SHACKIN’ UP
Founded in 2004 in the extreme conditions of Joshua Tree, Calif., the Ecoshack laboratory is a place for a group of Los Angeles designers to explore new definitions of shelter. Holding design charettes in the rugged high-desert climate became the ideal way to test sturdy, yet sustainable solutions for living close to nature, and with the lowest possible impact on the environment. This year, Ecoshack released its first commercially available product, the Nomad. Inspired by the Mongolian yurt—ger in the native tongue—the Nomad is a modern take on the 2000-year-old portable dwelling, a contemporary cross between prefab housing and the standard tent. The modular system is easily packed into boxes for transport and can be assembled in about an hour, making it perfect for a variety of uses from recreation to decoration. Ecoshack founder Stephanie Smith imagines the Nomad to be ideal for hospitality environments like upscale camping facilities, spas and ecotourist resorts, but it would be equally at home serving as a semipermanent room on a roof deck, in the backyard—or as the world’s coolest design studio. www.thenomadyurt.com

SUMMER’S HOT DESIGN
For the last eight years the Museum of Modern Art and its Long Island City, N.Y., outpost, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, have held an invitational Young Architects Program to discover emerging architects. Five firms were invited to submit ideas for installations in the outdoor courtyard of P.S.1, with the chosen proposal serving as a centerpiece for a summer-long series of hip evening programs. This year’s winner is titled Liquid Sky, a canopied dreamscape created by Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues’ firm Ball-Nogues. Shimmering scales of tinted Mylar are gathered into a translucent skin that drapes across the courtyard, held in place by six untreated utility poles that also act as supports for giant community hammocks. “When you step into Liquid Sky, you’ve set your mind and body free from the weight of the urban environment and are submerged into an atmosphere of soothing exhilaration, subtle stimulation and inspirational calm,” says the architects’ statement. So this is what a highculture circus tent looks like. Liquid Sky was unveiled June 21. www.ps1.org

DESIGNING DESIGN WRITERS
With design coverage embraced everywhere from Newsweek to Vanity Fair, no one can deny that design writers are in demand. But the flux of mainstream media interest doesn’t necessarily mean qualified individuals are covering the design beat. A new MFA program at the School of Visual Arts hopes to add more experienced voices to that dialogue: The Design Criticism degree will be the first graduate-level program in the country dedicated to critical writing about design.

Founded by Steven Heller and chaired by Alice Twemlow (STEP’s own Field Guide editor), the two-year program will prepare students for careers as design critics, journalists and curators, or even as-yet undefined roles in writing and design. In fact, graduates will be empowered to completely reinvent the industry, says Twemlow. “They’ll be introduced to the organizations and the people who have defined the field so far and, with the benefit of their work to date, they can then go on to forge entirely new paths for design criticism.”

Although tools dedicated to researching, analyzing and evaluating design will be taught, the program will also emphasize the importance of giving context to the role of design in culture, says Twemlow. “I’m keen on providing students with ways to use design as a lens with which to view the social condition more broadly. So it’s not just about the formal analysis or connoisseurship of design objects or environments, it’s actually more about evaluating the role and agency of those objects and environments in people’s everyday lives.”

Design writing luminaries like Kurt Andersen, Paola Antonelli, Michael Bierut, Karrie Jacobs and Julie Lasky will make up the faculty. Also incorporated into the program is a way for the students to take their work public: The first-ever conference dedicated to design criticism will be produced by the graduating class, with presentations of their thesis work alongside appearances by some of the world’s leading design critics. Prospective students can begin applying in November of this year; the program begins in fall 2008. www.sva.edu

ILLUSTRATED HISTORY
The distinctive illustrations of 84-year-old Cincinnati, Ohio, artist Charley Harper have depicted happy housewives in Betty Crocker cookbooks and the glories of the open road in Ford Times magazine. His style, selfdubbed “minimal realism,” has proved heavily influential for two generations of artists and designers, but perhaps nowhere has Harper’s influence been more evident than on designer (and recent Top Design host) Todd Oldham. After being drawn to Harper’s work at a thrift store, Oldham realized why it was so familiar: Growing up, Oldham had treasured Harper’s illustrations in The Giant Golden Book of Biology, a staple on kids’ nightstands throughout the second half of the 20th century. He immediately began collaborating with Harper on the first monograph of his work, and Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life has culminated in a chunky, gorgeous volume encompassing a 60-year career (a special limited edition that includes a screen print is available as well). Oldham’s adoration ended up reaching far beyond the 420 pages: He’s also developed some of Harper’s designs into a line of textiles. www.ammobooks.com

SEEKING: RENAISSANCE MAN
So maybe The Da Vinci Code inspired more religious controversy than celebration of the man in its title, but this year, Osaka University of Arts will attempt to truly honor the man by searching for his contemporary. A competition for the school’s International Art Triennial invites entries from all over the world to its “Hunt for This Century’s Leonardo da Vinci.” By seeking a modern-day equivalent to the Universal Man of the 15th century, the competition hopes to address issues about innovation and art on a global scale. Three samples of da Vinci-worthy work can be submitted, which, due to his polymathic proficiency, can be almost anything: painting, illustration, sculpture, architecture, industrial design, music and science. Grand prize is ¥2,000,000, which is about $16,000—not too shabby for simply being a genius. Deadline is Aug. 31, 2007.
http://www.osaka-geidai.ac.jp/geidai/laboratory/leonardo/english/theme.html