Yesterday we announced the results from the Architectural Competition for a new institute at the University of Iceland. This institute is named after our ex-president Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (web page here). Vigdis was the director of our City Theatre when I met her first as a kid with my father who was working there. Since I have followed her route, she was the French teacher of mine (a few times) and my sister in college before and stood for president of Iceland and became the first elected lady president in the world.

Her strength was always language and culture and the institute in the university says: “The Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages is a research institute working within the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Iceland. The Institute is a research centre for scholars who teach modern languages and cultures, the classical languages, and translation studies.”

I did offer to be on the jury of the architectural competition on behalf of the Association of Icelandic Architects since this issue is very much on my behalf, both brought up in the city theatre and as an architect and professor of architecture.

We, on the jury took our work seriously and spent days going over the over 40 proposals that took part in the competition but I was never uncertain about what proposal was the most appropriate one. Yesterday we opened the competition and announced the winners, a group of strong architects in Iceland supported by an older and experienced gang. I am pleased about this result and will be happy to follow the construction over the coming next two years. The building is very well planned and organized, simple and humble while shining class like our ex-president. This architecture will lift the area that has been a sad open car park landscape.

Congratulations arkitektur.is and thank you for your excellent entry in the competition.

Here are the results publication of all the entries to the competition in pdf format.

We will be encountering a local area in Iceland that represents edge conditions. The Hornafjördur Community includes a cross section of geography, cultural context and Nordic social conditions. It is a fundamental fish industry town. It reaches from the top of the 3^rd largest glacier in the world (Vatnajökull) containing various volcanoes and the district has very active agriculture, tourism, a small local town and fishing and fish industries. Geographically the next stop in direction South is Anctartica. The institutes in the community have looked widely for method and inspiration, like the Canadian network Economuseum, where public dissemination, production and crafts go hand in hand, to food R&D and university ethnographic and economic research. Tourism has been a growing element in the region while it still embraces its traditions and climatic and geographical particulars. This coming 2^nd of June design students and teachers from the Nordic Cirrus region will visit to evaluate the situation and evaluate coming moves for the region in terms of production, services and tourism. We did have a project there last autumn specifically looking at the food industry but this time we will look more openly and widely at potentials and how designers participate in local development. The project starts on June 2^nd, will last for a week and includes designers from very many of the design schools in the Nordic Region that are members of the Cirrus Network.

For a number of years we have been working on the DIG-Equality project, me and my partner Sóley Stefánsdóttir, a graphic designer with further education in gender studies. She has been instrumental in collecting material and reaching to activists, both in Iceland and globally. We wrote the project description DESIGN INNOVATION FOR GENDER EQUALITY after study and collection of methods and examples. Sóley has given introductions to the projects and now we have quite a bit of material and methods defined although we still feel we have lots to study further. This is a very important project for design development and innovation for a more equal world. Part of our starting text says:

“In recent years, designers have been moving into activities that are understood to be outside the typical commercial and artistic realms of design. During research into design and innovation we have come to uncover many projects that manifest how design is fundamental in dealing with changes in everyday life and situations.

On reflection, we have discovered how designers and the creative industries can play an important role in influencing, tackling and improving social issues, and we have been inspired by design projects that are strategically tackling issues such as crime, sustainable everyday life, development aid and health.

Gender equality is a vast subject matter and a keystone in creating real prosperity within society. Our belief and vision is therefore that gender equality should be addressed on a strategic design level. We believe that both the fields of gender research and design make a combined force to influence positive results.”

Various projects have resulted and we have been involved in different activities in this direction and now finally the project is coming to a defined research platform and planned is an exhibition in Norsk Form in 2014 in Oslo. We hope this exhibition becomes mobile for further locations. But until then lots of work is needed and all support is very appreciated. All those that know projects and works that are working in this direction are asked to send us information and make contact. We are collecting samples and development stories.

This blog is to post images from South Korean design promotion competition. Lets hope for good support and lots of activity.

News on a website today says in Icelandic this:

Breytingar sem urðu á drögum að tillögu til þingsályktunar um áætlun um vernd og orkunýtingu með því að færa virkjanir í neðri hluta Þjórsár og Skrokkölduvirkjun í biðflokk, leiða til þess að fjárfestingar og afleidd áhrif verða um 270 milljörðum krónum minna á árunum 2012 – 2016 en áður var áætlað.

Here is a link to the news.

Here are links to a new website containing lots of material about how to preserve Icelandic nature in the form of use or preservation. It is still only in Icelandic but visual material is helpful and we wait eagerly for translations.

The mountain above the hot springs is named Sveifluháls. There are ideas among politicians, eager to make more capitalistic money to build electric power stations all over and destroy our land. Money, money, money! Nothing else draws interest among 50% of Icelanders! There are people there walking up the mountain to the hot springs!

The Krýsuvík area is a wonderful landscape just outside Reykjavik. Just half an hour drive in a simple car. I have spent lots of my youth there hiking and when we did the rally driving we always passed through and often many times in one competition. Went to look at the hot springs and the landscape and want to share these photos here for my memory and if some like to see my wonderful country Iceland.

