Remember when you and your family were playing the Sims, building houses, cities, and communities? Designers and architects, you could be doing the same things in real life, or pretty much so. Helsinki, Mexico City, Manchester: all have hired city creative directors to help foster civic innovation and find solution to inherent urban problems.

One of the most ambitious and comprehensive projects, Design Driven City, was launched this year in the Finnish cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, and Lahti. A legacy of the Helsinki World Design Capital event in 2012, this two-year project aims to help shape better and more people-centric cities. Design Driven City believes in the power of design to create user-friendly cities with better services for citizens and to spark conversations among communities around new ideas.

A multidisciplinary effort, Design Driven City leverages the experience of three designers: Sara Ikävalko, Mikko Kutvonen and Pablo Riquelme. Their mission as “city designers”? Build an understanding of design within the city, consult and educate city employees on the process of design.

Above (from left to right): City Creative Directors’ Pablo Riquelme, Sara Ikävalko, and Mikko Kutvonen

Over the next two years Design Driven City will work with 10 to 15 projects. The first projects will be: Tidy Construction Site, an initiative of Stara (the City of Helsinki’s construction service provider) that aims to improve the look and navigation of construction sites; a Home That Fits, which looks at solutions for youth homelessness; and Helsinki Festival (15-31 August 2014), a festival park area that will transform the capital’s Citizens’ Square into a gathering space with changing structures and functions.

There is no doubt that Helsinki is emerging as a city to watch as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation chose the Finnish capital to launch its first open, international architectural competition. The jury of the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition is on the lookout for a visionary design for the proposed museum in the Eteläsatama, the South Harbor area of Helsinki with great national and cultural significance. Projects must be submitted before September 10th.

Now, design lovers, don’t you think Helsinki could be a great vacation escape this summer?

Above: The port of Helsinki, the heart of the city

Is the daily grind grinding you down? Worried sick? It might be time to change your mindset. This summer, the Rubin Museum of Art—the only museum in the US dedicated to the Himalayan region—presents Bodies in Balance. Focusing on the art of Tibetan medicine, the exhibition, which runs till September 8th, will provide you with a better understanding of the forces that run in your body and teach you techniques to achieve peace and wellness.

Tibetan medicine—known as Sowa Rigpa or the art of healing—has been taught and practiced throughout Central Asia for more than 2,500 years. It combines the best elements of Indian ayurvedic, Chinese and Greek medicine, and other medical traditions. In this holistic and complementary healing system, the human body is considered to be based on the “five cosmic energies”—space, air, fire, water, and earth. The biological intermediaries of these five are the “three humors” (nyepas in Tibetan)—wind, bile, and phlegm—which govern the physical and mental aspects of the being. Each of the three is considered to be a sort of energy or force, which circulates through the different channels, organs, and tissues of the body. In Tibetan imagery, they are associated with the colors pale blue, yellow and white. Imbalances in the nyepas create illnesses that are treated with medicines or through modifications in behavior or diet.

Above: Tibetan tree – In the medicine tree, blue is the color for wind, yellow for bile and green for phlegm.

At Bodies in Balance, get ready to walk through a couple of millennia of Tibetan medicine. The exhibition demonstrates the advancement of Tibetan medical knowledge through 140 objects dating from the 9th century to the present day, including medical paintings, manuscripts, and medical instruments. A multimedia installation shows how Tibetan medicine is used today. There is also an interesting personal component to the show. Before entering the galleries, you are invited to fill out a brief questionnaire that determines which of the three forces is dominant in your constitution. Each of the three results corresponds to a color-coded pathway that will lead you through the exhibition to reveal the works relevant to your energy.

Above: The Mandala of Shakyamuni Buddha, a sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.

In addition to the exhibition, the Rubin has designed a summer program that will leave you more balanced this summer. The related series of talks, classes, and workshops will transport you to an alternative universe in which you’ll learn all about the art of healing. These include: mandalas that feature the Medicine Buddha, the source of healing knowledge;  paintings of trees used in Tibetan medical schools; diagrams of diseases; pulse readings that detect the status of a person’s body, mind, soul, and spirit; and protective amulets based on astrological readings.

