KAZERNE LAB: Joint signature

Maarten Baas & Friends

Artists and designers often tend to remain in a world of their own, working on their own work in their own particular signature. Maarten Baas breaks this unwritten rule by taking his improvisational style on the road to work with both well-known and newer creatives in the public realm. The combination of signatures and the energy which is born of such a collaboration can be inspirational for both participants and spectators. For Kazerne Lab, Maarten continued this improvising method by collaborating with twelve Design Academy students.

Kazerne Lab

Within Kazerne Lab, professional creatives work cross-over with other (economic) sectors to develop products, insights, and incentives for topical issues. With their fresh perspective and outlook, they provide current social, cultural and economic issues with inspiration, new perspectives, and answers. That may sound rather pompous, but it is, in fact, an extremely practical process.

The Lab is not a physical workplace but a project that is worked on within the heads and studios of the participating designers.

Social Design Lab

The social design Lab explores the open question of how designers can contribute to a more liveable world of tomorrow.

Inventory Lab

In the inventory Lab, designers work with regional manufacturing industries on creating innovative inventory for hospitality ends.

THANKS

Brabant C, Cultuur Eindhoven, Stichting Doen, Driven by Design, Metropool Regio Eindhoven, VSB fonds.

Improvising and experimenting

Firstly, a couple of playful objects were Made, inspired by Baas’s earlier Kiddy Rides, presented in Milan. After, a small room was built, with windows through which visitors could follow the process of collaboration. In the small space a cardboard décor was built, with large fantastic animals. The cardboard fantasy world triggered inspiring conversations. Is it art of design? Or a pile of cardboard?

During the work process, Baas raised the societal meaning of design. While they worked together hands-on, the students were forced to overthink their own ambitions. The décor offered starting points for conversations on the working process of designers and the changing role of design. With the young students, their consciousness of design being more than a new chair or vase was increased.

Maarten Baas was a key figure in the Kazerne opening exhibition OPEN MIND, from October 2014 to February 2015. Besides the Kazerne Lab project Joint Signature, he presented a couple of workedthat came into being with the same principle,created together with renowned artists/designers Teun Hocks, John Körmeling and Bertjan Pot.

Kazerne Social Design Lab

Thanks to the support of the DOEN Foundation, artists, designers and other creatives will be working on crossover initiatives to discover new solutions for societal issues. Taking a fresh look from a different angle, they will approach current social, cultural and economic issues with the inspiration and new perspectives required to find innovative solutions. This may sound rather high-flown, but it is in fact an extremely practical process.

CREDITS

• Maarten Baas
• Design Academy Students

FOUNDATIONS

• Stichting DOEN