The Challenge Series

The Challenge Series tells the story of the people and the work behind the planning, designing and building of Vancouver's Olympic Village. For the past few years, I have had my eye on the site, wondering how it would all unfold, not knowing how involved I would get in learning about the site's history, policies and the development process. A crash course in urban design and sustainable community building.

Beginning last April, I began working for this project, brought on to essentially manage all the visual information for the seven chapter publication that would launch each new chapter monthly. Each chapter covered a different topic from History and Policy to Public Space and Infrastructure, Architecture, Water and Building Landscape, Energy, and Community.

There were thousands of images to sift through, collect, review, and choose. I worked with illustrators from Letterbox Design Group and Cobalt Engineering to develop schematics. I created each chapter's wireframe for publication, liaised with writers (New Climate Strategies) with respect to appropriate images for each story. I liaised with graphic designers (Mizu Creative) with respect to each chapter's wireframe, image hierarchy etc. and I put forth recommendations for the front and back covers.

All in all it was a fabulous project to be involved with– great people full of optimism and passion.

You can access all chapters here. I recommend downloading the low res pdfs for a more graphical / magazine type experience.

mirror/drink by maia love

Riddle: What am I? Transparent in a tipped glass, glistening on your lower lip before cascading down your throat, nourishing your cells. Melting off a mountain ice-block, somersaulting over stones, pooling in a mirror form before streaming down your pipes to land splash into your glass. As wealthy as diamonds, precious as platinum, rare as air. Escaping skyward as we gently slowly heat our globe-shaped home . . .

Dance piece by Maia Love.
Filmography by Hans Christian Berger.
Video edit by Moira Simpson.

Performed at the Vancouver Design Nerd's Jam at Recollective, April 2009.

Weird

larytta - souvenir de chine - video directed by körner union

so weird. but i couldn't stop watching... trying to get posting again. starting with videos. more writing and personal work to come soon.

LaP: Learning at Parties

I was at a party Friday night. It was full of costumes, revelry and merriment. At one point well into the night, we stepped outside and enter into a fantastic conversation about energy. I remember that I could see the nearly full moon reflecting in the window of the house. Djs behind the glass. Dance floor behind the DJ. I don't remember how the conversation even started. LC proposes Manhattan Project 2.0 for renewable energy. "Do it. Put 500 billion into it!!! (as opposed to spending it on the war on terror)". I wasn't aware of the Manhattan Project (until I asked). No, I was thinking about the Manhatta Project which I JUST read about in article about Spatial History on World Changing. It is similar to the Lost Creeks of Vancouver but I think that bringing spatial history and place into the discourse adds new layers of richness and relevance to the project.



Spatial history asks:

What did our cities look like pre European history?

What was this place???

What has it been?


Basically, anything regarding place.

RAFT :: being held hostage in gallery

Conceived as a floating structure, built mostly of salvaged materials, the project component of my thesis (RAFT) is used as a way to test and work through the creative possibilities that surround slow design. I use RAFT as a research tool – a conceptual and physical sounding board to uncover and develop a template for practicing slow design. The method was conceived primarily for industrial designers, and therefore more often than not includes a physical product output. It has the ability to transfer to other forms of sustainable design and production.

even the animals think we're fucked

thinking slow

Slow design is contextual so its definition changes depending on the scale and situation. To me it means taking the necessary time to consider as many facets around who and what the designed thing (object, system, experience) will effect over time. This includes the environment, the producers and the consumers, in the short run and long run. I am making an effort to expand the time frame in which I operate so looking at projects like the 10 000 year all mechanical clock designed by the Long Now Foundation. Extreme yes, but they are actually building the thing in order to talk about applied long term thinking.

A typical intended outcome of a slow design process is to effectively slow down the flow of materials and/or pace of life. Less consuming equals less waste. Careful planning equals less waste. Taking 2 extra minutes to crush the cans and bottles from mad max and bring them up the dock equals less waste. To me slow design adds yet another layer on top of all the eco / sustainable design strategies I've been learning about through school, the green building world and my current job. I feel like slow implies a sensibility around the way we consume that is not about sacrifice but rather quality and pleasure. It also doesn't mean we have to walk every where and do every thing slowly but more about taking the necessary amount of time to understand what is often hidden behind the shiny surface and the allure of bigger better faster now. Because it's killing us.

And there's my slow rant for now. Time to go to work.

Watching movies on my laptop.

Thanks to Walid for the link to the free documentaries. I watched Century of Self, Episode 1, Happiness Machines. To summarize, it appears that we are all linguistic victims of a few clever and greedy people. The psychology of identity and consumption, needs and desires.

Tonight I found this one drifting through design blogs: TheBurg.tv. The last scene in the current episode is hilarious because it's true. There are times and places for cheap beer and good beer. Same goes for wine. Not so much for coffee.

energy

is one of those concepts I want to understand. because it is relevant in so many ways yet I have a tendency to avoid it. and I think most of us do. last semester, I gave a talk to the ECI 2nd year industrial design students on time wind water and energy. in preparing for the early morning, I learned heaps about BC Hydro, bill 30, micro hydro, wind power, and politics. powerpoint here.

watching A Valentine for Campbell by Waiting to Boil a Frog (via SWiG listserv) it's about coal, mercury and beautiful British Columbia. now, when I finally do tell people about this blog, it will be here. embedded and waiting.. .



for us to act.

the air is getting warmer.
spring is near.