Photo album one

Photo album two

The walkway along the clay and hot water hotsprings. Simple wooden pathway, but do not slip!

Yesterday we had the first official meeting of the association that has been running of course un-officially for a year. I include here are a few photos from the meeting and a link to the website of the association.

We went to the establishment of the Iceland’s Eco Development Association. (Named: SAMTÖK LÍFRÆNNA NEYTENDA) in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Lots of conversation about how to develop Iceland in the direction of increasing eco-living, living, consuming, participating and developing a better future rather than shopping rubbish from international consumer motivating firms. People have of course been working on this for some time in Iceland but culture there is behind the other Nordic countries and Europe. Iceland is a kind of a mix between high education and development while also very primitive culturally and ecologically. This is probably obvious in a country that became cultured really after the Second World War when foreigners started coming in and participating in cultural development.

Here is a photo album from the meeting.

Auður, member of the design club gang presenting new products from agriculture from BÚBÓT (farmers products)

Design March! One more time the design field in Iceland ran the exhibitions, events and entertainment for the promotion of design as a tool to address world and local issues. This takes place every year in the month of March. The event was larger and more prosperous than ever before and it was great to feel the growth of design and product creative activity in my home-land. It is only just over 10 years since I established the first design faculty in the then new Art School in Iceland. Now, it feels like ages and there are active people all over the media and streets with products and solutions. We had great time walking around town and partying while discussing how to continue and how to use this energy that should address changing our world.

Here is a small photo album from the days.

Lára, representing the crafts and activities workshop in Egilsstaðir. See here: MAKE - Þorpið

The change that has happened in the last 10 years makes one soft and thankful for all the young and creative people that work hard while the government has not seen it fit to support the creative activity much. Only in the last 2-3 years have been some change after the hard business and banking business proofed to be just a silly spoof that has stolen lots of things out of Iceland. Now, there is much more belief in creative work and self solution rather than waiting for some silly large foreign bank to provide funds for business men that in the end remove all the funds out of the country. It makes me proud to part of the people that have been supporting alternative ways to address production and life. Now we have to continue and also aim for much more sustainable existence than before.

Ane (here is her blog) and me have been in projects together and it has been interesting to follow how she has developed more and more into traditional methods in a school full of computers and clever digital things. This to me seems very much where very many of my students are going while not ignoring digital development but not taking it as religion. We use computers mostly to support our ideas and methods of working. I do these blogs to communicate to my students and collaborators widely and often they do not know where I am located each time. We work together and spread the knowledge as well as we can. I have for some time now not done many projects that I am not sending out at the same time. I hope it does not feel for others like I am showing off, but my students are located globally and it is greatest when they become internet friends and help each other. Then my presence does not matter anymore. Here are two images of Ane making prints but I also include a few images of her in one of our other projects, and here is an other. A proper focused Oslo student while being open to searching wherever. Something many professors should try to follow and not be so specific all the time. We have only one world to develop and lets not be so pompous about it. Good luck Ane for your final exam in two months! Here are more photos of her work and others last week in Oslo.

In the workshop for the master students in Oslo. Cutting and putting together.

Project in KHiO discussing strategy for the future.

We are discussing design strategy and where design participates in dealing with global issues, production in industry, tourism and food – and actually many more areas. We discuss various globally active projects and go through examples of how design can participate in reducing the overconsumption and re-understanding of our resources. My students come from various global areas and we took a little break from heavy conversation in making small useful objects for everyday. Something that I have learned more through my work in Africa and now also at home and in various more close countries. Here is a little album of our fun day. We continue going through various projects in the workshop and of course it also makes me excited in seeing how these master students in design will continue their program for the coming years.

Here is a small photo album from our work

Here is an other album from  similar work in Iceland

My desk in Oslo with the Mac, textile from Mozambique and photo from the Greenland Project.

It is great to come to my work place in KHiO, my academy in Norway. My desk is my place and friend and now summer is pretending to arrive. Sun and people sitting outside the school for the lunch and chat.

The yard outside our school in Oslo today with the river passing and people talking.

We are going through the dialogue about how design is changing fundamentally and how we participate in the change of the world. I agree with Paola Antonelly who says that Design Takes over Here.

We are talking in our project. Here are some of us:

MAXIADONG

MADS - MADS

SASHA

EVA DE MOOR

Strategy as a term actually comes from military origin and refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal or goals. An identical definition has often been used to define design. The dictionary says for the term ‘design’:

1. To conceive or fashion in the mind; invent: ‘design a good excuse for not attending the conference’
2. To formulate a plan for; devise: ‘designed a marketing strategy for the new product’
3. To plan out in systematic, usually graphic form: ‘design a building; design a computer program’
4. To create or contrive for a particular purpose or effect: ‘a game designed to appeal to all ages’
5. have as a goal or purpose; ‘intend’
6. To create or execute in an artistic or highly skilled manner.

