The Nano Issue by The Word Magazine

volume 02 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; issue 04

Neighbourhood Life + Global Style

Do not throw on the public domain.

Belgium Me, Myself & I Lifestyle Lonesome Cowboys Fashion Mole Men Design When Right Met Left Culture Micro Mad + The Design Special

W W W. E S S E N T I E L . B E M AT H I A S S C H O E N A E R T S P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y M I C H E L D E W I N D T

EDITOR’S LETTER

The Word Magazine is Nicholas Lewis Benoît Berben Editor-at-large Hettie Judah Design Delphine Dupont + pleaseletmedesign Fashion Eléonore Vanden Eynde Photography/Illustration Ulrike Biets Pierre-Philippe Duchâtelet Sarah Eechaut Eledone Studio Habousha Sarah Michielsen Chryssa Nikoleri Opération Panda Yassin Serghini Writers Hettie Judah (HJ) Nicholas Lewis (NL) Alia Papageorgiou (AP) Rena Smith (RS) Karen Van Godtsenhoven (KVG) Randa Wazen (RW) Thank you's: Jeff Berben Lea Munsch Melisande McBurnie Muriel Bleus

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THE FIRTS

In all honesty, the decision to forego putting out a summer edition was essentially due to the editorial team needing to switch off from the daily desktop grind. Once our May-June issue sent off to the printers, we could all look forward to a couple of weeks removed from the real world. After decamping to various parts of the world – everywhere from Bayreuth to Bangalore - we came back to the kingdom psychologically reinvigorated and with strong resolve to do things differently. Gone were the days, we told ourselves, of working day-inday-out, barely seeing daylight and not really going any further than Stuttgart. We’d now at least take a walk around the block fi rst thing in the morning or go for those lunchtime dives we promised ourselves. And, well, as good resolutions go, it all started encouragingly well. Then we remembered that not only did we have this September-October issue to dream up and produce, we also had a major design exhibition to put together. And it doesn’t stop there. It also suddenly dawned upon us that simultaneously moving our offices to the ground floor of our townhouse (which for some in the team is an office, whilst for others is a home) would be a good idea. There was the small issue of launching The Word Blog by September too. Oh, and there was that perennial problem of the USB issue, which somehow seemed liked the longest ever on-going publishing project. We were determined to getting that one out by September too – at last. Needless to say, sweat droplets started dripping and the holidays we had just come back from suddenly seemed a distant memory. And we could forget about neighbourhood morning strolls and dips in the local pool. In no time at all, we were back to our old selves… Although we did pull it off. The Nano Issue is packed with some major minor gems, from Peter Pan collectors and canine companions to toilet tribulations and tales of fi nancial industrial espionage in the fashion sector. We managed to pull off a superstar cast of participants (Sylvain Willenz, BaseDesign, Wallpaper Magazine and Damien Hirst to name a couple) and secure a key location (the former Tissus Flagey store, on Place Flageyplein itself) for our design exhibition, being held throughout the month of September. The USB issue is fi nally slated for a September subscriber send off too and won’t disappoint. It includes everything from interviews with local electro minimalist Darko and label boss/producer/DJ Peanut Butter Wolf to live sessions with Eagles of Death Metal and sit downs with the creators of a next generation online radio player. The Word Blog looks set to hit the web by the time this issue hits the stands – expect small wonders, office gossip, stuff that’s on the team’s radar and daily dribbles (keep an eye out on www.thewordmagazine.be). And it seems we’ll be occupying the whole ground floor of Maison du Word in a couple of weeks or so. Good resolutions might have been ditched and long forgotten about, but we sure got through the to-do list. To be honest, glad we’re back in play after a summer long publishing hiatus and can’t wait to get back into the thick of it. See you on all on Thursday 10th September for the opening of our exhibition… As Word as ever, Nicholas Lewis

