Re-Use, the DIY diary and note pad that reuses discarded A4 was recently published in Design Sosenibile by Paolo Tamborrini, Electa, Milano 2009, pp. 114-115. This book looks into the debate surrounding the role of design on sustainable development, summarizing the most important milestones in a process that has made people aware that design, and hence designers, entrepreneurs, communicators, distributors and final users must all play a vital role in achieving sustainable development.

Many years ago (2001) I have made a collection of world maps where political and cultural information were displayed on a demographic basis. It came out what it is now the conceptual world picture that frame our office’s work. The project was titled Human World. The idea is that demographic boom is the frame in which contemporary society must be understood today. I have started to develop this work in the summer before 9/11. I believed that we were looking upon the world with the wrong lenses. With the wrong tools.

The first world map I have made was Internet users (2001). In this map each country was proportionally enlarged to the people connected to the net. The blue of the ocean was representing people non connected. I wanted to visualize how many people are actually connected to the net, how many people are able to produce, share and consume information. Today’s world is is a demographic world. People are able to communicate in real time even without spatial continuity. Each of us contributes to the production and consumption of the world broadcast. Each of us is a micro media. Accesses are the new boundaries of today’s world. The issue is who’s connected and who’s not and where the information out there is coming from.  I have made many projects that where exploring this paradigm, speaking of the world as a human factor, and that’s what I am still doing.

Human World is a representation of the word from the point of view of the population. Each state is proportionally enlarged to their respective inhabitants. I have being showing issue like “how many people lives in democratic countries” or how many people lives in countries where the death penalty is enforced. In order to do so, I have “hacked” Alighiero Boetti‘s work. I wanted to update his world picture made of physical boundaries in order to introduce the human dimension.

I was asked to give the permission to use this map as a cover for a publication of the India China Institute at the New School, NYC. It made so much sense for the me to let the use of my work for this kind of publication. As architect I wanted to raise what I consider the main issue related to our times and use a picture to say that “times are a-changing” and to stop talking about the style of the chairs we keep designing. It is time to challenge our work as an idea of society and not as a formal principle.

I have contributed to the first issue of “Beyond” with a short urban science fiction story called “the last market”.

Series
‘Beyond no.1 – Scenarios and Speculations’ is the first volume of a book series dedicated to new, experimental forms of architectural and urban writing, a bookazine in which, amidst other goodies, an extended network of young and upcoming writers are given the freedom to survey the outline of themes and things to come.

Fresh take on destinations
Arriving at a time in which architects and urbanists tackle fascinating issues while their reports fail to attract a wider audience, the first issue of Beyond offers a fresh take on destinations and urban scenarios of the near future.

Scenarios and Speculations
Beyond the academic circle and the spectacle of images, Scenarios and Speculations proposes stories that near fiction’s ability to prompt a deep, appealing reflection about our current concerns: urban conflict, social interaction, ecological resources, mobility and tourism, the evolution of cities.

Contributing authors:
Gilles Delalex, Michelle Provoost, Knut Birkholz, Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss, Boris Jensen, Silvia Banchini, Luis Falcón, Antonio Scarponi, Bruce Sterling, Lara Schrijver, Kobas Laksa, Shumon Basar, Wes Jones, Superstudio, Aaron Betsky
Editor-in-Chief: Pedro Gadanho

PhD presentation and defense. IUAV, Palazzo Badoer, Venezia, Italy @ 15.30.

Catalogue of the Exhibition Geodesign, care of Stefano Boeri, Lucia Tozzi and Stefano Mirti. RIKEA is a project realized in collaboration with IKEA and the Balon free market merchant’s community.

Corpi Arredativi, the Catalogue from Alessandro Guerriero’s students work is out (A. Guerriero, M. Bobbioni, D. Crippa, B. Di Prete, Corpi Arredativi, Libreria Clup, 2005; pp. 32-33). Davide and Barbara wrote a nice “about” for me as I was a workshop guest in the course they have collaborated, thank you!

During PhD workshops the risk of dying young are very high. In order to prevent this risk, my friends (Claudio Colla, Matteo Ghidoni, Andrea Petrecca, Martino Tattara, Fabio Vanin) and I decided to apply for a competition that was addressing the issue of “living toghether” as a way to esplore the academical topic and remain alive. We picked a competition for a new prison in Turku, Finland: Cfr. P. Pellegrini, P. Viganò, “Comment Vivre Ensamble. Prototypes of Idiorrhythmical Conglomerates and Shared Spaces“, Officina Edizioni, Roma, 2006, pp. 356-371.

I have made a workshop in an Estonian Kolkhoz. I was invited to talk about it in Venice. This happened to be in a book: “Citying. Pratiche Creative del fare città“, edited by Riccardo Caldura, Venezia Supernova, Venezia, pp. 62-66.

In this workshop I have tried to involve the inhabitants. In order to do so I had to challenge the children, since they were the only one who were able to speak some sort of English with me. Together we draw good/bad mental maps of the place: what they loved and what they hated in their Kolholz. The paper is about looking upon urban design in a scenario of demographic and economic recession.

Human World was published on Andrea Branzi‘s Book “Modernità Debole e Diffusa. Il Mondo del Progetto all’Inizio del XXI Secolo“, Skirà, Milano, Italy 2006; pp. 32-33.

Re-Use was published in ADI design Index 2005, Editrice Compositori, Bologna, 2005, pp. 286-287. This publication makes Re-Use as a one of the many potential candidates for the prestigious Italian Design Prize Compasso d’Oro.

Phd in Urban Design @ IUAV workshop results. With Paolo Bozzuto, Lorenzo Fabian, Susanna Loddo, Guido Musante, Diego Tiozzo, in P. Viganò, “New Territories. Situations, Projects, Scenarios for the European City and Territory“, Officina Edizioni, Roma, 2004, pp. 82-95.

Catalogue of the exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Arts Villa Croce, Genoa, Italy, 2003. Care of Marco Scotini. Silvana Editoriale, Genoa, Italy, 2003; pp. 134-135.