Talks Series Autumn 2009: No Energy
The talks series this term addresses the themes raised by the initial project,
No Energy.
Project brief:
Imagine a world without energy.
What can you learn by looking outside your daily reality, for example solutions of the third world energy economy, principles of tool-making from early cultures or strategies offered by new technological directions?
Adapt a process, principle or strategy to offer a new product or service for your life in London.
Consider the following aspects:
Industrial as opposed to handmade production
Mass production or production on demand
Consumption as opposed to abstinence
Private as opposed to communal
Longevity or short life cycle
Disposal as opposed to reintroduction
Produce a three-minute presentation of your project.The presentation will be made to the whole department and may include prototypes, objects, stories, films or any other media you find suitable to communicate your idea.
This is a personal project.
All events take place in the 8th floor seminar room, 14.30-16.00
Wednesday 30 September
Gareth Williams will explore the No Energy project brief by looking at various designers’ responses to the design of chairs. Is local, small-scale production the key to minimizing energy use, or is it down to the choice of material and scale of production and distribution?
Monday 5 October
Claus Molgaard trained as a mould maker and has a masters degree in Engineering and a PhD in Plastic and Environmental Sciences from the Technical University of Denmark. Since 1998 Claus Molgaard has run his own product development studio. Claus will be talking about ‘Environmental analysis and design’; the study of the resources consumed in the production, use and disposal of products. For more information see:
http://www.molgard.com/blog/
Sustainability
Boisbuchet
Tuesday 12 October
Thomas Thwaites graduated from the RCA Design Interaction department in 2009 with The Toaster Project, which chronicled his attempt to build an electric toaster completely from scratch.
Thursday 15 October
Joep Van Lieshout established Atelier Van Lieshout (AVL) in Rotterdam in 1995 as a multidisciplinary collective engaged with conceiving and producing contemporary art, design and architecture. Many long term projects, including the self-declared ‘AVL-Ville’ a ‘free state’ in the port of Rotterdam centred on AVL’s studio, ‘The Technocrat’ and ‘Slave City’, examine the workings of society through drawings, models and installations, and frequently engage with issues of sustainability.
Monday 19 October
Stephen Tindale is a climate and energy consultant, who has worked on climate change for the last 20 years. His current portfolio includes work for npower renewables, 2041 (the campaign to protect Antarctica). He is also a Visiting Fellow at the Policy Studies Institute. He was formerly Executive Director of Greenpeace UK and an advisor to the UK government.
Monday 2 November
Christoph Behling is the founder of SolarLab Research & Design, a London-based design consultancy for solar innovation and Europe's leading developer of solar-powered boats.
Monday 9 November
Michael Pawlyn was one of the lead architects behind the Eden Project in Cornwall. Treating nature as a blueprint, he believes there are huge gains to be made by learning from how the natural world works - especially in the effort to slow down the effects of climate change. Michael's work includes a carbon neutral method for regenerating waste, and the revolutionary Sarah Forest Project which mimics the Namibian fog-basking beetle's ability to create its own fresh water. The scheme has the potential to reverse the process of desertification in the Sahara and other desert regions as well as generating large amounts of renewable solar energy.
Monday 16 November
Sophie Thomas graduated from the RCA (MA Illustrating) in 1994 and spent a year working for the Body Shop Design Department before setting up thomas.matthews, a design and communication company informed by sustainability, with Kristine Matthews. She lectures on ethical design and is a co-founder of Three Trees Don’t Make A Forest, a not-for-profit social enterprise with the aim of providing tools for all designers and businesses who are involved in design and advertising, and inspiring them to re-think their working cultures and start to produce sustainable design that really works. The ultimate goal is to be the catalyst for the creation of a zero carbon design industry.
Monday 23 November
Nina Tolstrup trained as a designer at the Les Ateliers school of industrial design in Paris and has a BA in Marketing from the Business School in Copenhagen. Now based in London she designs products for companies while also taking a pro-active approach designing, manufacturing and selling her own ranges under the Studiomama name. Nina is known for her Pallet furniture, shown during the London Design Festival, and for her participation in the on-going collaborative project Ten, for which ten designers develop and exhibit design proposals together.
Monday 14 December
Dick van Hoff is a self-styled 'industrial tailor', a versatile designer with a strong sense of material and form, coupled with a love of industrial and traditional manufacturing techniques. His designs are produced for companies including Droog and Royal Tichelaar Makkum, and he recently staged his first solo exhibition in London at Gallery Libby Sellers.