the biggest Dutch Design library in Yangon

Dau Dai Zum Zang

On Sunday morning at 7 o'clock our friend Dau Dai Zum Zang arrives at Schiphol, it is his first trip outside his homeland Myanmar. Although it is 8 degrees that day, a reasonably mild temperature for this time of year, for Dau Dai it is extremely cold, an experience that, as he explained us later, he can't describe in words to his girlfriend back home. The first thing he does that day, is go into town and buy the heaviest wool sweater he can find. 

Dau Dai travels to the Netherlands on invitation of the Premsela Organization, the Netherlands institute for Design and Fashion and is asked to take part in a program on Design & Political activism. As an English speaking young graphic designer living in Yangon, eager to learn, open minded and seriously aware of his the role of connector and of his responsibility towards his colleagues in Yangon, Dau Dai is a perfect choice. 

Premsela has organized an extensive five day program of meetings with top of the bill designers, with visits to museums and galleries. There are also with some exclusive events, such as a meeting with the Mayor of Amsterdam who organizes a reception in honour of the 2012 Prince Claus Awards at his official residence. He also has been invited to a reception by the queen. And for this occasion Dau Dai is wearing his traditional Burmese outfit. 

We don't see our friend very often that week, his program is extremely dense with hardly any spare time left. Luckily he has some days left after the program. We invite him to stay at our place.  Dau Dai goes to the Albert Cuyp market, afterwards he expresses his sincere surprise about the fact that white people are actually working, being only used to meet white people who can afford to travel to his country and stay at expensive hotels. At night he posted a picture on Facebook of a lonely seagull outside his hotel. His comment: "The bird is very fat."

The day before Dau Dai returned to Yangon we make a trip to Eindhoven, to the Design Academy. On invitation we may witness that afternoon what happens during a graduation at the Design Academy. We can experience the atmosphere and have a sneak preview of the presented projects with some exclusive presentations by the students themselves. 

Two students from two different departments present to us in an informal lightweight manner their joint project. There seems to be a nice parallel between the chemistry of the two students and the presented research on the combining of earthenware with porcelain in one object. Interesting to see how research comes to life when it is presented in an aesthetic way, when the visual appearance support the story, when the story connects well with the person who presents it, and when the story makes sense. Logic and poetry together definitely works well!

  

During the introduction one of our guides explains to Dau Dai about the points of view of the Design Academy about the emphasis in the first academic year on creating a design mentality before focussing on the actual design process. Using mentality as a fundament, responding to the fact that the role of the designer of today is broad and can be developed in any direction; Advisor, reviewer, builder, connector, researcher, storyteller are just a few examples. Mentality building also as response to the need for a flexible approach as designer. An example mentioned is the rapid development of the 3D printing process, it raises the question whether design is still the exclusive domain of the designer, what can are the new demands in this context?

We end up having diner at long tables set for the tutors and the commissioners, next to use a group of tutors is still in their decision making moment, fragments of their discussion are surrounding us while enjoying our risotto with truffle. We really feel part of process and are impressed by the open attitude of the Academy.

It is a long way from any kind of education in Myanmar. When I ask Dau Dai at the end of our visit what his general impression is, he ends up comparing the Academy with big a play-ground which sounds in a pleasant way quite familiar to me. In that respect nothing has changed after all.

It turns out to be a special afternoon and the perfect conclusion of Dau Dai's trip. The Academy is very generous and gives him a wide selection of catalogs and publications. He got an extra large bag to bring home all those fantastic books he got on this trip. It takes some typical Myanmar style switching of bags and a lot of repacking during check-in. But right now, he has the biggest Dutch Design library in Yangon. 

Christmas in Eindhoven

Designers' Saturday

During the Orgatec fair in Köln  I was offered, by a Ruckstuhl sales representative, two free entrance tickets for the Designers' Saturday exhibition in Swiss. As I never had been at this biennial occasion before and had heard often positive stories about it, it felt as a good decision to make the trip to Langenthal.

