There are places that we just cannot forget: e.g. because we met the love of our life, had a feeling of total freedom, saw something unforgettable beautiful or just got into the flow.

Saving this very moment is not possible as we all know – not even with a digital camera. But why not save the space where it all happened? Virtually this is now possible at Space02 you can buy your favourite place or places and share your experiences. For only 1$ a square meter you are the owner of your personal place. First come – first served: once knocked down, nobody else can ever snatch away your venue.

So if you have some time left between updating all your social networking websites and doing your online shopping, just go ahead and try this new service. Up till now nearly the whole world is still available for sale.

Historically Germans are known to be very efficient. Also Germans are known to be clean – designwise you can see it in the “form follows function” feever that was born in Germany’s Ulm School, but today Germans have a good reputation in sustainable engineering and alternative energies.

Additionally Germans are known to be the world champions in waste separation. Here is a good example for an “invisible design” in the sense of Lucius Burckhardt. The task here was rather “we need a container to collect the separated rubbish” then “we want to offer our residents an environment of sustainablility”.

The outcome is this monumental trash grading device that I found near Neumarkt in central Cologne. Designs like this (some would call it no-design indeed) happen everyday and are made by administrators who are not able to see the full picture and integrate one object into a whole system of things.

Im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung “Öffentlichkeit assoziieren – Zur Sozialfunktion von Kunst und Kommunikationsdesign”, findet an der Merz-Akademie ein Vorlesung von Alex Demirovic statt.

Alex Demirovic befasst sich in seinem Vortrag mit Öffentlichkeit versus Privatheit aus der Perspektive der Soziologie. Was erzeugt Privatheit, was Öffentlichkeit und wie bedingt sich dies gegenseitig im Alltag, in den Medien, in den Institutionen? So einfach der Gegensatz einerseits zu erklären sein scheint, so komplex ist andererseits die Formation von Diskursen, die privat bzw. öffentlich als Dispositiv erzeugen. Wie ist der gesellschaftliche Raum beschaffen, der ein “die Individuen assozierendes Sprechen” ermöglicht? Welchen Beitrag dazu leistet das Design der Institutionen und welchen die Institution des Designs?

Mittwoch, 17. Dezember 2008, 19.30 Uhr, Aula der Merz Akademie, Teckstraße 58, 70190 Stuttgart

I guess it is better to be very cautious to what futurologists want to tell us – like a medicine man they are trailing through the country to sell their future tales. Why they can be successfull? Because sometimes we just want to believe what they tell us, especially when it is good news.

Now, Matthias Horx, one of the German quacksalvers, wants to know that the virtual community euphoria is already in decline. Companies would already establish e-mail free days and people would call themselves “ex-onliners”: they left the virtual space to improve their quality of life.

What good news! So finally we can get rid of the many online platforms we participate in and that take hours to keep them updated and filled with social activity. Soon we will probably get back to meeting for a hot drink in a nice an cozy café… time to close one or two of our face books.

From January 19 to 25, 2009 again it’s time for one of the world’s major interior design fairs: imm cologne. It can be a boring event, as it is – of course – mainly a stock exchange for thousands of furniture dealers. And as you are running through the big halls at latest the 20th chair and the 30th sofa will make you feel tired.

It could be boring – wouldn’t there be [d3] design talents section where – as the name says – young design talents and design schools are showing their work. Right in the center of this section in hall 3.1 there’s another mentionable project: the online design magazine DESIGNSPOTTER presents 50 “fresh and wild” designers from over 16 countries in the world.

So come to Cologne in January – the imm week is one of the best times in the year to experience the city with furniture exhibition happenings on every corner and lots of parties.