So strategy and design are actually terms for very similar activity, while design schools and design practices have traditionally aimed at making cute and simple solutions and objects. There have been very formal activities in terms of physical and mental form rather than conceptual. This focus has changed radically during the last decade and today the greatest demand for design skills is in services, human interactions, social solutions and environmental change – not in form giving.

It is the policy of the design faculty to inform so that the graduates will be better prepared to participate in future solutions, in industry, business or  in global or national governal activities. It so happens that more than 50% of the users of design today live in the developing world while we have were previously teaching our graduates to design things that are only vialble in Western society. The term Design for the Other 90% has become ever more important for designers, both because of a social and environmental motivations, but also because this sector is the fastest growing economic sector.

The design faculty participates in strategic design projects in various local and global locations and has a direct cooperation with the new Academy of Arts in Mozambique where the students participate in design strategic development work.

The course will introduce these projects and demand from students to initiate ideas for such strategic work.

I have met friends in Iceland that have built a Mongolian Yurt and are doing creative projects and promotion of a different way of working and living. We had great conversation about the use of materials and the traditions that are inherent in this kind of adaptable architecture. The Mongolian Yurts are attracting interest from people in many parts of the world as an ecologically friendly and attractive living space that can be used for a variety of purposes. Erwin van der Werve and his wife Þóra Sólveig Bergsteinsdóttir have been travelling with their construction to exhibitions creating events and meeting locals in various places. It is obvious that their work is very devoted and their construction is something that could stimulate and support various activities in culture. Here is information about the construction and use.

I myself am especially interested in the comparism one can make between this culture and the various other cultures like the laps in Northern Scandinavia, the Indian culture in Canada, Eskimo culture in Greenland etc. It will be interesting to compare similarities and define differences. This is something that we are doing in our research into sweat culture like the Traditional Canadian Sweat culture and many more. We have built some structures and experimented and will continue the coming years with design and architecture students. Maybe one day one will find something worth reflecting on after this.

The Yurt is a circular structure built using a wooden, accordion frame that can be easily taken down, made compact for carrying, and reassembled. On this frame are placed three to four layers of felt, traditionally made from sheep’s wool, and an outer layer of waterproof canvas. The felt and canvas are secured to the wooden frame and the resulting structure can stand securely in one place for months or even years at a time.

One questions how adaptable this construction is but it is inspiring and relates to cultural heritage and can stimulate other search into older cultures that have developed for centuries.

I like the adaptability and flexibility in transport. Creating events is important in today’s culture where adventure and communication always becomes more important. I hope they manage to develop events and will definitely try to work out some support for this project.

One of the greenhouses is being now used as the restaurant and presentation location. Solheimar today provides all its production to localities off the Reykjavik capital and suburbs.

Here is a photo album from Sólheimar

I went for a visit one more time to Sólheimar, the oldest eco farm in Iceland. They are working development ideas and we have together applied for funds to run Nordic course there next year. I will post more information about Sólheimar or you can click on their site.

Solheimar Ecovillage website in English for those that like to learn more.

Hard guest workers from various countries learning from me how to make credit card holders like I learned in Africa. Using milk containers. Here are images from the design market last summer in Reykjavik where we introduced these holders.

Candles being made in one of the workshops.

Egilsstaðir is a small town in the Eastern part of Iceland. A very young town, I remember when I came there first in the 60’s it was very mellow commercial and school location central in the country being a link to all the fjords with very active fisheries. The main school was located close and the town holds still the main airport for the eastern part of Iceland. Even providing the occasional flight to Europe. The main and nowadays only sea-passenger transport from Europe comes into Seyðisfjörður with Smyril Line, only 45 km away. This town holds the Blue Factory where we run our summer school in an old herring factory that is off limits in the winter time because of snow avalance danger.

For the last years Egilsstaðir has been the hub for the developing of the sad Aluminium Factory in the East of Iceland that has damaged badly the highland environment with arrogant electric power stations etc. See here. But enough of that. Egilsstaðir has also many small activities driven by the locals producing small industry, bio food, crafts etc. Now after the gold-rush of the aluminium factory building the locals are opening up small activities again and I have been so lucky to visit some of them last week.

There is a small workshop being run there and included in that is a small project funded by the EU that goes by the name CC.  Þorpið (see post here) and various other funds supporting new iniciatives for crafts and arts driven industries. This is very much in line with the activities in close areas like Seyðisfjörður where the LUNGA arts festival is housed and I have blogged before. I must admit that after the sad industrial building activities period for the aluminium factory and the electric power station it will be possible to go back to small initiatives, creativity and personal design and services. It is the only way to run a society and create culture. Here are a few images from my visits in various posts. Great work in the workshop in Egilsstaðir where we met Signý Ormarsdóttir and Lára Vilbergsdóttir. Also the various things made by Anna Gunnlaugsdóttir and her husband out of reindeer bones and feet.

Reindeer materials 

My dear old friend the Scout Car 

Þorpið, a workshop in Egilsstaðir   (Blog here)

Eco Farm Vallanes (Blog here)