Starting with the universe

Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. If we were to take a step back and look at situations and problems from broader perspectives would we design better systems, better products, better ways of living in the world?

The Buckminster Fuller exhibition at the Whitney, 'Starting with the Universe', is one of those broader perspectives. Fuller was a visionary designer, philosopher, poet, inventor, engineer, and advocate of sustainability - one of the great transdisciplinary thinkers of the last century with a legacy that extends to nearly every field of the arts and sciences. He chose to devote his life to the question 'Does humanity have a chance to survive lastingly and successfully on planet Earth, and if so, how?'. He sought ways of identifying what he, as an individual, could do to improve humanity's condition, which large organizations, governments, and private enterprises inherently could not do.

Currently there are many similar discussions happening in the world, in many fields, about the same concerns. Have we really progressed in our thinking or are we asking the same questions because of habitual actions and patterns? Fuller was able to approach some large societal and universal questions with a holistic approach to design. This methodology helped him to see all aspects of the problem, thus developing solutions and ideas that took into account what impact and evolution his work would have. He defined design as the attempt to fulfill human needs in an evolving technical and cultural context - a similar approach to many exciting things that are happening in the world today. We are all becoming more familiar and concerned with our own individual impact as well as the collective impact we have on the world.

So if mainstream thinking would have accepted a more holistic approach, would we still be asking the same questions about the same topics almost 40 years later - the environment, human impact, business models and healthy economics? If businesses took on a more evolutionary vision to defining themselves, innovating and solving problems would we be asking more progressive questions of ourselves? Is it time to stop designing band-aids and time to start re-inventing?

The exhibition is a show of more than five decades of Fuller's integrated approach toward the design and technology of housing, transportation, cartography and communication, much of it shown for the first time. A lot of his work never made it into production, often dismissed as hopelessly utopian. Potentially a utopian approach to the future is not such a bad idea.

12 September 2008, posted by Bethany Koby

iPlayer booms for the BBC

After living abroad for four months out of the last six, I realized how quickly I’d come to depend on high-quality TV on-demand and online through the BBC’s innovative iPlayer. Although iPlayer is only six months old, it’s already become a massive success for the BBC’s recently renamed Future Media & Technology division. Other on-demand online TV services do exist – 4OD, Virgin on Demand and itv.com – but the iPlayer now defines the category.

Unlike its rivals, the iPlayer became a stunning success almost overnight. Since its launch on Christmas Day 2007, 42 million programmes were accessed on iPlayer between January and March 2008. According to The Guardian (30.04.08), in April the iPlayer accounted for about 5% of all internet traffic in the UK, with viewers watching over a million programmes a week.  The iPlayer has been so successful that internet service providers are now complaining that the increased demand has overwhelmed their broadband systems and that the BBC should help to cover the cost of upgrades.

So why is the iPlayer so good? Firstly, it’s easy to use, with an intuitive interface and logical organisation. Secondly, it’s widely available. If you are in the UK and connected to the internet you can stream programmes on Windows, Mac and Linux computers, as well as on Nintendo Wii, iPod Touch and iPhones, with availability increasing all the time. Thirdly, the iPlayer is always being improved in response to audience feedback. Only six months after its introduction, the BBC launched a new beta version which updated the iPlayer’s main features and, more importantly, fully integrated the existing Radio Player into the iPlayer so that TV and radio content are now in the same place. There are already plans to expand iPlayer internationally and to make the whole BBC archive available online.

The most important factor here is that the iPlayer shows the BBC returning to its basic brand principles – free, high-quality, authoritative programming – and reinterpreting its services in the digital age. By understanding that customers now want to choose when, where and how we watch television – on the commute, in the bath, on an iPhone – the BBC has escaped being pigeonholed as 'the box in the corner of the living-room' and has invented an essential tool to keep it relevant and popular. Some viewers are now claiming that they will ditch the TV for good, relying on iPlayer to deliver their programmes on-demand. One thing is certain: after only six months, the iPlayer has already become the undisputed leader in the category of on-demand TV and radio. It can now 'inform, educate and entertain' whenever, however and wherever the customer wants.

22 August 2008, posted by Alexandra Gowlland

The House that Herman built

‘What kind of a house does a man who has lived in a 6’ x 9’ box for over thirty years dream of?’ This is the question that artist/activist Jackie Sumell posed to Herman Wallace, who’s spent the last thirty-six years in solitary confinement in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

A recent exhibition at the Royal College of Art in London showcased Herman’s dream. The house he imagines will be a place for him to retire comfortably once out of jail. Until then, the space will lend itself to the community, contributing to the social and physical economy of New Orleans, breathing hope into a society wounded by its history and struggle, and ultimately demonstrating the expansive power of imagination.

The story is not about why Herman is in jail, it’s not just about changing a corrupted system. It’s an inspiring example of how a collaboration between two individuals can create a movement of people working together to turn a dream into reality. Apart from the political controversy, the project shows where imagination can take a human being after years of being exposed to very little positive stimulation.

The house that Herman Wallace dreams of is currently being built and funded by a network of activists, artists, architects and people who want to make a man’s dream come true.

Find out more at www.hermanshouse.org

6 August 2008, posted by Bethany Koby and Giorgio Rondelli