Camping de milano

Going to Milan last week was an amazing experience and one that I won't forget. The biggest and most amazing exhibition that I have ever seen, with beautiful Milan as the backdrop.

As we boarded the plane in Bristol, the weather couldn't have been better, clear skies and a warm temperature for April. The forecast did say rain for Milan, but ever the optimist and convinced that weather in Italy would be better than the weather in England I happily abandoned my heavy coat in exchange for the light and considerably more useful sunglasses, and set off for my Italian adventure.

As we flew down into Italy, Carol and I were discussing the fact that the Italians must use the same farming methods that we use in England where the farmers put plastic sheets on the fields to improve the growth of the crops, because all we could see beneath the clouds were fields covered in plastic sheets. Sadly we were mistaken and the fields were actually submerged in 50mm of water, the same 50mm of water that had been described on the forecast.

We eventually arrived at our campsite at about midnight, and pitched our tents in the rain. This was a special moment for both of us because we had successfully avoided the notorious Milanese gypsies and neither of us had got so scared that we had to use our rape alarms. The world was good, both of our tents were pitched, and just time for a beer.

Very proud of my little tent

tbc

zona tortona, milano

Carpet Font

When I first went to Treloan, I decided to show what I had been thinking about for the signs – I knew that they wanted to have something ‘ different’ so thought that I would experiment with materials – this was the first idea that I had:


I wanted to create an effect that was unusual, the carpet was kindly given to me by a carpet shop, and as it would have been thrown out anyway, I thought that it would fall into the recycled criteria.



There is of course the fact that the carpet as a material would be completely impractical to use in an outdoor setting.

As well as this there is some lino in the picture which I also got from the carpet shop – I would really have liked to use the lino, but the laser cutter would not have been able to cut it successfully because it has got a foam back and releases lots of noxious gasses – not a good idea. Shouldn’t forget it though because I still like the idea.


The other thing which I liked about the carpet, is that over time it would have had plants grow on it, but the carpet would still only last for a shortish period of time, which is not the objective – so carpet might not be the best idea. I took a photo of some grass and then used photoshop to make it look as though the grass was growing onto the carpet.

It would have to be covered, or sealed somehow, to stop it from rotting in the rain.

After speaking with Annie, Mac Pete and Deb's although everyone thought that the grass on carpet was a nice idea, no-one could really see it happening because of the impracticality.

CEC Work Placement 1

As part of my CEC Work Experience I will be working with Annie Lovejoy, and Treloan Coastal Holidays a camping and caravan site run by Deb’s and Pete Walker. The site is located in Portscatho Cornwall, a ferry ride across the water to St Mawes, and then about five windy miles over the Roseland Peninsula. The campsite has beautiful views of the sea, which is just a quick walk from the site.

Deb’s and Pete are eventually aiming to create a green and sustainable lifestyle at Treloan for themselves and also the holidaymakers. The campsite already has many eco innovations. They have pigs preparing the ground for a vegetable plot, chickens, a polytunnel for more plants and as well as this they aim to provide an eco holiday, with great incentives; like walkers and backpackers are able to stay at the site for a reduced rate if they arrive by bus or train because they travel with less of a carbon footprint. The site has eight mobile homes and plenty of space for lots of caravans.


Annie Lovejoy is studying for a PHD at Falmouth, and she and her partner Mac Dulop along with the support of Deb’s and Pete, will also be adding to Treloan by introducing new artistic and ecological activities to enhance the overall experience of Treloan as well as creating the beginnings of an Artist led community.

Annie and Mac have put together public art programmes in the past, one such was Barton Hill a Primary School and Children’s Centre in Bristol. Annie and Mac were lead artists in the project and they helped to redevelop the site, the project involved a participatory design process ensuring that the school childrens’ ideas and input were incorporated into the completed designs of the school. Examples of which are shown on Annie’s website; Shedsite.

My participation in the Caravanserai project will be to create some signs for the site. The signs will be a selection of directional and informative signs, for example

• Signs for road, which tell people to keep their speed down

• Signs for the toilets

• Signs for the recycle bins

Debs and Pete are clear about what kind of signs they would like, and their are certain unavoidable restrictions for instance the signs must be suitable for the outdoors and long lasting. The idea is to make the signs as quirky and individual as possible as well as making them from recycled materials and or found objects where possible. Over the next few weeks I will be adding information about my CEC placement to my blog. My ideas for the signs – and any other kind of inspiration which is relevant.

Cityscape

I don’t know whether I saw this on the net or in the library first, but I found Arne Quinze’s work really interesting. I quite like the principal, making an object out of lots of little things to create a form, which looks solid but in fact is not.

http://www.designverb.com/2007/09/19/cityscape-arne-quinze/

The process must be very laborious, I have always wondered how these designs are made, whether or not the object is planned from the placement and fixing of the first piece and then painstakingly followed right to the last, or simply cobbled together – by the look of Arne Quinze’s piece ‘Cityscape’ former would seem true.This piece was made to be placed in Brussels in conjunction with the premiering of the Mini Cooper on 14 September 2007. The shapes give the impression of being geometrically formed, not unlike a computer-generated image that has been reproduced. Though on Arne Quinze’s website the opening page contains a quote which states:

‘I love chaos, I’d like to freeze one of those sublime moments when the logic of
chaos, the only thing that is real, reveals it’s incomparable beauty and harmony.’

http://www.arnequinze.tv/#/en/home/

So it seems that his choice, would be to avoid this kind of comparison.

http://www.designverb.com/2007/09/19/cityscape-arne-quinze/

There is another similar piece he made called 'Uchronia', this was produced for the Burning Man festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada 2006, and as the name suggests, the sculpture was created as a centrepiece and burned during the festival.

