The Decade of What’s Next
Posted on | December 30, 2009 | No Comments
By Kathleen Fritz
Rooftop of Casa Batllo, Barcelona, Spain. Did you know that Antoni Gaudi reclaimed broken pottery, ceramic tiles and china to create his mosaics?
This decade has already been memorialized on talk shows and blogs with the populous not knowing what to call it. Some are playing number games like “The Aughts” or “The Y2K’s”, but others are looking into what this first decade of the new millennium actually meant. Some are suggesting the “Post 9/11 Era” which brings with it all of the tragedy, struggle and sobriety after the “Go Go 90’s.” As Rebecca Mead of the New Yorker reflects, “Given all that has emerged in the past ten years, the failure to invent a satisfactory name for the period seems over determined—a reflection of our sense that the so-called aughts were not all they ought to have been, and were so much less than they promised to be.”
School Children Walking Down Las Ramblas, Barcelona, Spain
So I closed out the decade that was with a much needed inspirational trip to the continent: first to the land of Gaudi and then the Eiffel Tower. One could call my trip to Barcelona and Paris a victory tour of sorts after a decade of loss, change, discovery and renewal. Although days were filled with tours of beautiful architecture, gardens, museums, café’s and markets the lasting echo is from meeting pioneers in the fields of architecture, design and renewable materials.
Obligatory Tourist Shot of Kathy at the Entrance of Parc Guell, Barcelona Spain
So how does a single girl traveling abroad make such connections? Well it all started out with booking a spare room through airbnb.com, an online apartment service. I happened to find a self proclaimed “sustainability geek,” Miriam Turner, who worked for InterfaceFLOR on sustainable innovation in Europe. She then told me about this conference she had just attended in Barcelona at the IaaC (Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia) that happened to be held by the Clear Village Foundation. I need to point out here that actor Colin Firth is a Clear Village Ambassador, which means that we are only three degrees of separation from each other. Anyways, I was able to tour the IaaC and meet with their program coordinator Areti and it looks promising to hold a reclaimed materials and SCAD’s FAB Lab workshop with students in December 2010.
From a Tower in La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona Spain
During my stay with Miriam we had many conversations over Rioja and Cava about life, love and sustainability. I shared the exciting promise of the Emergent Structures Project, and the birth of Savannah’s green revolution. She told me about working in India with local weavers and designers to create new flooring prototypes inspired by traditional Indian mats.
Little People in the Window on Rue Francis Bourges, Paris, France
She connected me with one of her collaborators on that project, Niels Peter Flint, a Danish born architect, visionary and sustainability radical now residing in a renovated mill about two hours outside of Paris. I was fortunate enough to arrange dinner with him upon my arrival in Paris. Over beef bourguignon we discussed the growing concern about limited resources and the need to reclaim all types of materials discarded through our human process. We asked questions like, “How do we respect and react to the imbedded meaning of reclaimed materials?” and, “In what ways can fostering a network between groups like exdl and Emergent Structures provide crucial support for this burgeoning movement?” Hopefully a conference this summer will provide a forum for innovation, support and even more connections to fellow visionaries from around the world.
Velib Hourly Bike Rentals outside of Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
I ended this adventure and this year coming away with one thought: that we are ever more connected and networked with each other. This decade delivered a time for contemplation, discovery and knowledge of our personal impact on each other and the planet. In the shadow of the “Post 9/11 Era” the promise of the “Aughts” decade lies in the transition from what we know now to what we ought do about it.
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