Inside Design Now: The National Design Triennial
Category: Books,Engineering & Transportation,Engineering
Inside Design Now: The National Design Triennial Details
About the Author Donald Albrecht is the Cooper Hewitt s Curator for Special Projects. Read more
Reviews
The catalogue for the National Design Triennal at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum is an elegant distillation for those who cannot make it to New York before January 25, and includes essays by its four curators. The theme, in every aspect of design, from furniture to graphics, lighting to fashion, is pluralism. Standouts include Yusuke Obuchi's Wave Garden-a poetic alternate energy generator that rewards frugal consumers by becoming a maritime park at weekends; Loyand Ford's deconstructed clothes; and Stephen Wolfram's graphic portrayal of simplicity generating complexity-an inquiry that might, one day, summarize the workings of the universe in a few lines of code. Get the book and try to see the exhibition: both will stretch your mind and broaden your appreciation of what designers can do. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)