THE IDEA
Green Design Festival is an original, public, free cultural event under the auspices of the City of Athens. It aims at fostering a wider understanding of environmental and ecological issues amongst the citizens of Athens and beyond. Using new technologies, powerful imagery and design, this festival transforms Athens into a lively, interactive space, while presenting proposals and ideas on how everyday life could be greener and more friendly to the environment. Participants include over 70 architects, industrial designers, graphic designers, fashion and street artists, who have worked on the theme of the festival on projects who embrace the non-connoisseur.
green design festival Athens 2008
PROGRAMME
The programme of the festival revolves around the ‘ecomuseum of green design’, a green contemporary open playground at Syntagma Square. The ecomuseum showcases the vast majority of projects in a light, alternative construction which will host exhibitions of photography, eco-conscious fashion, industrial design, video art and mixed media, a green library and a small open-air amphitheatre made of wooden re-used palettes for concerts and educational activities. Entrance is free. In selected central points of Athens, two big events will be presented. With the participation of the most vibrant street artists of Athens, the center of the city will be turned into a colourful forest of huge graffiti trees. In addition, distinguished graphic artists will create various interactive imaginary maps of the city, which can be freely downloaded to almost any mobile phone, inviting the public to take part in a vast interactive green game.
During Green Design Festival, a symbolic vertical garden - Athens’ first- will be presented, embracing one of the most popular trends in landscape design internationally. Accordingly, guerrilla motion design videos will be uploaded on the web, inviting everyone to become a ‘guerrilla gardener’ of the city by creating green where it does not exist.
Find out more at www.greendesignfestival.gr
BRAINLAB
Green Design Festival is organised and produced by Brainlab, an independent, non-governmental, non-for-profit organisation. Brainlab was founded in 2007 in Athens by a group of architects, curators and communication professionals in order to enable and create cultural activities on social issues and bring out innovation in the fields of applied arts.
More about Brainlab, at www.brainlab.gr
PROJECTS
- *ECOMUSEUM
- *RE-DESIGN/RE-USE/RE-PAIR/RE-THINK
- *TAKE TWO
- *ECO-CHIC
- *DESIGN BY NATURE
- *HOW TO BE GREEN
- *GREEN DESIGN LIBRARY
- *GUERILLA GARDENERS & MOTION DESIGN
- *LET’S DRAW TREES
- *GREEN CITY
- *VERTICAL GARDENING (details coming soon)
- *GREEN COMMUNICATION
projects in DETAIL
ECOMUSEUM
Ecomuseum, the location that hosts the main exhibition of the green design festival, is in itself an expression of environmental awareness, thus becoming an exhibition in its own right.
The building itself is set in a public space within the city, its goal being to tempt passers by to show interest, while feeling free to join the exhibitions and happenings, while combining entertainment with information. .
The exhibitions are organized in the form of boxes which follow a particular route, some being accessible while others not, and all joined together by a perforated shade. .
All exhibition rooms are made of re-usable materials, ordinary containers, and wooden pallets to form the routes. This making the exhibition itself an example of environmentally sensitive design. .
DESIGN
GOUSIS I FRIJDA I ROBERTS ARCHITECTS
RE-DESIGN/RE-USE/RE-PAIR/RE-THINK
Exhibition of products designed by established Greek designers, specifically for the Green Design Festival. The designers will work on the four directions of gREen DESIGN, producing products from recycled or/and reused material, as well instructions for their reproduction by the visitors. The objects will be displayed for ‘reproduction’ in a designed environment, displaying the objects, their evolution and the reproduction instructions.
CURATOR
CONSTANTINOS HOURSOGLOU
PARTICIPANTS
NIKOS XANTHOPOULOS
EUGENE SKOURBOUTIS
APHRODITE KRASSA
DIMITRIS SKOUROGIANNIS
SOTIRIS LAZOU
GREECE IS FOR LOVERS
TOMMY PAPAIOANNOU
THANASIS BABALIS
ANNA PSAROUDAKI
ELENI PRABLANC
GEORGE ZERVAKIS
YIANNIS TOUMPAKARIS
ANAT AVNI
TAKE TWO
THE MUNDANE & THE HEAVENLY
Photography is dangerously seductive. Only if we look at it twice, we can start thinking critically. This exhibition aims to reveal photography’s strong power of suggestion, inviting visitors to question the obvious by looking at two opposite displays of banal, everyday images presented in a new context.
CURATOR
ANNE-LAURE OBERSON
ECO-CHIC
IS GREEN TO BE THE NEW BLACK? WOULD ECO FASHION STAND AT THE FOREFRONT OF DESIGN?
‘Eco Chic’ Fashion design exhibition aims to answer these questions and address the preconceived link of Eco fashion as compromising, be it in style or quality. More so it emphasizes that it can be as glamorous, experimental and innovative as fashion must be. A pool of Designers from countries such as Greece, UK and many more set out to use Eco friendly, recycled and recyclable materials, vintage pieces and their unlimited imagination to create evening dresses and accessories in order to prove that Eco fashion can be chic and inspirational. Green Design Festival will host the exhibition, which highlights that Fashion and environmental awareness are two concerns that can sit comfortably together.