Talks, classes and workshops run from July 9th to August 20th, 2014, and will conclude with a conversation with life coach and The New York Times bestselling author Gabrielle Bernstein, who will explain how meditation can help achieve happiness and well-being. Get your tickets here and peace out.

Interested in scoring some exclusive designer merchandise while raising money for a great cause? Super Saturday is hosting it’s 17th annual day-long fundraising event on Saturday July 26th, sponsored by QVC & Donna Karen and hosted by New York’s very own Kelly Ripa. Located at Nova’s Ark Project in Water Mill, New York, it’s perfect for the entire family and we would love to see you there! Described as the “Rolls Royce of garage sales” by The New York Times, attendees will have access to a variety of high-end items, including, but not limited to linens, pillows, art, china, antiques, jewelry, and books.

Stylish throw pillows available for purchase at the Hamptons Cottages & Gardens Booth at last year’s Super Saturday.

Tickets start at $450 and 100% of the proceeds go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Due to the high profile nature of this event, Kim Kardashian, Betsey Johnson & Heidi Klum have been in attendance in previous years. This year’s star-studded guest list includes a number of celebrities, editors, and designers such as Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, and Diane Von Furstenberg. Be sure to stop by the Cottages & Gardens booth to donate and be featured in the event coverage in the next issue of this renowned magazine.

Click on the image or this LINK  to purchase tickets and for more information.

With NYC Makers, Director Glenn Adamson returns to the origins of the MAD Museum (formerly known as The Museum of Contemporary Crafts), whose mission was to display the handmade work of artisans, craftsmen, and highly skilled individual makers. Appointed Director in October 2013, the former Head of Research of the Victoria and Albert Museum (who as a college graduate was an intern at MAD) made it a top priority to “advocate for the reconsideration of craft as a pervasive cultural force rather than a circumscribed artistic category.” As he sees it, craft provides the “connective tissue” between art and design. And this is what the NYC Makers exhibit is all about: celebrating the artisans, artists, designers, and craftspeople who live and work throughout the five boroughs and the range of skilled activity they represent. In doing so, it presents a snapshot of the city’s creativity economy and cultural production, and the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the individuals engaged in it.

Above: Anatomical 12-Part Dissected Human Skull – Ryan Matthew Cohn dismantles human and animal skulls and then remounts them in exploded form.

The exhibition honors the work of 100 “makers”—practitioners whose work demonstrates the high craftsmanship and innovation. They include familiar names in the art and music world, such as Laurie Anderson and Yoko Ono, and designers both established and emerging from Flavor Paper to Fort Standard. Still, over 80 percent of the makers are showing at the museum for the first time, and many works were made especially for the show. Over 400 skilled artisans were originally nominated for the showcase by over 300 local cultural leaders from a range of trades and disciplines, including museum curators, choreographers, academics, chefs, musicians, and journalists. The final 100 participants were selected by a 10-person jury, including Adamson and curator Jake Yuzna, led by design entrepreneur Murray Moss. The selection reflects the diversity of makers in the city, in terms of ethnicity, gender, background, location, expertise, and materials used. The exhibition also sheds light on the hidden gems by including the work of behind-the-scenes makers you wouldn’t ordinarily encounter.

Above: an installation view of NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial

From neon signs, whiskey bottles and mannequins to dinosaurs’ bones, instruments and coffee beans, the MAD Biennial definitely impresses with the variety of materials and pieces on show. What makes this exhibit one of a kind is that it takes the showcase outside of the galleries: step into the lobby and dive into the colorful world of CONFETTISYSTEM; take the stairs to sample the scents of a scratch-and-sniff wallpaper, a collaboration between Carlos Benaïm, Jesse Hlebo, and Flavor Paper; and ride the elevators to experience Moonlight, a glowing lurex interior created by Scott Bodenner. Along the way, you might get your portrait done by artist Jason Polan, whose ambitious project is to draw every person in NYC: during the summer, he will sketch the museum’s visitors and add the portraits to the gallery walls.

