Catch the beast! 09/19/2010
 
Picture
© neozoon.org
Picture
© neozoon.org
Picture
© neozoon.org
"There! A human! For heaven's sake! Catch the beast! 
— Planet of the Apes, 1968. 
An line that appropriately sums up Neozoon's philosophy. Neozoon is a street art collective based in Paris and Berlin. They seek to heighten our awareness of the way we treat animals, and the relationship we have with animals and birds. Initially the art was flat on the wall, but a recent collection consists of 3-dimensional animals as well.

There is something intriguing and chilling about the imagery created. The Bah Bah Blacksheep slaughterhouse area in Dresden has a line of sheep, each one numbered along the wall. It's an artistic expression that also makes you stop in your tracks and think about what we do to animals. It reflects on our heartlessness towards them as well. Though just silhouettes, each sheep is life-like, lively and original, right from their numbers to their yellow ear tags. A street in Paris has shown fur-coat recycling, a streak of life like creatures racing and leaping around the corner. It makes a strong statement, without destroying the character of the area. Lynxes, from the Urban Art Festival Madrid 2010 is also freakishly real. On the tamer side there is Cats (Urban Art Festival Madrid 2010), which is playful, domestic and harmless. There are lambs gazing at you in Berlin. 

Manteltier in Berlin is one of their 3-dimensional exhibits, and combines and fun and macabre in a surreal way. A kangaroo in Paris might just make you stop while walking by. There is also a bunch of pedigree dogs in Berlin, that you can see on their site, along with magnificent bulls, standing bears, pigs, wolves, foxes and more. A pretty unusual take on street art. All these are created from actual discarded fur coats, which adds to the realism and is truly confrontational for us humans. The location of some of the displays, such as the sheep on one of the oldest slaughterhouses of Paris adds to the meaning. A piece of street art that makes us think about the way we treat animals. The realism of actual fur shaped into life like forms makes the horror of killing animals real.

Do visit their site, for more on the furry friends, and check out their videos. You can read more about them here too. How do they make it? Check out the video here.

By Armeen Kapadia
2 Comments
 
 
Picture
http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/
Architecture for Humanity is an initiative started in 1999, and today is a network of more than 40,000 professionals who give their time and knowledge to help those who would otherwise would not be able to afford their services. One of the ironies of our time is the fact that often, the people who are most in need of design and development services, are the ones who can least afford it. In the last ten years Architecture for Humanity has helped rebuild local communities after natural disasters, alleviate poverty and provide access to to clean water. They also work for communities struggling with urbanization, build for the differently abled, rebuild communities post-conflict, and reduce the footprint of buildings. 

One of the key areas they work in is sustainable design. They believe (very sensibly) that "Buildings not only have a physical footprint - they have an ethical footprint." Projects they work on range form community centers for tsunami affected people in Sri Lanka, to preservation of defaced structures in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The projects on their site and both numerous and varied, and there is a detailed documentation of each one. Their sensitivity to culture, people and the environment, results in buildings and spaces that blend with and support the local resources, as well as revitalize the local culture and sense of community. As they say, "Design is important to every aspect of our lives. It informs the places in which we live, work, learn, heal and gather. We engage all stakeholders in the design process. We believe our clients are designers in their own right."

Cameron Sinclair is the CEO, (Chief Eternal Optimist as they call it) of Architecture for Humanity, of which he is the co-founder with Kate Stohr. He was trained as an architect in University College, London, where he developed an interest in social, cultural and humanitarian design. Ten years back he and his wife Kate had an idea while watching news of the refugees in Kosovo. Cameron said, "I bet there is more than just us who cares about these communities, who want to help and make a difference." They launched a design competition for Kosovo, and were flooded with a new ideas for refugee housing. And so Architecture for Humanity was born. You can read more on him here. They have co-authored a book 'Design Like You Give A Dam'. (I couldn't have said it better myself!)

Cameron believes that when your clients are living on less than 50 cents a day, being 'green' is not a choice. Sustainability is also about affordability, and innovation with the minimum resources.
You can request design services or offer design services. Also have a look at Open Architecture Network, another initiative by them, an online, opens-source community to share knowledge and improve living conditions. These people realize that architecture is so much more than just 'buildings'. It is the spaces we live in, and in a way our homes, workplaces and gathering places are extensions of ourselves. They shape us as much as we shape them. I quote their site "One billion people live in abject poverty. Four billion live in fragile but growing economies. One in seven people live in slum settlements. By 2020 it will be one in three. We don't need to choose between architecture or revolution. What we need is an architectural revolution."
One of the several current projects is happening in Haiti, post-earthquake. Cameron's entire posts on the home page are worth reading. A quote here, "For those not used to working in disasters the first week is chaotic, filled with stories of heroism and despair. The first responders are not the NGO's or medical personal but the families of those who are injured or lost their lives. It is an overwhelming situation to be in. It is also not the time for architects to show up thinking they can rebuild. People are trying to find their loved ones not think about what their lives will look like in 5, 10 or 15 years."

Do read their site in detail, its range and depth of work is commendable, and have a look at the video below. (lots more videos on YouTube). Its time to design like you give a dam. 
By Armeen Kapadia


Add Comment
 
 
Picture

Now its not that often that you come across someone who says 'We believe design can change the world.', as there is a hard-core cynic in a lot of us, but Project H is one initiative that does believe in it. 'Project H Design connects the power of design to the people who need it most, and the places where it can make a real and lasting difference.'

Project H is a California based non-profit. Project H is a team of designers, builders, thinkers and doers, working locally to improve the quality of life for the socially overlooked. Project H consists of design initiatives for humanity, habitats, health, and happiness. Its really worth reading their process, as stated on the site. Here it is in brief:
1) There is no design without (critical) action.
2) We design WITH, not FOR. 
3) We document, share, and measure.
4) We start locally, and scale globally.
5) We design systems, not stuff. 
These pretty much sum up the holy grail of design, or atleast charts the future course of design.

Project H is the brainwave of Emily Pilloton, a designer who in January 2008, decided it was time to quit her job 'designing the superfluous', and create something more meaningful to the world in general. You can read more about Emily here. 

Don't miss reading the Manifesto page on the site. An extract, "...here’s the brass tacks reality: We need to challenge the design world to take the “product” out of product design for a second and deliver results and impact rather than form and function; to reconsider who our clients really are; to turn our tightly-cinched consumer business models and luxury aesthetics on their heads; to get over “going green;” and to enlist a new generation of design activists. We need big hearts, bigger business sense, and even bigger balls."

You can read more about Project H here and here. And definitely take a good look at their projects. Design to inspire in 2010 and beyond.

By Armeen Kapadia
Add Comment