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THE NANO ISSUE

THE CONTENTS

01. The Firsts The Cover Ad Editor's Letter Ad The Contents Ad The Contributors Ad The Diary The Diary Ad The Diary The Diary Ad The Diary Ad

04. Fashion The Nano Issue Essentiel Volume 2 – N° o4 Bombay Sapphire You're looking at it Levis It's a Word's world Perrier Post-its Belgium Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen United Kingdom France Brussels Philharmonic Holland Aspria

p01 p02 p04 p05 p06 p07 p08 p09 p10 p11 p13 p14 p16 p17 p18 p19

Title page A brave new nano world Little “d”, big difference Small applications… Follow the leader Itsy bitsy… + When music… Jacqueline by day, Mamy by night

p20 p21 p22 p23 p24 p25 p26

02. Belgium The Nano Papers The Nano Papers The Nano Papers The Nano Papers The Nano Papers The Nano Papers The Institution

The story of Dash Draper and…

p50

05. The Design Special The Cover The Design Papers The Processes The Progression The Special Showst… Ad

The Design Special The hunting set Love what you do when you're… This is where we are Wrap around the stock Bema-Graphics

p62 p63 p64 p68 p72 p75

A staggeringly small world below Rado

p76 p79

Desktop reading Far from impressed One for the nation The Word Magazine

p80 p82 p84 p93

Stockists O-live Advertisers The Nippon Issue Ristorante Bocconi Absolut

p94 p95 p96 p98 p99 p100

06. Design The Future Ad

07. Culture

03. Lifestyle The Debate The Dream The Way Ad The Word On The Other Word On The Showstoppers Ad The Tease

The Fashion Word

Nano – the fl ip side, the down… Maison du Word To the power of one Veuve Cliquot My little doggy Me, my toys and everyone I know Miniaturised marvels Cachemire Coton et Soie India on a Leica

p28 p30 p34 p39 p40 p42 p44 p47 p48

The Shelf The Pencil The Eye Ad

08. The Lasts The Stockists Ad The Round Up What's Next Ad Ad

FASHION FOR WALLS by Levis Ambiance

www.levis.info

THE LITTLE ISSUE

It’s a Word’s world

Pierre-Philippe Duchâtelet Graphic Designer/Illustrator ¤

We fi rst heard of PierrePhilippe’s work through Anouk, who helps out with the magazine’s distribution now and again, and after a couple of clicks on his website, decided he’d be best suited to take up the challenge of illustrating our piece on Belgians’ obsessions with bourgeois family names as well as the paper on the business of small applications. His positively abrasive style, coupled with a canny understanding of the subject matter, lent itself perfectly with what we were after. — Pages n° 22, 23

THE CONTRIBUTORS

Sophie Uhoda Architect ¤

We made a brief call for submission for our Utopian Community Living project to which Sophie responded with so much enthusiasm and panache that we promptly made her The Word’s unofficial architect of the small. From drawing up plans, putting up with our constant exuberant demands, going back to the drawing board countless times and making miniature lamps out of toothpaste tube tops, she gave it her all, diving head fi rst into the project as if dreaming up her own home. — Pages n° 30, 31, 32, 33

Chryssa Nikoleri Photographer ¤

This is how the story went. We interviewed a Greek greenie for our feature on anti-nanoisms who we had hoped to photograph in Brussels. Schedules not permitting, we were forced to revise our plans and find a Greek photographer, one based in Thessaloniki more specifically. In steps Chryssa and her straightforward, no-frills-attached portraiture. A multi-disciplinary photographer with more than a trick in her bag, she came through magnificently with her scouting shots – and the resulting portrait.