Above: a scratch-and-sniff wallpaper by Carlos Benaïm, Jesse Hlebo, and Flavor Paper

NYC Makers turns out to be a great friends-and-family activity as the exhibit is lively, entertaining, colorful, educational, and accessible to everyone. Children and adults can have fun playing in the colorful playground of Misha Kahn and Anne Libbey’s installation Peach is Back, join Or Zubalsky’s Meeting table where they can hear their hearts beating together, and see how fragile fossilized bones are displayed in the Velociraptor Mount of professional mount-maker Richard Webber. We guarantee you that no one will say “I am bored!” One of the show’s more compelling and revealing moments is delivered in And I Can’t Run by Lower East Side Printshop, where visitors can use their cellphones to snap a photo of a screenprint to unlock a hidden image of early-20th-century slavery.

Above: a few pieces displayed at NYC Makers, including Misha Kahn and Anne Libbey’s installation Peach is Back

The MAD museum also put together a comprehensive summer program including a large variety of talks and workshops. Explore your wild side with the self-professed “Mad Hatter” H E I D I L E E, who will teach the art of origami and how to make hats that can be transformed different ways; join designer Jeremy Chernick and J&M Special Effects as they demonstrate the possibilities of live and pre-taped special effects; or participate in a multisensory experience created by artist Miriam Simun and commemorate Agalinis acuta, the federally protected endangered plant species in New York State whose flowers bloom only one day a year. There’s practically something for everyone! Find the full list here.

Above: participate in a fun origami workshop with Mad Hatter H E I D I L E E

After successfully hosting Reclaim 3: Carte Blanche during NYCxDESIGN, Colony—the new co-op for independent furniture, lighting, textile, and object designers—officially opened its doors to the trade and public late last month. The new gallery showcases new and existing collections from thirteen of the hottest contemporary American designers: Allied Maker, Assembly, Egg Collective, Flat Vernacular, Hiroko Takeda, KWH Furniture, Meg Callahan, Sharktooth, Sit and Read, Token, UM Project, Vonnegut Kraft, and Zoë Mowat.

Colony is trying to establish a new model in the design landscape with a cooperative-esque structure that allows designers to come together to tackle universal challenges. “Our goal as a group is to create a destination for interior designers and architects to come and be inspired,” explains Colony Co-Founder Jean Lin. “Furniture, lighting, textiles, and accessories are meant to be experienced and ultimately used, and Colony is a place where that can happen on a very intimate level.”

The first exhibit at the gallery, In the Making, shows process imagery and models alongside completed products, giving visitors insight on what it takes to make world-class design in a local market. In the Making is on view until August 1, 2014.

Colony is located at 324 Canal Street, 2nd Floor, New York City. Visit www.goodcolony.com for more information.

It’s been a beautiful summer in the Hamptons so far, and this year’s second annual Holiday House, presented by Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, is something that must not be missed! Located at the Watchcase in Sag Harbor,the spaces in the former historic factory turned luxury apartments are transformed by leading interior designers. Each room is themed around a holiday or an inspiring moment in the designer’s life.

Celebrating stylish summer living and entertaining, some of our favorites include:

Campion Platt

Campion Platt’s master bedroom channels a colorful spring day with eye-catching, hand painted lilies and a light fixture that resembles the petals of a flower. Playing on the contrasts between coral and mint, the room features the Beacon Hill fabrics: Perspective (mint) on the headboard and Olavanna Ikat (magenta) for the curtains. 

Jen Going of Jen Going Interiors

Incorporating the colors of cool blues and soft shades of brown, Jen Going’s guest room is reminiscent of a breezy day at the seashore. The watercolor backdrop resembles a clear ocean, while the nest light fixture adds an outdoor touch to complete the look.

