IKEA UPPLEVA

Isn´t it just cool that the same day I was writing about design driven innovation, IKEA launched an innovation proposal for home. It doesn't change the way you live, maybe, but yes it is for lazy people who cannot organize their cables and it enhances the meaning of a normal shelf organizing your CDs to the one organizing your cables, too. The great thing about it is that it allows you to play music or movies from different sources and you do not have to worry about different cables, devices and a storage place. The problem is when a new technology will be launched or when part of the technologies used there will get old and unnecessary. I think that it should be more flexible as far as updating, detaching&attaching new stuff is concerned. Let's see what happens and how it develops! Lycka till, IKEA. 

DESIGN DRIVEN INNOVATION

I have been reading this book lately: 'Design driven innovation', about how different meanings change for people in time and how design responds or influences this change. How a house can become just private space, or very social, or just a hotel, or something completely different and how companies can fit in with their products or services. The irritating part, though, is the total denial of marketing tools and the existence of the user in this book, claiming that these revolutions are based on observations of a network of culture and society conscious people in different companies connected with the same user. But observations are already a marketing tool and user who is eg more open socially to have a different kind of kitchen is already a defined target group. 

The book anyway is extremely good and shows how the observation leads to innovative, bold proposals that change the meaning of what user knows. Although these are the things that lots of people already know and follow, it puts them together with some sharp examples of design, and not, as many other marketing books, only marketing concepts.

The truth is, that iconic products are not iconic because of their looks, but because they were first to make a breakthrough of thinking. Well.. and if the breakthrough of thinking matches with what the culture accepts.

The following examples are not from this book, they're my own (or what can I know if I haven't even finished reading the book) and not all fully acceptable for every target group. Just to show that target groups exist even if the book denies marketing. It is fascinating to think of them in that way and to discover more and search for new ideas that way. 

1. smeg - changes the meaning of kitchen, to the more representative and welcoming

 2. 'reversible destiny' lofts - change the meaning of home to something that helps you live longer,

3. copenhagen and jan gehl - change the meaning of the city centre from 'corridor with rooms' to 'livingroom of the city' 

 4. o'gehry - changes the meaning of the building to the piece of art in the 'livingroom'

5. munich airport - enhances the meaning of an airport as the 'transfer place', also by offering free coffee,

a part of the book describes how the already known an common meanings are just enhanced without changing the meaning completely. this is the example.

VODAFONE'S SPARK

Vodafone keeps bringing new architecture concepts following the brand's core values which makes me like them. After Portugal's 'life in motion' another short and smart concept was developed, called 'ignition point' or a 'spark' of the new, exciting world.

This is how Fitch, the office behind the concept, explain it:

The stores bring the exciting, rich and colourful world of Vodafone Qatar to the varied and international population of the country, using interactive digital media to communicate changing features on F1, music, sport and exclusive merchandise. Unlike creating a retail space for an existing brand, the focus of this environment, given that it’s a new challenger entering the market, was all about customer acquisition.

To facilitate this, the retail design concept is centred around a focal "ignition point" in the centre of each store which is brought to life with an electric and bold design language that becomes a metaphor for the start of an exciting new world that the customer is joining. Customers entering the store are channelled into the centre of this spark, where they can either be attended to by Vodafone staff or browse the offer, unaided, via a series of touchscreen self-service units providing digital and printed product information.

INNOVATION ON BRIEF

First of all I have to say that I am super happy because my concept was included in this book:
http://www.openplanetideas.com/static/PDF/OPI_Book.pdf. 

Second of all it makes me think how things are designed and what the basis of inspiration is. 

I mean: why some issues, or some projects open your imagination and some don't. 

I got to know the two sides of it:

On one hand: very inspiring work in an advertising agency, where every project means lots of analyzing and finally defining a sharpest issue with few sentences. It needs to be mind-opening for the creative people, who will work on creative concepts for advertisements. It needs to tell them about the issue in a fresh, transformative way to help them think further about how to show the key values & benefits using creative, innovative reference. It has to describe the concept in a strong, differenciating way. Working on briefs like that, I discovered how mind-opening they are for architects, and what a pity it is that architects do not work like that.

On the other hand: working in an architectural office, with super-boring briefs from clients containing only facts, figures and physical descriptions. They are not inspiring at all, they do not expect any innovation, any creative thinking. Creative people waste their energy drawing same types of spaces and solutions that their clients know from their own yard. Unfortunately, none of them correspond with new needs, trends and the whole potential that is hidden in exploring contemporary society and making concepts sharper and turned towards single directions with largest opportunities. I mean, the more inspiring business and marketing concept of your client, the better for you as an architect. The more transformative character of businnes, the more place for innovation and for out-of-the-box thinking.

