This Is No School
Learning is working best when kids are into subjects of study that match their interests. It also works well when projects are realistic.Also there has to be place for the making. It should be possible to make prototypes, do experiments, program shows and produce goods to express yourself.
This Is No School is the world on a stamp. A meeting square, workshops, labs, a theater, a fram, sporting facilities, restaurants, shops and a hotel.
Retro Space 4.0
Sound and Vision in Hilverum was interested in buying Retro Space arcade cabinets for their museum.This request demanded an extra durable version of the Retro Space cabinets.
The new cabinet is fully re-engineered in folded aluminium sheets. The cab is fully modular, perfectly recyclable and gets prettier from a little use.
2kB of Fun
Never has a consumer electronic product seen such an extravagant variety in case design as early handheld games from 1976-1985. Never have computer games been so beautifully reduced to their essence as these handhelds offered. Never did 2Kb of memory offer so much fun.1983 was the best year with top titles like Amidar, Astro Thunder 7, Burger Time, Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, Q*bert, Super-Cobra and Zaxxon.
Martijn Koch, architect from the Netherlands bought 180 of the best handheld games, photographed them, took them apart, analysed their tech, and put all the material together in this stunning book, a catalog like you never saw before.
M+ M- ???
Redesignme.com is a website where designers are challenged to create new designs for certain products.Garton Jones used redesignme.com to search for a redesign of the Ativa 10 Digit Desk Calculator.
I'm always puzzled by the fact most calculators still function like the early 1970 designs. A time when chip logic was very expensive, and the amount of components was kept to a minimum. Today's standard micro controller is way more powerful. So my primary goal was to create a new set of basic functionality.
Which means I had to redesign the layout of the buttons first. The design itself continues proved ingredients like injection mould plastic, the perfect shape of PTT's Zurich telephone and modern white OLED matrix displays.
My own challenge was to make the design in one hour on a Friday afternoon.
The result: a top 3 note among 109 redesigns. "Your redesign was part of my top 3. Very well done! Yours sincerely, Charlie Garton-Jones"
Creative Factory
The Clock Building is a magnificent icon for Eindhoven. It is built as factory by Philips Electronics in 1928/1929. After having been used for years as office space by Philips, the building now transforms back to its original function: a factory.This time no series production. Trudo turned the building into a creative factory. Architects, designers, musicians, photographers, creative consultants: a colourful aggregation of creative talent took over this icon of the city Eindhoven.
The building has been split into units of various proportions. They all share one common feature though. Huge window openings with delicate metal frames. The light that enters the building gives unity to the diversity of interiors.
I photographed numerous interiors of the Clock Building to give insight in the new use of the building. The transformation of the Clock Building is a starting point in the transformation of the city district Strijp-S, a new centre for the city of Eindhoven.
The pictured companies are from left to right: Architectuurcentrum Eindhoven, Little Mountain, Keukenconfessies (2x), Desque, FuturOn.net, De Boekenmakers, studio-OOK, Scherpontwerp, Lady Penelope, Dikgedrukt en PopEI
Future Space
Dutch Game Garden is a non profit organisation for promoting and supporting the Dutch games industry.On april 23th DGG opened the Indigo Showcase event. This event shows a selection of the best contemporary projects of the Dutch games industry to the press, professionals and the general public.
Dutch Game Garden asked me to build 26 Retro Space cabinets to showcase these games. The cabinets have a second screen in the rear access door. This display allows the creators to discuss their projects while someone is playing the game at the front.
The cabinets were set up in a rigid grid. This grid neutralised the amorphous dated office floor and gave structure to the showcase event.
Photo 4,8 and 10 courtesy of Mick Visser
Lost in Navigation
Tokyo is a breathtaking city. Most metropolises have 1 urban railway network. Easy. Tokyo, the biggest metropolis on Earth, is a lot more complex.The city has 2 official subway companies, the national railway operates several lines that can be considered metro lines as well, and there are tens of private operated railways that serve may areas just outside the central part of the city. Another problem is that many transfer stations use different station names on each line connected.
Creating a understandable subway map for this city is extremely complex. Should it be schematic, or geographic realistic? When is it easier to have a short walk than to switch lines?
This metro map for Tokyo only shows the most important lines for visitors of the city. That is already 25 lines! All distances are realistic, and the connections to Airports and Shinkansen trains are clearly visible. The parks that give a good orientation in the grey urban mass of Tokyo are visible. Icons show the most important landmarks. Matching the million neon lights the map is drawn in a night situation with the lines as glowing neon tubes.
The map is printed on 100x75 cm photo paper in a limited run, an can be ordered. Send an e-mail or call if you are interested to order.
BBQ XL
Frank en Chantal van den Eijnden asked Johan van der Berkmortel and me to design an extension to their house in Beek en Donk. It was supposed to replace a decrepit shed and to add a new veranda with a fireplace. Two L-shaped entities frame the view into the deep garden. The brick element contains the chimney and acts as a bench. The wooden part contains the new shed, a log storage and a tool shed, and continues into the ceiling of the veranda.This assignment is done in collaboration with Johan van den Berkmortel.