Dale Cohen of Dale Cohen Design Studio

Dale Cohen keeps it simple for his L-shaped terrace by using the crisp, clean white fabric, Realistic, from Robert Allen’s Sunbrella collection. Complete with all the essentials needed for a terrace, it even includes a fun game of putt in the narrow side space along the building!

Make your way over to the Hamptons for this special event! Proceeds from the Holiday House Hamptons benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and is open daily to the public until August 10^th.

Location:

Watchcase

15 Church Street

Sag Harbor, NY 11963

Located in between Washington and Sage Street.

Open Daily:

Sunday, June 29, 2014 – Sunday, August 10, 2014
11am – 5pm

(Photo source: Paul Domzal)

This post brought to you by our extern, Kolbe Renkert.

As individuals who share a love of design, we also share a craving for what is “next”- the next names, colors, trends and products that make design the ever-changing and dynamic subject that it is. Be a part of the event that is continuing the lifecycle of the design industry and meet those who will ensure that it will continue to thrive. For those looking to meet the next who’s who in design and gain access to products not yet available to the public…listen up!

New Designers 2014 is an opportunity to purchase or commission new products for your home or store, find inspiration in new designs, network, or recruit talent from a group of the UK’s most highly qualified and promising graduate designers. Nowhere else can one find products and designers of this breadth and depth.

The two-week exhibition held in the Business Design Center in London features over 3,000 newly graduated designers, handpicked from the UK’s leading art and design courses as well as their designs, not yet available on the market. Equipped with motivation, enthusiasm, progressive ideas, and the talent to spot upcoming trends, these designers show great promise. Their fresh thinking and innovation will, without a doubt, rise to the forefront of the art and design community.

The New Designers Exhibition has been broken into two parts, each running for one week. Part One, which began yesterday and runs through June 28 will feature the newest in textiles, ceramics, glass, fashion, accessories, jewelry and metalwork. Part Two, happening next week from July 2-5, will feature graphic design and illustration, furniture, product design, motion arts, and theatre design.

Location:
Business Design Centre
Islington, London N1
To book tickets to any of the exhibition dates visit www.newdesigns.com.

Dates:
Part 1: 25-28 June
Part 2: 02-05 July

Stay Informed:
If you are unable to attend, New Designers’ website is a great central location to keep up on recent news as well as see highlights from the event throughout the show.

This post brought to you by our extern, Kolbe Renkert.

Similar to the way artists and designers turn ideas into tangible works of art, mathematician Laura Taalman, a speaker for The Museum of Mathematics “Math Encounters” series, is bringing abstract mathematics into the third dimension. On Wednesday, July 2, 2014, Taalman will demonstrate how mathematical concepts can be transformed into physical realities using modern technology. Whether the end goal is to investigate new mathematical ideas or create a piece of art, 3D printing draws a flawless parallel between mathematics and the A&D world.

Be a part of the action! All attendants can take home their own 3D printed, mathematical model courtesy of the Museum and Dr. Taalman.

When: Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Where: The National Museum of Mathematics on 11 E. 26^th Street
RSVP: Amanda@philandcompany.com, or 646-490-6446

Visit momath.org for more information on upcoming exhibitions and events.

Design lovers, time to mark your calendars: on December 12th, Cooper Hewitt: National Design Museum is reopening as Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in it original location, Carnegie Mansion, with 60 percent more gallery space, allowing for the addition of numerous opening exhibits as well as an entirely new interactive visitor experience. As the nation’s only museum solely dedicated to historic and contemporary design, the reopening—the date selected to correspond with the day Andrew Carnegie moved into the house in 1902—should draw a huge crowd!

As visitors enter the building, they will be given the interactive Pen, which will modernize the visitors’ museum experience. With this new technology, guests can store information about the museum, create their own designs with the stylus, as well as record aspects of their visit and view them online. This new approach to the museum experience was designed for all audiences: students, families, children, and more. The interactive Pen was created by Local Projects with Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The Pen encourages visitors to interact with the works in the museum.

