(Un)limited Design Contest Kick-off Event
Green City Lab workshop at PICNIC ’08
Thursday, the 25th of September 2008.
The central theme of this hands-on Workshop is the exploration of the role of personal fabrication and collaborative energy production as a catalyst for bottum-up innovation in the field of sustainability.
Background
The sustainability issue is charactized by the paradox that radical changes at a global scale are required whilst only minimalistic changes in behaviour of individuals seem to be feasible. Therefore authorities such as politicians and knowledge institutes aim to influence and orchestrate the behaviour of individuals. They look for appropriate means to stimulate and facilitate autonomous ‘civic’ development. In this context Waag Society advocates the provision of open-source networked technology that enables individuals to personally explore the impact of their lifestyle on environmental issues.
The international network of fablabs is a good example of such technology. Fablabs constitute laboratories open to the public and equipped with machines which enable the production of rapid prototypes. With fablabs, (almost) any type of object can be created beyond the confines of Research & Development departments of industrial monopolists. It facilitates the public to manufacture artefacts supporting ones personal lifestyle. As such fablabs directly facilitate selfexpression, which was and still is the driving force of the digital revolution and which – according Waag Society – may be the key to innovation in the field of sustainability.The labs enable the integration of disciplines, result in a diversity of solutions and above all induce a sense of ownership with the public.
Programme
In the Green City Lab, the city realm will be used as a design-space for distributed, sustainable energy production. Think of the deployment of little windmills, the capturing the energy of revolution doors and machines in fitness centers and the harnessing of energy spent by children in playgrounds. During the Green City Lab, twenty participants from various domains will be challenged to conceptualize and construct prototypes of personal power plants. Hands-on, Do-It -Yourself sessions will be alternated with reflections on the theme, initiated by short presentations by some of the participants. In addition, contributions from various experts working at Fablabs will feed the creative process, by means of a live video stream.
Some of the results of the Green City Lab will be presented during the RE:LABS event at PICNIC on the evening of the 25th.
Participation at the Green City Lab is free, but registration at the website of PICNIC ’08 is required (Currently this is not yet possible). The location of the event is the ‘buzz hall’ on the ‘Westergasfabriek’, Pazzanistraat 41, 1014 DB Amsterdam.
