhibition is the austrian museum for social and economic affairs,
which grew out of a series of touring exhibitions and was officially founded in 1925 as an
association for popular education. taking on the role of museum director there, neurath
introduced numerous concepts having to do with exhibition presentation, and photographic
documentation of these is on display in the works on paper room. together with josef frank,
neurath developed associative systems that were mobile and could therefore be shown anywhere.
the idea was to portray the world via statistics and historical data – amounted to a political
world atlas of civilization for laypeople.

'wohndichte in großstädten', in gesellschaft und wirtschaft. bildstatistisches elementarwerk, leipzig 1930
image © MAK

this project also thought of as a 'museum without borders' was the starting point for
the 'isotype' image documentation system developed by neurath. in light of the political
changes that coincided with the first world war, neurath ascertained that there was
a deep-reaching structural transformation from a society of labor to one of knowledge.
the international pictorial language he developed together with the graphic artist gerd arntz
can be understood as a reaction to these new conditions. taking pictograms as a basis,
neurath and arntz created the 'vienna method of pictorial statistics' also known as 'isotype'
(international system of typographic picture education), which facilitated generally comprehensible,
precise depictions of complicated material such as numerical data and statistics. this means
that complex relationships were portrayed in a simple, understandable way, independent of
societal structures and language. neurath viewed social and cultural education as a motor of self-determination
for the working class, as well as a catalyst of political change.

'otto neurath. gypsy urbanism'
MAK works on paper room, 2010
image © MAK/georg mayer

'otto neurath. gypsy urbanism'
MAK works on paper room, 2010
image © MAK/georg mayer

'otto neurath. gypsy urbanism'
MAK works on paper room, 2010
image © MAK/georg mayer

a further part of the exhibition shows the dissemination of otto neurath’s
ideas in england, the USA and what was then the soviet union. the exhibition
is on display at the MAK works on paper room until september 5 in vienna, austria.

otto neurath in the greek amphitheater during the IV. CIAM congress, august 1933
image © gta archiv / ETH zürich: CIAM archiv

the museum of modern art, medellin, colombia by 51 - 1 arquitectos
all images courtesy  51 - 1 arquitectos
peruvian firm 51 - 1 arquitectos won the competition to design the museum of modern art
in the city of medellin, colombia.

the reasons given by the jury read's 'this proposal is relevant to the requirements of
the urban context and future development of the lots adjacent to the museum, and is
consistent with the need for a model of intervention and consolidation of land adjacent
to the museum ... '

the building consists of approximately 6 levels, each stacked on top of of one another,
based on rectangular prisms.

staircase which surrounds reception areas

japanese furniture company maruni wood industry has added new pieces to their hiroshima series
for their 2010 collection.

'hiroshima chair'
all images by yoneo kawabe

one of the new pieces is the 'hiroshima chair', a small chair which follows the same look as the
'hiroshima arm chair'. the design keeps in mind the texture of the wood used to finish the legs,
back frame and top rail of the seat which look as if they are seamlessly one piece. the thin upholstered
seat can be removed for easy maintenance.

up close

side view

front view

back view

'hiroshima ottoman' with 'hiroshima lounge chair'

a new ottoman has been introduced to the collection and has been designed to be used as
a set with the classic hiroshima lounge chair designed by naoto fukasawa.
'hiroshima ottoman'

'hiroshima ottoman' (detail)

'hiroshima lounge chair' in brown

a new color has also been added to the finishing choices, brown for oakwood,
along with the introduction of leather seat covers exclusively for this color finish.

'hiroshima lounge chair' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair and dining table' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair and dining table' in brown

'hiroshima lounge chair and dining table' in brown (detail)

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