PLACES : JAVIER ARBONA

Dangers in the Air: Aerosol Architecture and Invisible Landscapes

We've long known that the atmosphere — the air that surrounds us — can be turned into a weapon, poisoned with chemical gases or contaminated with radioactive dust, and that major cities and large landscapes can become the collateral damage of industrialization. Javier Arbona explores more constructive efforts: contemporary projects, by architects and theorists, that conceptualize air as a design or building material, and that render it visible to reveal its diffuse, dynamic and sometimes polluted contents. As Arbona notes, such efforts not only open up new disciplinary prospects; they could also "take air into the realm of political contestation."
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OBSERVATORY : ANDREW BLAUVELT

Designer Finds History, Publishes Book

One of the early pioneers of writing smartly and historically about design was Frances Butler, who once remarked that the hard work of history is getting dirty in the garden — a metaphor for the kind of primary research on subjects that have not been previously addressed. While it seemed at the time that the formation of a canon in graphic design history was a potential problem, in retrospect the real antidote wasn’t only a bigger critical toolkit but also a little more crop diversity.
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OBSERVATORY : ALEXANDRA LANGE

Designing with Folk Art

At the June 1964 opening of the Deere & Co. Administrative Center, the new headquarters (in Moline, Illinois) of America’s premier manufacturer of farm equipment, industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss offered a dual tribute to its architect, the late Eero Saarinen and to the company’s founder.
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PLACES : THOMAS FISHER

Viral Cities

"Rapidly rising human populations living in increasingly unsanitary conditions, combined with transcontinental air travel, have greatly increased the likelihood of a viral pandemic — one that would affect both daily life and the global economy in profound ways," says architect and educator Thomas Fisher. Fisher traces the interconnections between urban design and public health, from the plagues that ravaged medieval Europe to last year's H1N1 outbreak — which is likely a harbinger of worse to come. This is, Fisher argues, a threat to take seriously — although "history suggests that we rarely act against an invisible threat until we have suffered the pain of ignoring it."
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CHANGE OBSERVER : THE EDITORS

Sexy Sanitation

"Use your creative genius to show the world that the lack of basic sanitation is one of the most critical issues facing the developing world today."
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OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER

Accidental Mysteries, 10.17.10

Welcome to Accidental Mysteries, a weekly cabinet of curiosities set aside for your perusal and enlightenment.
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OBSERVER MEDIA : BUCK

Trailer for Film: Waiting for Superman

The amazing trailer for the new film, Waiting for Superman — produced entirely in info-graphics.
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CHANGE OBSERVER : WILLIAM DRENTTEL

Winterhouse Symposium on Design Education and Social Change: Participant Case Studies

Participants of the Winterhouse Symposium on Design Education and Social Change, October 17-19, 2010, each contributed case studies of a class, project or program that bridges design and social innovation.
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CHANGE OBSERVER : WILLIAM DRENTTEL

Winterhouse Symposium on Design Education and Social Change: Participants

This outlines the participants of the Winterhouse Symposium on Design Education and Social Change, being held October 17-19 in Falls Village CT.
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OBSERVER MEDIA : DEBBIE MILLMAN

Bill Moggridge

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Bill Moggridge discusses, the evolution, design and life to come of the laptop, the 20 year arch of technology, the meaning of human-centered design and his plans for future work at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
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CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE

Kopernik

Report on Kopernik, a new website for funding technology to assist populations in the developing world.
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OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE

PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2008

Mythologies of Placemaking

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RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED

Creative, Inc.
Joy Deangdeelert Cho & Meg Mateo Ilasco

Down Detour Road
Eric J. Cesal

Air
John Knechtel

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