Design Boost is a highly interesting platform that “envisions a holistic approach as a condition for sustainable design”. To fulfil this target the platform’s idea builds upon sharing knowledge by publishing media (magazines, books and videos), organizing events (talks, shows), building a community and offering consulting services.

Here is a documentation video of the last Design Boost event “Made in [Arnhem]” with an interesting, yet effective way to document an event by structuring the video with questions around the different themes: How can design understand cultures? How transform a commodity to an experience? Do we need another chair? How do me mind the gap? What comes after IKEA?

Now I cannot say that the answers are really satisfying nor are they new. For example I think it seems clear that “there are too many things we don’t need” and that it is “better to design better quality”. “When all parents are designers, that would leave to a better world” – that also needs more explanation.

Most interesting for me was the questions “What comes after IKEA?”. The answer was that after consumers became makers they now should become designers, said Tim Vermeulen. An interesting topic that needs much more work and debate I think.

Either it is the wrong questions that are asked or just some difficulty in the designers’ world that does not allow to bring up new ideas. Maybe it was just too short to put it in a single video document. Still the basic concept of Design Boost seems appealing to me as it consequently gathers designers and urges them to sit together and talk about problems and probably even solutions. It is for sure no coincident that the Scandinavians, the Swedes in this case, cultivate this kind of collaborative and sense-making approach.

It is probably no wonder that it is the Dutch who professionalize the idea to use water for living space. Caused by the fact that harbors like the one in Rotterdam are being expanded into the open sea, the old harbours lose their former function and open space for different use. And as space is rare in a country that has been costly recaptured from the sea, alternative ways of using space are welcome.

The company DeltaSync created this Geodesic Dome (Picture © DeltaSync) to create a swimming space on the docklands in Rotterdam. More information about the project on Metropolis Magazine.

Members of Jeudi Noir

More than 8% of the houses in Paris (data of the city administration) stand empty. Supposably the real number is much higher. On the other hand even sharing a flat costs at least 400 Euros. This is a big problem for a city that is connected with terms like art and creativityWhat will the future be like if a city cannot offer space to live and work for upcoming younger talents that do not belong to the group of top earners? It’s of course possible that the mayor of Paris does not know about the importance of the creative industries and if he one day will know it might take years till a dull city administration will react on the issue.

The group Jeudi Noir did not want to wait so long. Their approach is to occupy houses that are empty and unused. Last “project” is a splendid villa on the Place de Vosges no. 1b. On one of the most demanded addresses in Paris the “Squatteurs” occupied a 1,300 square metre house that is degenerating since 45 years.

Spaces out of real estate perfection and capital are rare our cities. But it is exactly those places that creativity needs to grow and evolve. Assumed that the squatters treat the building at least better than its owners or even better start renovating the objects, it is the best strategy for the ghost buildings. “Eigentum verpflichtet” (property obligates) – and if the owner is not interested in caring for it, why not let creative people do the job that really have a motivation for it?

More information in English, French or German (including video).

Written at Cafe Kislev in the centre of Cologne, an enjoyable place with WLAN in the Zülpicher quarter.