Rapid Prototyping

Inspiration? You want inspiration?! I'll give you inspiration...

...or it's not from me actually. It's "from Form". They are celebrating their first fifty years by posting every back issue since 1957 on their website. And it's free - and free is good...

If so, he must be around 100 years by now...

It's strange how the human mind works. On my way home from a "fun day in the office", swearing in Icelandic (I know only one word so far but I'm told it's very useful) and stretching cork and neoprene to their absolute limits, I suddenly find myself eye to eye with a Chelsea Wife totally out of control of her BMW X5 SUV. Odds are not looking good and she probably has a 2000kg advantage over me on my scooter. As with everything in life - agility (and timing) is king, so everything works out just fine. In fact it wasn't really that close, but just to stick to the London traffic etiquette, I do some more Icelandic swearing while eyeballing her and....poff...suddenly a thought pops up in my mind: I wonder if Oscar Niemeyer is still alive?


I don't know what triggered that thought - it might have been that I had just cursed at one of the greatest sources of inspiration - women - the reason why men (or at least 90% of men, according to statistics...) bother at all to get out of bed in the morning. And from there my mind made a "think-warp" to the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer who once wrote:

It is not the right angle that attracts me,
Nor the hard, inflexible straight line, man-made.
What attracts me are free and sensual curves.
The curves in my country’s mountains,
In the sinuous flow of its rivers,
In the beloved woman’s body.

I came home with no further incidents and went online to see if The Man, is still alive - and it seems that he still is...he's actually turning 100 in December this year. And, nota bene - this is a man that has seen and "lived" the Modernist movement period...and the 60s...and the 70s...etc... That's right... it goes on and on and in fact he's "still in office"...99years old...what a hero...

Whatever you do, take some time this weekend to check out the only remaining master of Modernism - one that in the same way as Aalto recognized the humanistic aspect of things...and Dude, this guy actually designed the Capital of Brazil, Brasilia ...how mighty is that...? And lived to tell the story (again, please see the Metropolis article). Good starting point is, as always, Wikipedia...

New book from Phaidon

Title: & Fork(And Fork) ISBN: 9780714847689

& Fork seeks to represent the best in international product design from around the world. Australia, the UK, South America, the Far East, USA and Europe are all represented and give the book a truly global perspective. Each curator has chosen one piece of design for the Good Design chapter of the book. Here they have a chance to discuss one object, by one designer, that they believe has made a significant impact on the design world.
444 pages, hardcover. Phaidon (March 2007)

Atlantis

Atlantis - probably the cheapest Art-Material-Shop in town (they sell cheaper foamboard than the College-Shop).

Design Spotter

Great, chaotic site with lot's of interesting Design Products: Design Spotter

Material Lab

Looking for another material source than our own library- try the Material Lab at 10 Great Titchfield Street (off Oxford Street).

Luigi @ Design

Luigi Colani's Exhibition at the Design-Museum is well worth a visit.

Fair Priced Markers

Try http://www.o2colour.com/ for the cheapest Markers around: Touch Twin Markers. I like them.

Talk by Tom Dixon

Tom Dixon will talk about the Alvar Aalto Exhibition at Barbican on 31.3.07 in the cosy Cinema 2 - Tickets are £6 - more info