MC Weekly Issue #11, Tuesday, February 28, 2006

“Now that we can do anything, what will we do?”

Welcome to Massive Change Weekly, an electronic newsletter sharing news about groundbreaking achievements in global design.

If you like Massive Change, you’ll love the Worldchanging blog ( http://www.worldchanging.com/ ). This is an “absolute must-read” website. The “about us” section will make it clear why we love it so much. Visit it and you will be addicted.

“WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it’s here. We only need to put the pieces together.

“Informed by that premise, we do our best to bring you links to (and analysis of) those tools, models and ideas in a timely and concise manner. We don’t do negative reviews – why waste your time with what doesn’t work? We don’t offer critiques or exposes, except to the extent that such information may be necessary for the general reader to apprehend the usefulness of a particular tool or resource. We don’t generally offer links to resources which are about problems and not solutions, unless the resource is so insightful that its very existence is a step towards a solution. We pay special attention to tools, ideas and models that may have been overlooked in the mass media. We make a point of showing ways in which seemingly unconnected resources link together to form a toolkit for changing the world.

“Every link we post is informed by technology, but the new possibilities we cover aren’t just high-tech. Sure, we all need to understand the uses (and dangers) of advances like biotechnology, the Internet, ubiquitous computing, artificial intelligences, “open source” software and nano-materials. But we also need to know how best to collaborate, how to build coalitions and movements, how to grow communities, how to make our businesses live up to their highest potential and how to make the promise of democracy into a reality. We need to understand techniques as well as technologies, ideas as well as innovations. How we work together is as important as the tools we use.”

Speaking of “world changing”, the winner of Saatchi and Saatchi’s Award for World Changing Ideas has been announced. This year’s award went to Concrete Canvas, developed by the Royal College of Art in London. Concrete canvas is a rapidly deployable hardened shelters for victims of natural or man-made disasters. http://www.concretecanvas.org.uk/

The other finalists this year included MIT for the development of bio-solar energy nanodevices, that used spinach to convert sunlight into electrical energy; the Frozen Ark Project out of Nottingham University in the UK, a plan to save the DNA of all Earth’s endangered species http://www.frozenark.org/; Jot-a-Dot, developed at Rydalmere in New South Wales, Australia, and touted as the first real innovation in Braille writing in 50 years http://www.jotadot.com/; a lens-free opthalmoscope, developed in Cambridge, UK, http://www.ophthalmos.co.uk/; the “Optical Stretcher”, developed in Leipzig, a device that uses laser beams to detect cancer cells, and for isolating adult stem cells for medical research http://physics.iop.org/IOP/Press/PR1905.html; “Photo-Form Tacticle Graphics” developed in Scottsdale, Arizona, a device for creating bas relief tiles of 2-D images so that blind persons can “see pictures” through touch; “Plantic”, developed in Laverton North, Victoria, Australia, a substitute plastic packaging, made from 90% renewable cornstarch that dissolves in water http://www.plantic.com.au/; Splashpower, a nifty gadget for charging portable electronic devices wirelessly http://www.splashpower.com/; Wikipedia for, well, being the Wikipedia, which we at Massive Change Weekly love; and Subvocal Speech Recognition, an incredible technology developed by NASA that interprets tiny neural impulses sent from the brain to the vocal tract, converting the impulses into words, handy for spacesuits, noisy environments, etc.

And speaking of NASA, Bruce Mau Design is part of a team that recently won the competition to design a new administrative headquarters and visitor center for the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at CalTech. The team is led by Los Angeles-based firm Michael Maltzan Architects. The project is to create a new, iconic public face for the JPL and includes a 95,000 square foot administrative building, and a 36,000 square foot visitors center. It will serve as the cornerstone of JPL’s new masterplan, with the Education Center serving as the new “front door” and interface between JPL and the public. Bruce Mau Design is responsible for exhibition and communication design for the project.

Institute Without Boundaries: World House Project

The Institute without Boundaries is an innovative, interdisciplinary post-grad program offered at George Brown College in Toronto. This year’s theme, World House Project, tackles housing challenges and issues of universal access, sustainability, intelligent and green design. The core studio faculty includes developer and builder Rohan Walters, industrial designer Dianne Croteau and filmmaker Chris Lowry. The Institute launched in 2003 and delves into methods and practices of design research, strategy and social innovation. The student team experience grows through the demands of the projects using an intellectually rigorous process of communication and creativity. The first project undertaken by the Institute, Massive Change, a collaboration with Bruce Mau Design, resulted in a 16,000 square foot exhibit, book, radio show, public programs, a communications campaign, product, web sites, etc. Info sessions for the Institute take place Mar 14 and Apr 11. The deadline for applications is Apr 28/06. For more, call 416.415.5000 x 2103, email iwb@gbrownc.on.ca or go to www.institutewithoutboundaries.com. Please note that next year’s project, will be offered exclusively by George Brown College and will not be housed at Bruce Mau Design.

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