Designers Saturday is an event organized by five major firms based in Langenthal. On the premises of these firms as well collections of international known firms as work of design students are shown in an experience like set up.

It is a very well organized, professional event with an informal relaxed and warm welcome feel. Plenty of good food, drinks and even life music create a lively atmosphere. The fact that one can enter the factory, in some locations even witness parts of the production process, makes this happening quiet special. There are of course some obligatory safety precautions but it doesn't feel like you are held at a distance, you are really inside, experiencing the atmosphere of a major industrial production site.

Some pictures to give an impression...

Creation Baumann. A dynamic color shifting maze leading the visitor to the core of the exhibition space

Presentation of Keramik Laufen & Similor at Girsberger 

Presentation of Bauwerk Parket Purzel Hause at Ruckstuhl

Creation Baumann. Factory

Office at Hector Eggen Holzbau

Food and drinks at Ruckstuhl

Presentation  at Ruckstuhl of ECAL University. Project Marbelous by Flora Fixy

Life music at Ruckstuhl

Presentation Carpets at Ruckstuhl

I

Transdisciplinary exchange and collaboration

the end of the solitary home worker 

During the Utrecht Manifest Symposium about the new way of working ‘Het nieuwe werken’ keynote speaker Florian Idenburg from So-iL architects mentioned the phenomenon of the ‘co-worker clubs’

Clubs that offer freelancers, entrepreneurs and sometimes-even employees from larger companies, a flexible use of office facilities as an alternative to working in cafes, at home or in a mainstream office building. A service orientated concept, providing lunch, free Wifi, meeting rooms, classrooms, breakout spaces, a library, top-notch media facility, a kitchen and more. Sometimes additional activities that fit the profile of the club members are organized such as workshops and conferences and educational programs.

This concept creates for individual workers the opportunity to exchange ideas and expertise. The collaborative, sometimes even trans-disciplinary, nature of this set up creates a sense of community and shared purpose. Potential members are interviewed to make sure that they fit into the club’s mentality.

The co-working spaces are not typical office environments and often have a more comfortable and trendy ‘home-from-home’ atmosphere. There seems to be a vast expansion of these facilities in recent years. A variation on this theme is the Pop-up co-working space.

Slightly different but with some similar starting points, aimed at the entrepreneur that wants to share, to collaborate, is a recent project of Piet Hein Eek with the development of a new business complex, set for location in Amsterdam's Minerva harbor called ‘het dak’ (the roof). The framework of the project has been conceived to give companies the freedom and flexibility to create their own office space. An informal place where diversity defines the building's image, which is, composed of a collection of separate structures arranged in such a way that terraces, squares and alleys flow between, creating a network of paths.

A 'collective business concept' where the arts, media, entertainment and creative business services come together and collaborate through urban activity, 'the roof' derives its strength from the identity that users give to their individual spaces.

By the end of 2010 a group composed of leaders of university Innovation Centers, architects and designers met to discuss the future of the so called Innovation Centers, institutes that operate outside traditional academic parameters in an environment radically different than the typical university undergraduate experience.

In the article ‘How Innovation Can Thrive on Campus’ published by Herman Miller again the future IC workspace is described as flexible framework that offers an inspiring and diverse environment for collaboration and innovation

Some quotes:

“…Creating an innovative environment means more than providing space for experimentation. One important element of the search for a new product, process, or idea is the sense of community, making the quest a shared experience reinforced by interaction and engagement…’

 “…Temperature control, variable lighting, a pleasing colour scheme, access to natural light, and movable, ergonomic workspaces and furniture all create an environment conducive for interaction. The space will house many users and stakeholders and must be able to easily evolve in order to support differing functions as new projects are introduced and different uses are discovered to expand its capabilities…”

“…The centers are not classrooms, but highly flexible, dynamic spaces that must meet a wide variety of demands, often on a 24/7 schedule’

The interesting news is that the added value of these trans-disciplinary collaborations in co-working environments seems to be noticed also by the larger companies.