Going Local: Notes over the past 10 days....

Photo above: handmade purse, produced by trafficking survivors & refugees at Social Fashion Factory, in Athens, Greece (SOFFA). You can also check all Fashion Revolution' topics, activities, actions,  animators and affiliated organizations:
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/europe/greece/ 

A warm afternoon in Athens, on the 9th floor at the Hilton: open hotel rooms transform into showrooms for the Mecca of Greek fashion and crafts. Secret sharing of some very promising designers' and makers' productions - a buyer's playground and a collector's intrepid excitement: it is clothing, jewellery, accessories, social fashion, cosmetics, swimwear, eyewear, millinery and footwear, all conceived and made by local minds. Feast your eyes on those discoveries and visit the subsequent list of sites :

www.mvmswimwear.com (photo bellow)

www.urbanowl.eu (photo bellow)

www.superlora.com (photo bellow)

Also have a look on:

www.noilence.com

www.debbietzimadesign.com

https://www.facebook.com/artandindustryathens/

https://www.facebook.com/jewelrykores/

www.pestemal.gr

https://www.facebook.com/1902-365640293457303/?ref=br_rs

In between exhibitions at the Benaki museum in Peiraios avenue, and waiting eagerly! for the Architecture & Design Film Festival: Athens in the very end of April - we stopped for a quick look at the Dimitris Manikas retrospective. The master architect presents more than 40 years of his most prominent works, different projects upheld in the realms of Neoclassicism and Purist Modernism, predominantly in Vienna, the city he spent most of his adult life and also where he launched his career. 

In photos bellow: Top (detail): Urania Cultural Center in Vienna (restoration and extension). Bottom: Siemens-Kasern headquarters in Salzburg.

In 10 days we sail away to the vast, open spaces of the Salone del Mobile 2018! Stay tuned for our last pre-Salone post and all of our schedule updates! 

Until then, stay safe and sound?-))

A4D-D4A 🙌

An introduction to Blockchain technology and Design....(among other things).

Photo above: background image of retro american publicity, source: 
https://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2013/12/30/new-years-eve-and-television/

Mr. Vassilis Papakonstantinou, mechanical engineer and chairman of MIT Enterprise Forum Greece, stated in his recent lecture at Eugenides Foundation UTech Lab* that Blockchain technology consists of the 3rd most important innovation the last decades, right after Personal Computers (PCs) and the Internet. Blockchain is the basic technology that will define a new circle of activities, facilities, communities, systems, habits, morals and relationships in the contemporary world, now and tomorrow.
The galloping digitalization of the material world and of Content, together with all diverse Internet transactions and new online liaisons, plus the banking/economic crisis- required a costless technology, whereas trust would be NO condition of successful completion and at the same time  transparency, authentification and audit would be necessarily incorporated. A public, immutable and distributed ledger of transactions of ALL kinds, an overall "packaging" of many technologies, in order to manage crisis: THAT is Blockchain.

The huge databases created and transparently distributed by and to- many PCs, form independent networks in the fields of economy, public administration, education, health and legal infrastructures- provided that every new/last transaction in Blockchain technology does carry the "signatures" ("blocks"), therefore the entire information of all previous transactions in the chain. The applications of Blockchain technology are multiplying, including production, normalization, design and copyright. Some examples: 
1. Peer 2 peer insurance lending 
2. Health & medical records 
3. Supply chain communications 
4. Land rights management (land registries)
5. Crossborder money transfers 
6. Banking fraud detection 
7. Self-executing contracts ("Smart Contracts") 
8. Digital identity security 
9. Distributed cloud storage (documentation, archiving) 
10. Government corruption prevention 
11. Music royalty collections 
12. Serial diamond verification/identification.

Blockchain also implements Artificial Intelligence (AI) a determining fact for many future platforms, including digital currencies or cryptocurrencies, nowadays a key blockchain-based industry, also encountering issues of technical manipulation and energy efficiency,(ex. Bitcoin farms are currently expensive Quantum computers with latest-technology graphic cards that are rapidly heating up during mining- a result that will possibly limit their use in countries primarily affected by global warming and high temperatures in the near future).

If we have to come undone at some point (sooner or later), so to "unstitch" stitch-by-stitch this civilization - will those technologies/ platforms such as Blockchain or UbuWeb be our post-millenial "Black Boxes" to carry on safely a legacy, no longer available? A question, waiting to be answered the following years to come.

(*Huge thanks to UTech Lab and Mr. Papakonstantinou for the dedicated workshop to Blockchain technology!)

Best,
A4D-D4A

A4D-D4A ThinkLab: Parallel lives, parallel designs - the works of Ingvar Kamprad and Steve Jobs.

