|
Cooper-Hewitt opens its 4th National Design Triennial
by Sarah Natkins
 A lot of damage has been done in the last three years. Natural disasters, an economy in crisis, increasing humanitarian concerns, an ecosystem ever more fragile. The upside to such a bleak litany of issues? The solutions. For their fourth Triennial, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum explores the work of designers addressing human and environmental problems across many fields of design, from architecture and product design to fashion, graphics and landscape architecture. “Why Design Now?” showcases the most forward-thinking innovations of the last three years to promote environmental stewardship, social equity, accessibility and creative capital. Over 125 projects are organized around eight themes: energy, mobility, community, prosperity, health, communication, simplicity, and, our favorite: materials.
“Materials” focuses primarily on the great strides made over the last decade to develop more sustainable solutions to reduce the amount of energy and fossil fuels used in manufacturing. Materials featured include Agriplast (MC# 6150-01), an injection-molding granulate consisting of cellulose fibers from grass found in agricultural fields surrounding the manufacturer’s plant, tableware made from VerTerra (MC# 6358-01), a biodegradable material made from the fiber of fallen palm leaves, and Bioware (MC# 6416-01), a compostable packaging material made from sugarcane, among others (yup, a little bit of research was conducted in our library!).
 Material applications are highlighted through such elements as ProSolve 370e, a decorative, three-dimensional architecturaltile that can be installed quickly toreduce air pollution in urban environments and Francois Azambourg’s Lin94 chair, made from a highly innovative composite of linen fibres and a vegetal resin A look ahead to technologies in development includes carbon-negative concrete and Contour Crafting, a layered fabrication process from the Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technlogies at USC that allows a single house, or even a colony of houses, to be automatically constructed in a single run with components for electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning already embedded.
Says co-curator Matilda McQuaid, “It was important to include materials as a category in this upcoming Triennial because they truly are the building blocks of design. With the simultaneous decrease in resources and increase in products across all design disciplines, we all need to think about how we will construct our future environment and with what materials we will build it.”
Visit “Why Design Now” at the Cooper Hewitt from May 14, 2010 to January 9, 2011. More info at www.cooperhewitt.org
Photos 1&2: ProSolve370e Tiles
Photo 3: Contour Crafting
|
|