Engineer, artist, designer, entrepreneur. It is not easy to define Daan Roosegaarde. And it is even harder to put a label on what he does. Things like building a giant smog-eating tower, find the rubbish that’s floating in space, illuminate dams without electricity. «Being undefinable is actually great», he says, «because real invention is hybrid».
«We are designers but with a strong engineering interest. To those facing the profession I say: started in the atelier, learn the materials and the mechanics. Companies have lost these skills and design should offer them ». In conversation with Stefan Diez. In front of his RGB bathroom furnishing system for Burgbad, presented at the IMM in Cologne.
There would be no accurate GPS without Einstein. And no WiFi without Stephen Hawking’s discoveries on black holes. «Space research changes everyday life», says cosmologist Roberto Trotta whom we met at the Web Summit in Lisbon. «But above all, it will one day answer the Great Question: why do we exist?»
In the era of social media, design often made of visual tricks and is consumed fast. This leads to nothing, according to Finnish interior designer Joanna Laajisto. Who considers interior design a tool to create «places where people can feel good and slow down the fast pace of life». LEGGI joanna laajisto interior designer IN ITALIANO Download here the PDF of the article published on DCasa, la Repubblica (Italian only) Finnish interior designer Joanna Laajisto has a girlish face, and a spontaneous look and smile. One wonders how it is possible that such a young woman (she is 41 years old) can sign interiors full of such mature elegance. There is no style error, nor a naïve concession to current trends. nor – worse – any Instagram-induced designer trick (the contrasts of marked colors or the corners with hyperbolic geometries: the ones that go viral on social media). Everything in the world of Joanna Laajisto, breathes out balance, moderation, thoughtful choices. Joanna Laajisto interior designer Passion for sport and design Joanna Laajisto has just won …
«The more full of tech the world is, the more it craves for ethics. Because what matters is not figuring out whether or not we must be afraid of robots, but how to manage digital society in a coordinated manner». A conversation with philosopher Luciano Floridi, director of the Digital Ethics Lab at the University of Oxford. Who in ’95 already warned: «The Internet promotes the growth of knowledge while creating forms of unprecedented ignorance».
«We think Big Techs want our clicks because they want to flock us with ads. But what they are after is the huge amount of data that is necessary to build AI services». Self-driving cars, systems to manage energy consumption, testing devices to defeat illnesses… According to activist Evgeny Morozov data is like oil: they provide private companies with immense power over States. Reason for which, they should be a “common good”.
Being an architect in Africa is not easy. And being a woman architect in a mainly Muslim country like Niger makes it even harder. But Mariam Kamara fought against all odds to pursue her dream: «To give the people of Niger a sense of identity and pride through architecture». And now, as winner of the Mentor and Protegé Rolex prize, she will work with David Adjaye for two years. This is her story
«Those who control data, AI and digital infrastructures will determine the nature of future institutions. To maintain European social models and defend values and rights, citizens must hold the reins of technology». The Smart City according to Francesca Bria, Chief Technology Officer of Barcelona
The perfect chair already exists. To make sense today, design must add something to our relationship with objects, the world around us and our history. A journey into the imagination of StudioKlass, designer of the Millennial generation
With Arcipelago Italia, the pavilion he curated for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 (26 May- 26 Nov), Mario Cucinella offers a different look on Italy. What emerges is a political role for architecture and an alternative development model to that of megalopolis
