“we built this city: how art, graphics, and design policy take shape for new yorkers”
Victoria Milne, Director of Creative Services at the New York City Department of Design and Construction spoke at the SVA’s DCrit lecture series.
An interesting point: most people gain about a pound of weight a year. If you walk about five flights of stairs daily, you can keep that pound off. Making stairs in public buildings more available and attractive can encourage people to use them. In such small but pervasive ways, architecture and design can improve public health. In the nineteenth century, infrastructure had to deal with contagious diseases so the emphasis was on sanitation, clean water and so on. Today’s diseases are chronic diseases of “energy”—and many of the appropriate infrastructure changes parallel the changes needed to reduce overall energy consumption.
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check out the italian design outlets in SoHo and uptown.
ross lovegrove’s Cosmic lamp
Last night marked the beginning of the Milano New York Italian Design Street Walk, which runs through January 8. Under the auspices of isaloni, the cultural and commercial organization for design, companies are welcoming visitors. For a map of participants see isaloni.it/ny
Artemide premiered Ross Lovegrove’s dramatic “Cosmic” lamp series in the U.S.; it combines digital effects with the imagery of a dragon fly wing or a Brancusi bird. Gio Ponti was recalled at FontanaArte with lamps and graphics, while Kartell evoked Milan with huge photo murals on the walls of the Duomo and Galleria, providing backdrop for its new furniture designs. Molteni & C/DADA displayed a special limited edition of the Aldo Rossi secretary, called Carteggio, produced in green. One of the pieces will be bestowed on the lucky winner of a raffle. The box filled up quickly with business cards; the winner will be announced Dec. 24.
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