* Architecture + Design: Exhibitions: “The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area” at SFMoMA

Architecture + Design: Exhibitions: “The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area” at SFMoMA: “This exhibition is the first of its kind, featuring Buckminster Fuller’s most iconic projects as well a focus on his local design legacy in the Bay Area. Though he was never a resident, Fuller’s ideas inspired many local experiments in the realms of technology, engineering and sustainability..Fuller’s imaginative works will be represented primarily with prints from the Inventions: Twelve Around One portfolio (1981), as well as several key works on loan from the R. Buckminster Fuller Archive at Stanford University. The exhibition also includes other Bay Area endeavors inspired by Fuller’s thinking, such as low-cost laptops from Yves Behar and Nicholas Negroponte’s “One Laptop per Child” initiative; the North Face’s Oval Intention, the first dome-shaped tent to best the sheet-thrown-over-a-rod design (demonstrating Fuller’s notion “tensegrity,” or tensional integrity, if you will); David de Rothschild’s Plastiki sailboat, the recycled catamaran of 12,500 plastic water bottles that sailed from San Francisco to Australia; and Stewart Brand‘s comprehensive “Whole Earth Catalog.” Through 29 July 2012; The Utopian Impulse – BUCKMINSTER FULLER AND THE BAY AREA at SFMoMA.

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image: Buckminster Fuller and Chuck Byrne, Building Construction/Geodesic Dome, United States Patent Office no. 2,682,235, from the portfolio Inventions: Twelve Around One, 1981; screen print in white ink on clear polyester film; 30 in. x 40 in. (76.2 cm x 101.6 cm); Collection SFMOMA, gift of Chuck and Elizabeth Byrne; © The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller, All Rights reserved. Published by Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati; article: Rosenfield , Karissa . “SFMoMA Exhibit: “The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area”” 06 Apr 2012. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/224032>

* Design: Exhibitions: ‘Born Out of Necessity’ at MoMA – Mother of Invention, Cousin of Design, by Roberta Smith

The Final Home 44-pocket parka

Design: Exhibitions: ‘Born Out of Necessity” at MoMA – Mother of Invention, Cousin of Design, by Roberta Smith: “..Most of the designs here fall somewhere between life-and-death necessity and modern-living convenience, but the more pressing the need, the more intriguing they tend to be. Especially so are simple objects that help relieve pervasive life-thwarting conditions..Design has a history, but at its best it also is history, telling the story of human growth, social change and expanding capacity.”

According to MoMA: Born out of Necessity - Showcasing objects that adhere to the traditional view of design as a tool for problem-solving, Born out of Necessity offers close examination of the problems themselves—whether urgent, foreseen, or imagined. From objects that respond to pressing needs in developing countries to new solutions that are tailored to the urban environment, the exhibition examines how design intervenes across a range of experiences, including medical emergencies and natural disasters. Other objects demonstrate how products created to address specific challenges for people with disabilities can provide solutions that improve everyone’s life. Drawing on the narrative power of design, Born out of Necessityaddresses a host of complex cultural developments, such as the need to incorporate environmental responsibility in everyday life, our attempts to marry ancient religious beliefs with contemporary mores, and the desire to anticipate and prevent technological and ecological quagmires.”  Through 28 January 2013, moma.org

Slideshow, accompanying the article ‘Mother of Invention, Cousin of Design’ by Roberta Smith, here

image: Richard Perry/The New York Times

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* Design: Salone del Mobile Milan 2012: Nendo: Trial and Error, by Domus

Design: Salone del Mobile Milan 2012: Nendo: Trial and Error, by Domus: “..The Japanese design collective Nendo was co-founded by Oki Sato and Akihiro Ito in Tokyo in 2002. Ten years later, their work, which has captivated big players in the international design scene, is celebrated at the piano nobile of 17th-century Palazzo Visconti in Milan. The Trial and Error exhibition showcases new prototypes, limited editions and hybrids of both limited editions and mass-produced design, such as the new 1% products collection, so called because each piece in it represents 1% of the whole..”

image + article: Domus

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* Design: Salone del Mobile Milan 2012: Dezeen Studio: Saturday at MOST

Design: Salone del Mobile Milan 2012: Dezeen Studio: Saturday at MOST: ..From Faye Toogood of Studio Toogood waxing touchy-feely feel-good, to an interview with the editor-in-chief of the magnificent DOMUS, Joseph Grima, who talks about collaborative design, hacking, crowd-sourcing, open design and the “reflective” mood of this year’s mega-event, to a quick look through British design brand SCP’s offering..and, of course, more..

image, article + video: Dezeen

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* Design: Salone del Mobile Milan 2012: Dezeen Studio: Friday at MOST

Design: Salone del Mobile Milan 2012: Dezeen Studio: Friday at MOST: From Michelle Ogundehin, editor in chief of Elle Decoration UK on dynamic Japanese design and manufacturing to architect and Pecha Kucha founder Mark Dytham on the design scene in Tokyo, to the new French design brand La Chance and their Jekyll and Hyde collection..and more..

image, article + video: Dezeen

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