Urban Farming
In the UK we currently produce around 60 per cent of the food we eat. The rest has to be imported. With a growing world population estimated to increase by 3 billion people, which leads to competition for land, an estimated 109 hectares will be needed. Along with climate change bringing extreme weather conditions food could soon be in short supply and cost a lot more. The argument for growing your own food has never been stronger.
A Potential Solution: Urban Farming Vertically
An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient, cheap to construct and safe to operate. Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world’s urban centres. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply all year round. Along with the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.
Columbia university professor Dickson Despommier took existing greenhouse technology as a starting point and are now convinced farms within city sky scrapers are a practical idea. In their design energy would be generated by a giant solar panel with incinerators which use the farms waste for fuel. Aswell as this all the water in the entire system would be recycled making the plans whole complex sustainable.
A 30 story building with glass walls. On each floor giant planting beds, visualising as indoor fields as such with a sophisticated irrigation system.
Positives
- All year round cropping production.
- Minimal exposure to pests.
- Elimination of dangerous runoff into river systems.
- Zero food miles as food would be consumed locally.
- Practical way to address climate change.
- No shipping costs therefore no pollution caused by moving produce around the country.
- Free up cleared farm land to be reforested.
An interior farm for a skyscraper in the centre of the urban world. Well as 60% of the world’s population live in the city therefore doesn’t it make sense to grow within the city as there would be no pollution for transport of natural goods. The thought of growing within large vertical buildings may seem unnatural if it is sustainable and good for the enviroment in the long run i feel it is a great design. Urban farming is a prime example of design reaching and extending through the boundaries. Something unusual and normally unthinkable yet it would work and make a difference perhaps more so than just preaching about climate change.
Design doesn’t belong on “normal” materials it can be anything u can think even the intricate design process of an indoor urban farm and its sustainable qualities.
“Even if it’s not quite natural…..Youre going to get back the rest of the earth” Professor Dickson Despommier
http://urbanagriculture.wordpress.com/
Co2 Cubes
In Copenhagen, an art project conveys the hard facts about carbon dioxide.
Whilst trying to combat climate change, a multimedia art installation floats on a barge near the Tycho Brahe Planetarium to remind onlookers of how much risk is in the air. The CO2 cube is a structure 27 feet on each side that represents 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide, the amount produced by the average citizen of an industrialized country in a month, and half the total of the typical American. Created from 12 shipping containers to form the equivalent of a three-story building, the installation is clad on two sides with architectural mesh fabric that serves as a screen for video displays related to the impact and solutions for climate change.
Here is a clip from youtube of the cube in action.
The idea of having a huge structure in a public location for everyone to see is a clever design idea in order to communicate a message efficiently. The cube visualizes data in a different way to that of facts and figures it’s the equivalent to the size of an actual tonne of co2 therefore conveying the message so much stronger as the damage you do the planet is right there in front of the onlooker. Why should campaigns remain on paper and posters, this is a brilliant twist on an environmental campaign, which brings me back to the idea that the designer has a responsibility to protect the enviroment by producing such brilliant design ideas such as this.
Sustainability
What is the role of the designer in the contemporary world. My aim is to examine a range of modern practitioners with special focus upon their working philosophies with emphasis upon three themes in particular: Sustainability, Boundaries and Borders and finally Ethical Issues. This will enable me to value the diversity of these three themes for different designers.
Sustainability
Sustainable art work in the urban world is extremely important. I came across this piece of sustainable artwork that revitalised Brisbane car park whilst searching the web.
This piece was installed by Urban Art Projects (UAP) it successfully transforms the unsightly view from the street of a tall ninestorey car park with a further thirteen levels of office space above on Albert Street, in the Australian city of Brisbane. It turns and ugly car park into a sustainable visually exciting piece of art work.
The piece was invented by Jenifer Marchant who proudly named it “Landlines” It is created from 549 powder coated, laser cut aluminium panels all 1.2m x 3.6m. inspiration for this piece came from the idea of what can be viewed from the top of the tall building, therefore people on the street have the experience of taking in what the landscape around them looks like from the buildings point of view, all the beautiful contours of the main land around them. Essentially bringing the view from the top of the building to street level.