In addition to the physical changes to the museum, there have also been many branding and identity changes such as a new name, new typeface, new logo, and a new website. The museum formerly known as the Cooper-Hewitt: National Design Museum, has been renamed Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. Copper Hewitt, the new typeface designed by Chester Jenkins, is available for free download via the museum’s website—a great treat for typography and graphic design enthusiasts.

Museum Renovations

The first floor galleries were restored to include interactive components and the second floor was expanded to showcase more of the museum’s collection. The facilities were upgraded to allow for year-round viewing of the museum as the installations for each exhibition can be completed faster. The building is expected to receive LEED Silver certification.

The Exhibitions

On the first floor of the museum, Designing the New Cooper Hewitt will display the renovation of the museum. Beautiful Users will show that, based on observations and human anatomy, design is becoming more user focused. The second floor of the museum will be focused on the permanent collection with many additional  exhibits that can now be accommodated  due to the increase of space. Making Design will showcase over 350 pieces of the collection. Hewitt Sisters Collect will be dedicated to sharing the stories of Eleanor and Sarah Hewitt. Another design focused exhibit, Models & Prototypes, will showcase the importance of models and prototypes in the design process. The Immersion Room will allow visitors to use the interactive Pen to create their own designs and project them on the surrounding walls. Tools: Extending Our Reach will be presented on the third floor, including about 175 pieces from Cooper Hewitt and nine other Smithsonian collections, covering over 1.85 million years of design. The exhibit will explore how tools interact with the human body and senses.

If you’re looking for the perfect place to watch the World Cup, surrounded by family, friends, and great public space initiatives, look no further! Governors Island is the place to be as New York’s largest 2014 World Cup viewing destination. This program was made possible by Cathy Ho and Stefen Jonot of Office Ho Jonot, a cultural consultancy. Through Cathy Ho’s efforts to bring the mini version of the Spontaneous Interventions exhibit to the island, she got the idea to make the island the World Cup viewing zone as well! This initiative is joining other events and cultural programs organized by FIGMENT, Jazz Age Lawn Party, Brooklyn Public Library, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Come Out & Play. The World Cup viewing event is sponsored by ESPN and Barco.

Creating the public viewing zone was not an easy task; organizers needed to get permission from ESPN, FIFA, and Governors Island to take advantage of the public space available on the Island, which recently added 30 acres of new park space designed by noted Dutch landscape architecture firm West 8 with Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The obstacles of making this event possible did not stop Ms. Ho, as the public have her to thank for this great initiative. The 2014 World Cup viewing parties will take place at both the Governors Beach Club and the lawns of building 403 along Colonels’ Row, which is the site of the Spontaneous Interventions exhibit.

In between matches, do make sure to check out the Spontaneous Interventions exhibit! This exhibit is a condensed version of the original one presented at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale in the U.S. Pavilion and will display various projects, spotlighted in rooms on the second floor of the building. The featured artists include: DSGN AGNC, BroLab, Center for Urban Pedagogy, Ghana Think Tank and more. There will also be various public programs such as seminars, talks, and workshops exploring various topics including urban vacancy, citizen science, city data mapping, and more. You definitely won’t want to miss this! For continuous updates be sure to check their Facebook page.

This event is a perfect example of different groups of people coming together to create something great for the public. In addition to the hardworking efforts of Office Ho Jonot, there were several generous donations that were crucial to the success of this event. The contributions of two entertainment companies, Barco and I-Mag Video, are allowing the public to watch the games on high-definition TV’s; there is also the addition of fun soccer-related games donated by the city’s newest professional soccer team, the New York FC.

Check the World Cup schedule below to make sure you will not miss out on any of the fun!

Event Information

The Governors Island Ferry Service runs 10am to 6pm Monday-Friday and 10am to 7pm Saturday-Sunday for FREE.

Follow @S_Interventions on Twitter and use the hashtag #WorldCup_GovIsland for updates and information.

Events will also be posted to www.facebook.com/WorldCupPartyNYC.