How easy it is to design something inspiring for an inspiring brand like this: http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/

and how difficult it is to design a hotel for a client who says: "I want to have a hotel with 20 rooms, I have already chosen the colour for the walls and I have some tiles for the floors in the bathroom". You ask yourself: "what for?"

MILAN 2011 & PARALLEL UNIVERSE

I have just remembered that once I had a blog ;) And that my blog was about issues, emotions, brands, communication, unique concepts, in space. And that my /professional/ life right now is all about different things. New technologies, money, sales, press, promotions, blaaa blaaa. What a wonderful day it is, when I remembered that a parallel universe exists.

So here is Milan, the world of ultra-performance, of aggressive sales, aggressive promotions, and aggressive press:

3d printing technology

FiDU technology /inflating steel sheets/

lots of products...

pressed aluminium technology

And here is my world:

Ok, so I need to redesign this place. But what's my priority here. What's the brand's priority? Should I use one of these technologies shown above? Or just do something completely else.

This is my parallel universe of concept thinking.

For the reference how great brand can be created by a great space, look here: http://www.buck.pl/?portfolio=squashynski

LONDON

So I was in London again. I must admit that it is the most inspiring place in the world, although I do not have to because everybody knows it. The greatest difference between Polish cities and London is that British are masters of using different old places for new purposes and making them functional and distinctive in a simple way. In Poland people put much effort to create posh places that afterall look a bit artificial - they are really creating a lot of visual coherence between the elements instead of cultural or historical coherence which is more natural. Polish people would just like to forget about industrial places and shady districts and hide them behind the appearance of expensive materials and behind what they know from high-class monuments. Whole parts of the cities get flattened be destroying old industrial buildings and making the new ones in a very similar style and according to exact height requirements, for example - because that is the easiest way so nobody has to think too much and the city will look neat, at least. Londoners are not afraid of the diversity of their city, the industrial history is also part of the city's story and lots of great places base on that. Some of my quick pictures show how natural and alive the whole effect is, when you let the place still be industrial, "off" with sort of secret, uncommon, qualities.

PSYCHOLOGY IN ARCHITECTURE MEETING

I found out this Monday that there was an organization in my city doing research in psychology in architecture! How cool. So I asked if I could come to their meeting. They said I could and I went there today. So. The meeting was about defining simple emotions by pictograms to learn what the essence of them is. To extract the neutral meaning of the, without the need of comparisons between the two of them and without the need of drawing the exact things /like open door to show 'open'/. The task was to drawing lines only. The future is to make them 3d and try to put this essence into 3d space. It is so refreshing that something like this exists in my city and so refreshing to think about basic things like this and to draw a little bit, what I show here below ;)))

NOT SO LITERAL ARCHITECTURE

I have started a new blog this week because I feel the need of collecting material evidence of how to build something wisely and creatively in architecture. Smart material use, smart lighting can tell millions of brilliant stories and help us create a unique building with a simple method. Literal things are usually too expensive and not efficient. I named this blog 'not so literal architecture.'

Sometimes it feels that when you've got a general coherent concept for your building or space everything will be easy. It is if you can operate materials as smart as these examples:

http://notsoliteralarchitecture.blogspot.com 

PET ARCHITECTURE

I have learnt today that these little houses in Tokyo are called 'Pet Architecture'! I should have known it before, probably, as there are even some books about it. Nevertheless, I decided to write about them today, because they have always been quite inspiring for me. It is like guerilla housing almost. Let's make the most of the existing city space, let's make the most of the existing technologies, ergonomics and functionalities, let's build an extreme house. Normally, with a master plan made a long time ago it would have never happened, and for me this is just another example of how different cultures can think of different solutions which is good - diversity of approaches is always good! That is why I like those houses as they are for me a very smart reply to some problems in Japanese urban planning. Here are some pics:

INDONESIA

I have just returned from a wonderful land of great people and beautiful nature and a lot of sun and I still cannot shake it off myself, but most of all I cannot forget about all the things I have seen that made me really surprised and made me think that the world really could be very different from what we live in and that some of our solutions are not that good.

I think it all begins with the society and with what people have in their minds and in the rules that they create for each other and with the respect for those rules. The knowledge of what is good and what is bad and sticking to the good path by all means. 

I think that Poland could learn a lot from a country like this, how to unite people, how to live in peace with each other, to help each other, how to be okay with what you have, how to believe in something and not only pretend to believe, how to create safe society, how to create a unity driven by the same values. It cannot be shown in pictures, unfortunately ;)

Of course - main problems there ale still hygene, waste disposal, urban efficiency in general /planning, transport/ but that is the non-material part that is really fascinating and that the European societies lack.

Common view from a train window - trash

Same disasters come every year...

Space is planned inefficiently

Bus lanes help organize and speed-up the transport in Jakarta

Waste is beginning to be recycled from the multiple markets thanks
to the Danamon "Go Green" initiative
http://www.theworldchallenge.co.uk/2009-finalists-project09.php