CURATOR
MELITA SKAMNAKI
ASSOCIATE CURATORS
ΜARO PANAGIOTAKOPOULOU,
WILHELM FINGER
COLLABORATORS
ANGELIKI PAPAHRONI
NATASHA XIDI
EXHIBITION DESIGNER
ANGELIKI ATHANASIADOU
PARTICIPANTS
ANDRIA
ANGELOS BRATIS
SANDRA BUCKLAND
VASSO CONSOLA
DEUX HOMMES
COSTIA GOUROUTIDES
JUNKY STYLING
ATHENA KOUROUKLI
ERIFYLLI NIKOLOPOULOU
NOIR
DIMITRIS NTASSIOS
ORSALIA PARTHENIS
DAPHNE VALENTE
VICTIM FASHION ST.
DESIGN BY NATURE
Man is part of the global natural mechanism. However, the present model of thinking and acting, relative to nature, creates an increasing lack of balance that transforms dramatically the relation between man and nature.
The proposed concept / action is based on the educational techniques of Surprise and Game in order to arouse the public’s awareness of the need to reevaluate the man - nature relation.
The installation includes a combination of photographs of different landscapes and Google Earth satellite images of the planet, together with texts referring to these images. The texts provoke the visitor to react and literally write down ideas in large notebooks. On a daily basis the results of that action will be digitally recorded and printed. The works will progressively cover all the surrounding surfaces.
CURATOR
IORDANIS STILIDIS
HOW TO BE GREEN
Through especially designed visual works and presentations non-profit, non-governmental organisations speak about the protection of the environment. The visitors of the ecomuseum will have the possibility to learn more about our planet and its protection, as well as the opportunity to redefine everyday needs and habits.
GREEN DESIGN LIBRARY
The green library is an independent space within the ecomuseum where the visitor may find titles on the environment and design. From children’s books to comics, coffee-table editions and scientific publications, a microworld of ideas and information will be available and free to all within a green microclimate especially created for the festival.
DESIGN
SOTIRIOS PAPADOPOULOS
GUERILLA GARDENERS & MOTION DESIGN
Green Design Festival is embracing motion design, an innovative aspect of design, as presented in the excellent work of NOMINT motion design group. NOMINT created three narrative videos on the theme of guerrilla gardening, in order to invite everyone to create green where there is not any. All videos may be viewed on-line at the website of the festival and in various social channels and networks. Everyone is invited to freely distribute the videos in order to inform as many guerrilla gardeners as possible. Additionally, NOMINT created the tv spot of the festival, using a white environment gradually becoming green, symbolising both the novelty as well as the aims of Green Design Festival.
DESIGN
NOMINT
LET’S DRAW TREES
A versatile forest of big graffiti trees will fill Athens with unique works by vibrant street artists. Each artist is free to paint his/ her tree in any desired way embracing ecological messages and creating a free walk in the city. Important keywords for all artists are: colour, trees, ecology, city. These wooden constructions are placed in a true green basis which enables passers-by to sit and rest and experience a different version of nature where it is least expected. Trees may be found in central places in Athens like, Omonoia and Syntagma square, Kerameikos, Monastiraki, Ermou street, Koumoundourou and Kotzia square.
CURATOR
b.
PARTICIPANTS
littll
KRFX
b.
nflekto
Lesec
Snrab-R
a.k.a.”The Spiezel”
taxis
Lie
orto
THE DESIGN SHOP
POOR DESIGNERS
PI6
GREEN CITY (graphics above)
Distinguished and upcoming graphic designers create interactive green maps of Athens and alter the image of the city. Answering the open-ended question of ‘ways of visualising a green city’, these works create a public interactive city game. By turning the bluetooth of the mobile phone on, everyone can download and freely use these maps. In selected central areas nearby tube stations, going around Athens will be different: wandering in the city is going to be part of a contemporary aesthetic game of collecting and sharing images of a greener city open to all.
CURATOR
EFFIE KOMNINOU
TECHNOLOGY
FLUID MEDIA
PARTICIPANTS
BEETROOT DESIGN GROUP
BUSYBUILDING
DESIGNERS UNITED
G LOOKING
MNP
MOUSEGRAPHICS
THE DESIGN SHOP
POOR DESIGNERS
PI6
GREEN COMMUNICATION
The creative concept on which the communication of the festival is based, is the actual analysis of its title: “green design festival”. Two main elements dominate the art work: Firstly, the logo, which is minimal, simple and symbolic: that of a leaf/flower, and secondly, the use of a heavy san serif font which reflects the design element of the festival. The complete look projects a fresh, light and easily recognisable character.
The selection of the communication material is totally environmental friendly: the reuse of newspapers, without any extra waste of paper.
DESIGN
LOOKING
DICTIONARY
THE DICTIONARY COVERS THE ECO-CONSCIOUS PART OF THE GREEN DESIGN FESTIVAL CONCEPT, IT DEVELOPS SOME OF THE BASIC ENVIRONMENTAL NOTIONS. THE RATIONAL WAS BASED ON THE SAME CREATIVE PLATFORM, ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE COMMUNICATION MATERIAL.
yatzer has chosen 7 of its favorite signs:
