shelter, or dwelling?

In the Netherlands some 40.000 (registered) people are homeless; in all of Europe it is some 4 million. A recent initiative in the city of Ulm, Germany shows a ‘sleeping pod’ as a solution for shelter, complete with solar panels, electricity and a connection to a network. In the technical sense this is nothing new; see the wide variety of innovative projects devoted to elementary shelters over the decades. Of course: the need for protective measures in winter is urgent, the question that remains is whether this is a structural or temporal solution. After all, the ‘inhabitant’ still is excluded from society; while a more permanent place to dwell (as is a legal right) is far more necessary. Ultimately the focus should be on a real integrated ‘place’ within larger scales, i.e. as part of an environment that includes space for shelter, be it temporary or more permanent. So; reserve a certain amount of space within each housing project to function as ‘free space’ when needed, as part of the community.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/homeless-sleeping-pods-germany-ulm-b1791217.html

Home in a Hybrid World; finalized, at last….

Finally; the last proofs/samples for the book are agreed upon, set and done and the frontcover is ready. Again, many thanks to Antony Gormley for the use of one of his fine images, likewise to Carlijn KIngma, Marwan Rechmaoui and Rob Voerman. Publication is set for January 15th.; for digital version we try to become public sooner.

 

Future Emerging Technologies

FET31012017January 31st.; the FET-Observe workshop in Brussels, organized and guided by Philine Warnke and Elna Schirrmeister from Fraunhofer Institute. Some 20 researchers from e.g. computing, art, media, design discussed a series of possible/wishful future technologies within a wide range of topics, including ‘Future Living Spaces’, with the aim to frame topics that  need further focused research and funding. Wonderful to experience a critical but constructive discussion from a variety of disciplines as well as a somewhat out-of-line thinking against many current developments.