FABULOUS FABBERS — GHOST ESTATE EDITION
DAVID BENQUÉ (UK)
EXHIBIT
FRI 22.06.12 – SAT 08.09.12
FABULOUS FABBERS — GHOST ESTATE EDITION, 2012
DAVID BENQUÉ (UK)
The factories are coming to town! They are moving away from the unseen
fringes and into our cities. Recent advances in microscale engineering
point to a global scale revolution where local, disposable factories
produce hi-tech goods at our very doorstep. What shapes might this new
way of ‘making things’ take within our urban landscape? From garage
workshops to circus-like temporary structures, from street vendor stalls to
vagabond encampments, this project explores the factories of the future
and what our relationship to them might be, with the exciting prospect of
taking back ownership over our production tools.
For HACK THE CITY, the Fabbers are moving to Ireland. What if hackers
and makers re-appropriated abandoned parts of the Irish urban sprawl?
Squatting the unfinished remains of the Celtic Tiger with lightweight
high-tech infrastructures such as mobile cleanrooms, 3D printers and
energy generators, they could set up local factories. Fighting back
collapsed bubble economics, they would cater to local needs, create
new income and breathe life back into the ruins.
BIO: David Benqué is a designer and researcher. He holds a BA in Graphic
and Typographic Design from the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague,
and an MA in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art in London.
He is currently a research associate and visiting lecturer at the Royal
College of Art, and a consulting researcher at Microsoft Research
(Cambridge, UK). His work has been exhibited in the National Museum
of China in Beijing, the International Design Biennale in St. Etienne,
and Glitch Fiction as part of the Paris Design Week.
The factories are coming to town! They are moving away from the unseen fringes and into our cities. Recent advances in microscale engineering point to a global scale revolution where local, disposable factories produce hi-tech goods at our very doorstep. What shapes might this new way of ‘making things’ take within our urban landscape? From garage workshops to circus-like temporary structures, from street vendor stalls to vagabond encampments, this project explores the factories of the future and what our relationship to them might be, with the exciting prospect of taking back ownership over our production tools.
For HACK THE CITY, the Fabbers are moving to Ireland. What if hackers and makers re-appropriated abandoned parts of the Irish urban sprawl? Squatting the unfinished remains of the Celtic Tiger with lightweight high-tech infrastructures such as mobile cleanrooms, 3D printers and energy generators, they could set up local factories. Fighting back collapsed bubble economics, they would cater to local needs, create new income and breathe life back into the ruins.
BIO: David Benqué is a designer and researcher. He holds a BA in Graphic and Typographic Design from the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague, and an MA in Design Interactions from the Royal College of Art in London. He is currently a research associate and visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, and a consulting researcher at Microsoft Research (Cambridge, UK). His work has been exhibited in the National Museum of China in Beijing, the International Design Biennale in St. Etienne, and Glitch Fiction as part of the Paris Design Week.