The design is unique as it serves an environmental purpose as well as just being visually pleasing and uplifting. It acts an a veil that disguises the exterior of an unsightly car park but also as a sustainable design solution. The aluminium panels work to naturally ventilate the sub tropical car park. This has reduced the buildings carbon emissions due to not needing the use of over £1million of mechanical ventilation systems.
Daniel Tobin, Principal of UAP said, “53 Albert Street illustrates the huge potential value integrated artworks can contribute to a project, in this case saving the client money, significantly reducing the building’s carbon footprint whilst also enhancing the public realm.”
“With this project we wanted to make visual connections to the surrounding landscapes which firmly route the work within its context and highlight UAP’s belief in site specific responses to public art.”
Creative Futures Week.
I recently sat through a talk with Gareth Lawn a Graphic Designer who currently works for View Creative. I found the talk fairly interesting and definitely picked up a few good pointers to keep in mind when the time comes to get out there and GET A JOB!!!
BE DIFFERENT… How do you successfully make yourself different in order to get noticed and to essentially stand out from the crowd??
- Most candidates send their CV via email. Why not be different and send something by post as well as email, just a few of your good pieces of work, in order to let the employer get a feel of your style prior to meeting you. In Gareth lawns case he had already showed them that he knew about photography, web design, screen print and packaging before even meeting with them.
- Brand yourself give all your work a personality.
- Create a simple website to show off all your work DO NOT OVER COMPLICATE keep it simple.
- Dont send all of your best work just a few key pieces so that when it comes to the interview you still have important work to show, so employer doesn’t get bored easily.
Interview
Know your own portfolio, practice what you’re going to say, know whats coming next. Dont make it up on the spot it can be very obvious. Importantly don’t rush through your work, take your time.
Moat importantly if you don’t get the job, don’t let it dent your confidence just simply move on. Learn from the process i.e note which pieces of work people react to best.
Freelance Designer
Negatives: You have no constant income, have to do multiple jobs, can be lonely, If you make a mistake it is all your resposibility……..BUT
Positives: You have no boss, You make the rules (i.e. how to treat clients) You take home what you earn, If your good your more likely to work with clients YOU want to work with and finally if its good it’s because of you.
To be a good freelancer: Be a brand, Know how long things take, learn how to do all your invoicing and keep on top of it, make sure the price is right and charge for everything (stock libraries, corrections, printer proofs, maps and materials)
KNOW WHAT INSPIRES YOU!!!!!
What was particularly interesting during this talk was when Gareth Lawn was asked where he stands in regard to ethics in his work and what work he chooses to take on. Lawn stated that he would not be comfortable taking on a moral campaign such as NSPCC or RSPCA. Reasons being that if the designs were not accepted and failed he would not want the whole responsibility or perhaps guilt that his work has not changed lives as it was designed to do so.
“I am a designer i do not want to change the world” Gareth Lawn.
Does the designer have a role to change lives is it their responsibility to make a change?? Well considering designers have the access to all materials, softwares etc.. along with skills and expertise I think it is a designers responsibility and role to at least try to attempt to make a change as you could argue they are the best people if only people to do so!!!!!
Chris Ramsden. Charted Society of Designers.
This talk touched upon issues of the medical world and where design lies within these boundaries. The answer; Everywhere. One point Chris Ramsden made was that if you had a wheelchair that perhaps had a mobility problem or the design was not to your liking, the owner would instantly go to the manufacturer. Why not go to a designer who could completely redesign a product to fit just your needs not for a majority.
He also commented about design on medication within surgery’s and hospitals, and how important labels were in the medical realm, stating some awful facts that miss conception of a label and dosage etc.. has led to death in hospitals. Before hearing this talk i has never even thought about issues such as these. The role of the designer had completely changed in my mind, perhaps there are no boundaries as to where design is and its importance.
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