A timely reminder from a style guru
'ONCE I built a tower, up to the sun, brick and rivet and lime..." These words from the Great Depression anthem 'Brother Can You Spare A Dime' are altogether too close for comfort nowadays, with ambitious Irish skyscraper projects stalled from Chicago to the Dublin Docklands.
Yet the Manhattan skyline bristles today with 1930s monuments to the triumph of economic resilience. Facilitated by Roosevelt's Federal Workers Progress Administration, tens of thousands of jobs were created for painters, writers, sculptors and artists throughout America. John Steinbeck encapsulated the era, while Arthur Miller, Orson Welles and other great talents emerged.
For it is often forgotten that the Depression was arguably responsible for the democratisation of global culture. Contrast those 'Bad Old Days' with our current plight -- the future of the arts threatened by fresh McCarthyite cutbacks and taxpayers shoring up bankers' bonuses. While our Government may have other priorities, a widespread appreciation still remains at grassroots level of the key role to be played by arts/culture in transporting us above and beyond the current economic doom/gloom.
Thousands thronged to the recent Open House architecture festival. Hot on its heels, Design Week 2009 (in association with Bombay Sapphire) has rolled out a similarly impressive programme of design-led events around the country over the past few days -- ranging from furniture and interiors, illustration and jewellery to graphics and everything in between.
The latest design drive was launched in style by iconic London design guru Thomas Heatherwick -- best known for his innovative use of engineering and materials in public monuments and sculptures. The designer has little confidence in the British economy, which he describes as "still pretty grim," but his message that "special" design does not need to cost a lot was timely. "In some ways, the recession is going to cut out the crap," he declares.
"There are some really good architects and designers in this neck of the woods and they will ride out the recession."
In 1994, Heatherwick was commissioned by Harvey Nichols department store in Knightsbridge to design a temporary structure for the shop's facade -- a widely acclaimed ribbon of laminated wood that wound through the storefront windows. He now operates from a combined studio and workshop in King's Cross, London, where a team of architects and designers work on a variety of unique projects from bridges and buildings to products and large-scale works of art. The studio's 'ouvres' include La Maison Unique in New York, the world flagship store for luxury French brand Longchamp. It also boasts the multi-award-winning East Beach Cafe, a striking seafront restaurant in Littlehampton.
Heatherwick was among those who submitted a design aimed at replacing Nelson's Pillar. Although missing out on that occasion, he is nonetheless generous in his praise of the eventual winner -- "The Spire is a very simple, strong idea -- very confidently executed. I admire your authorities for being brave enough to undertake the commission."
Now on only his second visit to Dublin, his impressions were largely positive, notably a brief visit to O'Donnell + Tuomey Architects' Sean O'Casey Community Centre in Dublin Docklands. He continues: "When I travel to new places, I am always on the look out for new and different things. So I was really taken when I turned on a hurling match on the TV here -- what an amazing game!"
As he sees it, the challenge for designers is to design uniquely and appropriately. A "certain new Dublin bridge by a certain architect" could have been designed for virtually any city. Good design, he asserts, need not be expensive, but it must be distinctive.
Current Heatherwick projects include the British Pavilion for the Shanghai EXPO in 2010. Ireland's participation at the EXPO in Hanover was dogged by controversy after it ended up costing €8m. The estimated €4.5m construction bill for an Irish Pavillion in Shanghai has already raised eyebrows here.
"Our project is estimated to cost around €15m," Heatherwick relates. "So your figure is not a huge amount. It is important, however, that your budget reflects the actual site. The exchange rate factor is another major consideration. Remember, there will after all be around 240 pavilions at the forthcoming Expo. So nobody is going to bother with any pavilion that is not special. Yet you don't have to have a big budget to make something 'special' happen."
Design Week events run over the weekend -- with various spinoff events in Waterford, Kilkenny and elsewhere scheduled over the weeks ahead. See www.designweek.ie
Irish Independent