In photo above: the Mac Pro by Apple, (https://www.apple.com/lae/mac-pro/) and the current version of Strandmon armchair by IKEA,(http://www.ikea.com/se/sv/catalog/products/30361043/).

There is no obvious interaction between some design icons of the century but there is definitely a copy pattern in their evolution and the actual transition of these objects into the 21st century era.
The frugal lifestyle and the democratic vision of universal access to goods and services of the founders of IKEA and Apple- Ingvar Kamprad and Steve Jobs respectively- infuse those very values into the design of the Mac and the Strandmon, but most importantly, they transcend those items to ceaseless, expanding "design machines".
The inextricable fusion of design and manufacturing in order to give a product that will have endless possibilities of improvement the following decades after its birth, remains the key factor in concepts like the new Mac Pro and the Strandmon- revisited numerous times and following the spirit, the etiquette of contemporary society's needs. Super-flexible, highly efficient, uncommonly pretty, eco and energy-friendly, traditional yet innovative, mass-addressed but individually appreciated, ready to be re-discovered and redesigned by the next generation.That's what makes them eternal.

Cordially ?-))
A4D-D4A  

What really happened to Greek design*? A stroll inside the exhibition "160 Years Made In Greece".

In central photo above - Center: Enfield yellow electric car (Neorion & Enfield, Syros island,1970). Left (bottom and top respectively): enamelware and enamel heater and helmet by Kea Enamel Factory (Kea island).

What ever happened to Greek design? Historians and critics often describe hellenic design in the 20th century as something close to the Baby Jane* of European production. That is, in the rare docummented studies where sprouts a brave attempt to decipher the "failure" of the Greek production to trasform and metabolize its inventive powers to something new and seriously forceful to its industrial competitors. The poignant and final fixation- using the Freudian term- of Greek design in the late 70's and the transparent "end" of it in more or less that time, reveal the indisposition of a country with a "full metal jacket" of heavyweight, innovative industries  to pass to the next level(?). The recent design exhibition "160 Years Made In Greece: Industry, Innovation, Novelty" exercises the lawful right to investigate and present to the public a solid survey and collection of the Greek industrial legends and therefore their own design myths. Furthermore, throughout a profound historical study illustrating the major transformations of Greek society, the visitor tends to reach and understand the Leviathan of the Greek production the last century- and the orchestrated deceleration of almost its entity in the beginning of the 80's. The "orientation" of the country to services (whatever that might entail during the Greek postmodern era and beyond), led to a progressive cease of activity and a timid regeneration only recently.
The exhibition will stay up until March 2018 and it is a truly fascinating expedition, a genuine emotional rollercoaster for a Paradise-lost-of-Design: made to Last not made-Up just to show off as a seasonal, tourist attraction. 

Bellow, from top to bottom: Stoves and fridges by FG and Sklavenitis. Soaps and soap stamps by Papoutsanis. Biscuits stamps, presses and cutters used in1933 by E.I. Papadopoulos S.A. Fruit bowl and insulators by Glassworks factory D.C Argyropoulos. KYKLOS chair by Varangis S.A. back in1951. Machine for washing milk containers c.1970, DELTA. Glass bottles for the distribution of fresh milk by EVGA. Machineries used in dominant textile industries such as D.M.C Threads & Yarns and Dimitriades Cashmere Garments. ICAROS decorative objects. Pharmaceutical compounds, textile dyes and OXAL insecticides in their packaging. 

Love + Enjoy!

A4D-D4A <3

First News for 2018 and some new Thoughts ....

Image above: 
WING pendant lamp, by Mineheart: for enquiries and pre-orders, please visit   http://www.mineheart.com

A quick taste of what we are more than eager to expect this year, by the very companies around the globe, that remain dedicated to create awesomeness. Design aficionados get ready and sharpen your senses for the new products of British-based independent design studio Mineheart, about to get launched this March...Perfection, high quality materials, humour and a definite idiosyncracy full of unique industrial expertise giving away great furniture and home decor items...Feel delighted and so privileged by having an extra glimpse on another gem of the new 2018 Collection in the picture bellow: the Kokeshi lamp.

Since last Salone del Mobile 2017, Kartell is making a U-turn regarding her publicity policies. The Italian design giant is pushing the boundaries with great design, an appetite for world domination and an incredible campaign to communicate those efforts globally. Kartell continues touring in the big capitals of the world, organizing key events, exhibitions, talks and also happenings in its flagship stores. The first talk of the year will lighten up tomorrow the Stage at the IMM fair in Cologne, where the "enfant terrible" of contemporary Italian design and a key collaborator of the brand, the playful Fabio Novembre will showcase three new products for 2018: the EUR stool (in picture bellow), the Lantern LED lamp and the Componibili Smile storage unit- his very own reinterpretation of the timeless classic by pioneer Italian designer Anna Castelli Ferrieri. Pure fun!