Eledone

—

Illustrator/Comic Artist ¤

Page n° 29

Keen for a change of scenery, we asked Eledone to have a go at broadly illustrating this issue’s Nano theme for The Shelf page. Resolutely sinister, juicier and more explicit than most, we found her style to fit perfectly with the issue at hand, namely Belgians’ knack for total obliviousness when faced with a situation requiring even the slightest of attention. Although she admitted to fi nding the assignment hard to begin with, you wouldn’t think so by looking at the end result. — Pages n° 82, 83

E.R. : J. Nijskens - NWMD - 221, Rue de Birmingham - 1070 Bruxelles Ogilvy

THE SPECK ISSUE

THE DIARY

THE FIRSTS

01. ¤

Coming of age

03. ¤

Belgium ( 01 ¤ 09 )

Fold, crumple & tear

Anniversaries are, among other things, a time to remember, and old Delvaux is as steeped in history as it is in luxury. The retrospective, curated by our very own Editorat-Large Hettie Judah, shows off how the luxury baggage travelled from the horse-drawn days of 1829 to rail, sea and into the air. Since, focus has been fashionforward thinking, with designs in salmon skin, toile de cuir and vinyl. This year, Delvaux seals the deal as a by-word for Belgian luxe, as they join forces with other national icons; this exhibition at Antwerp’s fashion hothouse, collaborative handbag design with Hannelore Knuts and appointing Veronique Branquinho at creative helm for the House. (RS)

The second installment in The Word’s series of exhibitions – set to coincide with Design September – presents the commissioned works of emerging and established designers and artists. Following an international call for submissions, the editorial team selects the strongest entries, exhibiting them in a disused retail space during the month of September on Brussels’ Place Flageyplein. Taking their cue from a page in the magazine called The Guide, artists and designers showcase their interpretation of the page with a comical twist. Taking part are Sylvain Willenz, BaseDesign, Damien Hirst and Wallpaper Magazine to name but a few. (RS)

Delvaux: 180 years of Belgian Luxury À From 17 th September 2009 until 22nd February 2010 ☞ Mode Museum, Antwerp

À From 11th September

01.

The next few weeks’ agenda fillers

02.

Follow the Guide until 30 th September 2009

☞ Tissus Flagey - Place Flagey 24 Flageyplein, Brussels

www.thewordmagazine.be

www.momu.be

Prepare to be ¤ taken by the hand through an ever-changing picture of light, sound and colour in what Ann Veronica Janssens describes as her experiments; but it’s not quite clear whether this is more the case for the viewer or the artist. Alongside 10 new sculptures are six audio and video experiences of an alienating, dreamlike sensuality that warps the viewer’s perception of time and space, where we slip gently from reality to be dazzled by flashing lights and infinite sounds. Kant once said time and space are the only things we can be sure of, and after coming out of this art-trip, you’ll maybe claim the same. (RS)

Aperture by Antony Gormley À From 17 th September until 22nd October 2009 ☞ Xavier Hufkens Gallery, Brussels

Serendipity by Ann Veronica Janssens À From 5th September until 15th December 2009 ☞ Wiels, Brussels

www.xavierhufkens.com

www.wiels.org

©Antony Gormley

Since his last exhibition at Xavier Hufkens in 1987, Antony Gormley, has established himself on the international picture frame, winning the Turner Prize in 1994, often using his own body as material, making his name synonymous with his humanoid sculptures in steel, concrete, and now in solid and see-through cellular structures inspired by the work into the construction of bubbles and foam by Scottish scientist Lord Kelvin. The central installation will be a massive, awe-inspiring form of a person made 10 times bigger through which you can wander, where the human frame becomes truly architectural. (RS) ¤

Lights, camera, confusion

03.

Hot wired

04.

04. 02.

THE PARTICLE ISSUE

05.

THE DIARY

05.

Designers of the century

Parisian gallery Patrick Seguin organises a retrospective overview of the four most powerful visionaries of the modernist movement, who defi ned an era and continue to inspire design today. Le Corbusier, grand daddy of the movement, created architecture and furniture with cousin Pierre Jeanneret, culminating in a lowcost urban planning project of Chandigarh, India - a landmark of modernist architecture. Jean Prouvé played with techniques in metal furniture design while Charlotte Perriand’s pure, powerful style took form in clean wooden lines. An unmissable bringing-together of an inspired generation of artists. (RS)

06.

Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé À From 12th September until 3rd October 2009 ☞ Rodolphe Janssen Art Gallery, Brussels

www.galerierodolphejanssen.com

07.

08.

06.

Renaissance riots

Epic, Italian ¤ Renaissance-style paintings are, at first thought, an unexpected art form to portray gang rioting in the French suburbs. The supernatural beauty the figures cut in the grenade smoke and dramatic lighting, in what looks like something from a biblical scene, contrasts immediately with the brutal realism Matthieu Kassowitz portrayed in La Haine. But it puts an unexpected spin on things, for the suburbs of Paris are as far in mind and body away from the city centre as barbaric tribes were to a medieval fortress they surrounded, and suggest perhaps that we haven’t come as far as we think since feudal times. (RS) Guillaume Bresson À From 1st September until 31st October 2009 ☞ Sorry We’re Closed, Brussels

www.sorrywereclosed.com

07. ¤

Sat upright

Did you know that all Finnish people have sat at least once in their lifetime in a chair designed by Yrjö Kukkapuro? Well now you too can see what it’s like to be a Finn and try out a selection of works by the iconic Finnish furniture designer. The overview of his work from the 50s to today is inspiring, as in each decade Kukkapuro proves time and again his flare for staying ahead of the game, from the 60s space age couture designs mixing plastic and leather to today’s eco-freako projects developing furniture from highly-sustainable bamboo for UNESCO, and all with that slick Scandinavian class. (RS) Yrjö Kukkapuro

À Until 11th October 2009 ☞ Design Museum, Gent www.designmuseumgent.be

08.

Realms of the imagination

We enter Nick ¤ Ervinck’s bizarre and enthralling world of multi-media experiences fusing computer rendered designs, sculpture and visually poetic video installations. And what a strange world he has concocted, mixing weird and wonderful shapes with things more recognisable to reality – the walls of a house, the interiors of a cathedral - but his search for aesthetic perfection always delivering breath-taking, beautiful designs. Often compared to fellow Belgian Magritte, Ervinck’s 21st century surrealism challenges us with the limits of our logic and realism, inviting us to join his parallel world. (RS) GNI-RI sep2009 Eitozor by Nick Ervinck À From 5th September until 22nd October 2009 ☞ Smak, Ghent

www.smak.be

Brussels. Palais des Beaux-Arts

BRILLIANT OVERTURE Thursday 15th of October 2009. 20:00 L. van Beethoven. Coriolanus Overture B. Bart처k. Concerto for violin n째 2 L. van Beethoven. Egmont Overture A. Borodin. Symphony n째 2 NING KAM. violin (2nd Prize Queen Elisabethcompetition 2001) Etienne Siebens. conductor

reservation & tickets www.symfonieorkest.be

Met steun van de Vlaamse minister van Cultuur, Jeugd, Sport en Brussel

THE MINUSCULE ISSUE

THE DIARY

United Kingdom ( 10 ¤ 15 ) 09.

Grainy lonesomeness

The dark, stark, black-and-white photography of ravens by Masakisa Fukase is at once both chilling and powerful; the birds signify death and solitude across many cultures, and it is little wonder the shots were taken just after the artist’s grueling divorce in 1976. Seen as one of the few true photographic expressionists, Fukase, along with many of the post-WWII generation of Japanese artists, attempted to contrast the idealisation of self-control that had gone before them. The birds’ immutable presence on landscapes brings questions of how far we can indeed escape loneliness and endings of our own. (RS)

09.

