Rethinking Cities

cities / design

August 14th, 2011

Urbanized: coming to theaters near you

More specifically Urbanized, the third film in Gary Hustwit’s design trilogy (think Helvetica and Objectified) will be screening in New York on September 20th. Additional bonus: Gary and friends will be there to discuss the film and take questions afterwards.

The central question Urbanized asks and explores is, “Who is allowed to shape our cities, and how do they do it? Unlike many other fields of design, cities aren’t created by any one specialist or expert. There are many contributors to urban change, including ordinary citizens who can have a great impact improving the cities in which they live. By exploring a diverse range of urban design projects around the world, Urbanized frames a global discussion on the future of cities.”

Urban Design Week NYC

Speaking of Urbanized, Urban Design Week will be happening in New York from September 15th – 20th. More interesting than the non-existent schedule is the open call to re-imagine the city, in which architects, designers, artists, and urbanists are asked to take an idea submitted by the public and turn it into a proposal. There seems to be a trend of government organizations adopting the practices of start-ups and design (hackathons, design thinking) in order to rapidly explore ways in which to improve the city. This is hot on the heels of Reinvent NYC.GOV and NYC Big Apps, both of which make heavy use of existing data sets and APIs.

Rethink NYC

From August 3rd to October 16th, the BMW Guggenheim Lab will be in New York exploring the theme Comfronting Comfort which examines, “notions of individual and collective comfort and the urgent need for environmental and social responsibility.” The lab is a six year project, running on two year cycles in which one theme is explored across nine cities, so in another two years the lab will be back in New York with a new theme. The longer-term vision and cyclical nature of the project is intriguing and will hopefully produce some meaningful and innovative solutions to current problems.

Can’t sing but have something to say? Panel-oke!

collaboration / interaction design

March 6th, 2011

Panel-oke combines panels and karaoke to create a more participatory and fluid approach to panels by inviting the audience to not only become the questioner, but to become the panel as well. The basic idea is that panels are re-formed in response to each question that is asked. While in play, the panel is a fluid entity and can become larger or smaller as answers are explored. In this format, the distinction between audience and participants fades away and the panel process becomes a fully collaborative event.

Traditional panel interactions happen between questioners and panels, while the audience takes on the passive role of consumer/observer. Audience members actively participate when they assume the role of questioner, but their participation is strictly limited once the initial proposition has been stated. In this format only a very small percentage of the passive audience becomes active questioners, while attempts to ‘become the panel’ don’t even manifest as a possibility throughout the duration of the panel presentation.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is karaoke, participatory and open at the core, its form and structure shift from moment to moment. At times a practiced veteran might skillfully control the audience and demand utmost attention and devotion. Other times a classic tune might incite the entire room to belt along with sloppy grins on their faces, swaying and singing together.

Panel + Karaoke = Panel-oke!