The rising, preoccupying question of the year 2018, will figure in many articles from our very end of the independent media world: how the blockchain-based technology in different cryptocurrency platforms will affect the design market, from the production line to the final purchase by the consumer? If there is such a case, according to the sceptics of digital cash. We will get back to you on this shortly...

Until then and once more, Happy New Design Year 2018!

A4D-D4A?-))

A4D-D4A Recap 2017 + More News from Salone 2018...

Last year 2017 concretized our content under the influence of precise decisions about publishing pivotal posts of value, covering the most important aspects of the design infosphere- aspects about to shape our societies' future and the global way of living. 

Salone del Mobile, Web Summit, AI, Deep Learning, Architecture in the U.S and in Outer space, Contemporary jewellery now, new designers' collectives, design disruptors, education technology, design Hackathons, design contests and institutions, innovative makers, people and cities: Milan, Seoul, New Orleans, Lisbon, Paris, Berlin, Cologne, Athens. 

Next year we promise even more documented material regarding the field of design-at-large and its related topics in the form of live broadcasting: after Residences et al. a new unit made by A4D-D4A called D-ocumentsOnFilm is coming up, our very new entity on social media so stay tuned!

As a last post of the year (since the clock is ticking and there is a hive of creativity in the preparation of the planet's biggest and oldest design exhibition) here you can get the latest releases about the 57th edition of Salone del Mobile 2018 in Milan, Italy that includes this season- among many different manifestations and events in its categories Classic: Tradition in the Future, Design and xLux- the biennials EuroCucina/FTK and the International Bathroom Exhibition. Absolut, much awaited highlight, the theme of this year's SaloneSatellite 21st edition, the oldest formal institution within a design international fair, showcasing young designers and their work: "Africa/Latin America: Rising Design-Design Emergente" and the drums are beating hard about this one...A thing that reminds us of all the fantastic work that pioneer curator and SaloneSatellite founder Marva Griffin Wilshire accomplished throughout the years, her contribution to international young design recently being recognized and awarded with the Ambrogino d'Oro by the City of Milan. 
"Beauty will save the world", the moto for the 2018 Salone edition, guarantees the high expectations of the globe towards a commercial fair that turned out to be a Must for the industrial world, therefore the capital monitor of all evolutions in the design sector and beyond that. A fantastic design year starts again this April 2018 and forth timer A4D-D4A is getting ready for it....

Have a very lovely Holiday and a smashing New Year 2018!!!
A4D-D4A <3 <3

Salone del Mobile latest trends + Let There Be Light this XMas....

Photo above: the design of the first of two light installations realized by Migliore + Servetto Architects for the Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper in Turin, during the XX edition of "Luci d'artista". Photo credits: Grattacielo Intesa Sanpaolo / Ph. Michele d'Ottavio.

The official countdown to the Salone Del Mobile 2018 has already started (with a series of important declarations), but the Salone Trend Lab is working non-stop on the current design follow-ups, in order to establish forthcoming values derived by the everyday reality of contemporary habitats. Live and Play while at your home, is the spirit of the times according to the mantra of our bewildered society, thirsty for balance and more than that. Home revival now incorporates the sense of a new playground and not just for children, but a creative, entertaining and self-schooling space of experiences. The process of remapping our house, just to generate stimuluses for living AND working inside IT, is the mega question and the pursue of a group of innovative design studios and collectives, listed in Salone's current Press release, quoting the notions of functional art, unconventional solution, lateral thinking, “serious” amusement, among others. This is the beginning of various interactions between traditional furnishing items and emotional needs, such as the idea of pure happiness. Feel free to explore the works of KI Design, Plumen, Think & Shift, Accent, Paul Ketz and Uuio and get ready for more chapters to read, regarding  the Salone's upcoming edition and all its major factors.

Milan, Seoul, Helsinki: all three are lighting design capitals, for any design lover to intensify his/her research for the best domestic or public/architectural lights. The Milanese wonder makers Migliore & Servetto worked their magic on the Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper in Turin, during the XX edition of "Luci d'artista" - creating a lighting project of high fidelity and extreme technical excellence. The design is composed of two installations, one external on the 35° floor and on internal, within the greenhouse in the heart of the building projected by Renzo Piano. A truly admirable work, securing Italy's position as the traditional milestone in the old continent's lighting venture. (Views in pictures bellow, Photo credits: Grattacielo Intesa Sanpaolo / Ph. Michele d'Ottavio.)

Follow us for more Salone del Mobile-plus-More related posts, as we approach the globe's capital design event, mid-April 2018 in Milan, Italy.

Until then, stay awesome!
A4D-D4A :-))