When I first saw his work it reminded me of Anthony Gormley’s piece ‘Quantum Cloud’ 2003 which was designed using a computer programme that randomly recorded points from an image of Anthony Gormley’s figure, these were then rearranged in 3D to form Quantum Cloud, which is 30m high and made using 1.5in steel rods.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pawoodhead/131007750/

Though I have not seen it apart from in pictures I think that the idea is very clever. I would imagine that it looks like a mass of metal rods, but then on closer inspection, the piece appears as a body within.

Going back to Qunize an interesting comparison, which he makes is the similarity of cityscape to a flock of starlings, a natural occurrence which creates awe in the spectator, and an absolutely stunning example of this was taken by photographer Richard Billingham, called 'Starlings Roosting on West Pier’ 23 October 2006.

When you observe the Starlings, the curves and the lines they make when they group together and then divide seem to create clouds across the sky which are in constant movement. They do somehow relate to to the idea of an 'organised chaos'.

A FLOCK OF STARLINGS:
The final result has the astounding precision of a startled flock of starlings,
that hangs still in the air, just for one moment, in perfect formation, before
dissolving in a seemingly chaotic pattern, but without touching each other,
in perfect control. It is a moment in which the DNA of disorder reveals it's
order. Elements or particles that seem to be organised at random suddenly
synchronise and combine into a revelation of the sublime.
City Scape, Arnie Qunize, pg 19

City Scape, Arnie Quinze pg73.

Bidonville view 03.04.09
http://www.arnequinze.tv/#/en/works/bidonville-view-030409/

Milan 4321

In Milan at the 'Salone Internazionale del Mobile', we will be exhibiting in a satellite show with other international universities alongside the main exhibition, which showcases all that is new in the world of furniture design. Our stand will be showing work from the MA's groups including textiles, craft, graphics and furniture design. This is part of the floor plan, we are number 3.

The stand will look something like the image below but much better. (My first attempt at sketchup, tried to copy Andy's mackete, doesn't look anything like it!!) The stand has got an asymmetrical canopy from which their will be suspended lights on a timber frame.

The lights have been kindly donated by Selux Lighting. Selux is providing us with a selection of spot lights and strip lights which will be attached to a computerised track system, with integral dimming.

Over the last couple of months I have been in contact with Selux to arrange the sponsorship. I was able gain sponsorship because I worked for Selux before I came to university, and had a good working relationship with them.

Working at Selux I was able to appreciate the benefits of architectural lighting. We do not encounter architectural lighting schemes in a domestic setting, but we do see them in retail, hotels and generally in the public arena.. I understood that this kind of lighting is not an afterthought, and as such becomes an integral part to the design of a space. Which means that when the building is designed the lights will be planned for and incorporated into the design.

In Cornwall Selux provided lighting for Geevor Tin mine, the lighting is spread over descending floors providing continuous light lines, and as with many other cases the lighting is essentially adding to the architecture by becoming part of the interior design of the building.

Spaces are complimented and changed by the lighting schemes, and in some cases the lighting becomes more important than the building itself. Below are some Selux project examples.

Hochwasser-pumpwerk Köln, Deutschland

The walls and roof of the building have a flat lighting effect. The colour of the light changes according to the water levels of the Rhine. This is achieved via an electronic control system, called DALI EUTRAC ® software. The DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) computer creates different lighting scenarios, when the water tower is white this means that the levels of the Rhine are normal. The redder the water tower is the higher the water levels are.

The pumping station in Cologne exists beneath the water tower, and the water tower is a significant landmark and acts as an early warning system to the residents of Koln.

http://www.dali-ag.org/main.php?n=gz8a&a=sel&i=75
http://www.selux.co.uk/selux/uk/en

Below are images of the ‘Ordupgaard Museum’ in Kopenhagen, the extension to the main gallery was designed by the architect Zaha Hadid and the lighting schedule by Selux

Selux is also a hugely successful company with offices all over the world. They are also very environmentally conscious and focused on quality and longevity, this has allowed them to maintain a leading presence within the lighting market.

Milan 54321

I finally booked my ticket today, I'm going to Milan... omg!!!

http://www.blogfromitaly.com/atmospheric-milan/

http://www.photo-visible.com/photos/photo_en260.aspx
Duomo di Milano - Milan Cathedral Italy

and this the campsite.. but google maps could have taken this photo at any time.

This could equally be it, this is on the other side of the road, and there is some
kind of water park there too, with flumes, might be a bit cold in April though.