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Ross Lovegrove: Nobody has the right to sell water
Industrial design phenomenon Ross Lovegrove climbs the stage in t-shirt and sneakers and starts with taking a picture of the 400 head crowd. “I have to show the office I am actually working here.” After a quick reference to the Netherlands as partner country of Designyatra (“I can’t claim to be Dutch, but they do a lot of good stuff and you can ask me about that”) Lovegrove starts tickling the design professionals in the audience. “For every reason to be an industrial designer, I can tell you one NOT to be.” When showing slides of his design for a PET-water bottle he immediately tells us nobody should have the right to sell water. Lovegrove points out the responsibilities of an industrial designer concerning the environment. He thinks the designer of today should have sustainability high on the agenda.
Ole Bouman: architects as activists
For its fourth edition Designyatra has added the field of architecture to the programme, which includes Ole Bouman, chairman of the Dutch Architecture institute (NAi). Bouman acted as chief editor of the ‘Spirit of Dutch design’ special issue of Indian magazine ‘Architecture + Design’, that is presented at the 2009 Designyatra.
Bouman opens with a blast. "A few kilometers away a landslide occured." This actuality as a result of heavy rainfall underlines his message that the design community needs to address real needs, such as dealing with water-related risks. “It’s a condition. Living with water is in the DNA of the Dutch. The natural challenges need our constant alertness. If we think about design we cannot escape these issues.”
After showing several icons of Dutch architecture, Bouman introduced topics that to his mind should dominate the current architectural debate, such as shelter, security and sustainability, but also the crisis in food, health and energy. He invited architects to address these issues not only with architecture: "Be a public intellectual, a filmmaker, a neighbourhood activist.” Bouman feels that architects have both the power and the task to design society. “The ultimate aim of architecture is to create dialogue.”
Premiere of Dutch Profiles
Christine de Baan, programme director of Dutch Design Fashion Architecture (DutchDFA) comes briefly on stage to announce the world premiere of Dutch Profiles at Designyatra. De Baan has a present for the audience, a bracelet usb-stick that guides you to www.dutchprofiles.com. On this website, and on the big screen in the Dutch Lounge at the Mumbai Marriott, a series of short documentaries about architects, graphic, product and fashion designers in the Netherlands is presented. De Baan finishes her presentation by showing the movie about Claudy Jongstra's felt works. Immediately the audience is transported to a Dutch polder, where Jongstra eloquently discusses a rack of woollen strands in Vermeer yellow.
Later on, we are watching one of the 17 clips in the Dutch Lounge. It's the one about architectural office MVRDV and with us is Jakob van Rijs, who stands for the "VR" in the office name. He laughs when he sees partner Nathalie de Vries (DV) sail by on her office chair in the opening of the film. "I had forgotten about the filming. The crew of Submarine, VPRO and NPS were so professional that it felt very natural." One of the strengths of the videos is the openness and directness of the designers in speaking about their work and their sources of inspiration.
