The design process paradox : traditional design processes vs. eco-design processes

The Brundtland Report (WCED, 1987) best known for its popularisation of the concept of sustainable development, also made recommendations for a new approach to design and production, setting out terms for: ‘a production system that respects... the ecological base’ and ‘a technological system that searches continuously for new solutions’. The industrial production, consumption and waste treatment of products today causes a large amount of various environmental burdens. The development and design of new products with reduced environmental impact is one of the new challenges towards a more sustainable society and is therefore an important task in the near future.

Lost in the supermarket – The Traditional Museums Challenges

“I’m all lost in the supermarket. I can no longer shop happily. I came in here for the special offer. A guaranteed personality”. The song by The Clash, released in 1979, “Lost in the Supermarket” describes the protagonist struggle to deal with an increasingly commercialized society and the depersonalization of the world around him. The song speaks about alienation and the feelings of disillusionment and lack of identity that come through modern society. There are different ways which one can decrease those feelings and promote knowledge, self-awareness and understanding. The museum, when used with all its potential, is one of the ways. But how to do that? That is the question museum professionals ask themselves. This paper analyses how the traditional museum can use the new museology concepts, and the challenges of this approach, to become a vehicle for community development and empowerment, diminishing the feelings sang by The Clash.

Societal development and the traditional museum: Applying New Museology to a different context

The Dapperstreet[1] ...Anything is a lot, when you expect so little Life keeps its wonders hidden To suddenly reveal them in a divine state. I thought about all t Soaking wet, one drizzly morning, Simply happy in the Dapperstreet. The Dapperstreet is part of a neighbourhood often referred to as “East”, situated in the eastern part of Amsterdam. It is a lively and vibrant multi-cultural part of the city. It has a daily market with food from around the world, but is also known worldwide because of the murder on Theo van Gogh, the Dutch film director who was killed there in 2001 because of his critical and provocative statements on the Islam. Thus it can be concluded that it is certainly a neighbourhood with its own problems but, as can be read in Bloem’s poem, a place to call home and long for. [1] Poem by J.C. Bloem, The Dapperstreet (Het Verlangen, 1921). Translation by Davida de Hond.