10. ¤

Fair folly

In these tightenedbelt times saving is the new spending. With recession weighing on our purses and minds, it seems surprising a global bank is sponsoring an art fair; but all the better for us, for this one is rich with talent. Money-saving, time-saving, life-changing, Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park houses exhibits from over 150 global galleries from Tel Aviv to Zurich, so you can one-stopshop for a whole year’s worth of visual stimulation in one fell swoop. There’ll be a sculpture garden, educational projects, talks, short fi lms and commissions. (RS)

10.

Frieze Art Fair

À From 15th October until 18 th October 2009 ☞ Regent’s Park, London

The solitude of ravens by Masakisa Fukase À From 11th September until 17 th October 2009 ☞ Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp

www.friezeartfair.com

www.gallery51.com

In betweeners

11.

– Digest the Design September talk you’ve just participated in, or the exhibition you’ve just taken in, with some after work drinks at recently opened restaurant-come-bar-comeclub L’Axess at Tour & Taxis. For a slightly more central location, The Dominican Hotel’s Lounge Bar will also play host to the blue-coloured spirit (17th, 24th September and 1st October). Let’s just hope Tom Dixon’s Tomtini will be on the menu. (NL) www.designseptember.be Brussels Art Days II on 12th and 13th September 2009 at various Brussels locations

— With schools back in play, galleries too mark the end of the summer with a weekend of late and Sunday openings. (NL) www.brusselsartdays.com

Bombay Sapphire Blue Nights on 11th, 18th and 25th September and 2nd October 2009 @ L’Axess

11. ¤

Right on point

Sebastiaan Bremer presents us with a novel, utterly hybrid technique of painted photographs in miniature, using inks, paints or the tip of a knife to create jewel-like blobs and swirls of texture. The nano-photos are peepholes to his world; where previous work used shots of family, lovers and friends, this collection takes a new direction, pointing to his inspirations. Enthused by the Golden Age of Dutch painting, we see the influence of Ruysdael’s landscapes and Dirk de Bray’s still life, fellow countrymen to this artist now living in New York, representing cultural rather than personal links to the past. (RS) Small wonders by Sebastiaan Bremer À From 10 th September until 24th October 2009 ☞ Hales Gallery, London

www.halesgallery.com

THE NEXT FEW WEEKS' AGENDA FILLERS

Bold and brilliant, world-renown sculptor Anish Kapoor shows highlights of his career, plus new and unseen works in this major solo exhibition. Kapoor’s work is at once both bodily and spiritual; the architectural Marsyas, a gigantic PVC membrane stretched over three huge steel rings is evocative of something humanlike, while his Sky Mirror concave surfaces shows unexpected distortions of viewer and gallery. Anticipate a canon projecting volleys of bright red wax onto the walls of the space, both alarmingly physical and terribly clever, as the installation produces a sculpture of its own during its time at the exhibition. (RS) ¤

Anish Kapoor À From 26th September until 11th December 2009 ☞ Royal Academy of Arts, London

14.

Pop goes the art

“Good business is the best art” said Pop Art godfather Andy Warhol, and ever since, artists have been harnessing today’s celebrity cult, engaging with mass media to propagate their own image. We start with Warhol’s paparazzo personality and Pop icons, moving on to the self-mythology of Tracey Emin, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst and the likes, including Made In Heaven in which Jeff Koons publicised his matrimony with porn star La Cicciolina. Engaging too boldly with the commercial is seen as sacrilegious in modern art ethics, but gives birth to a brash, trash genre that celebrates the moment in which we live. (RS)

12.

Star sculptor

13.

12.

THE FIRSTS

Pop Life: Art in a Material World À From 1st October 2009 until 17 th January 2010 ☞ Tate Modern, London

14.

www.tate.org.uk/modern

www.royalacademy.org.uk

Heavy meaning

Political activist, ¤ ecologist, artist; six decades of major works by Gustav Metzger with some brand new pieces are brought together to inspire a new generation. Preoccupied with waste in industrialised society, something ever more relevant today, among the work is a ceiling-high archive of newspapers, and re-creations of his auto-destructive pieces from the 1960s, like canvases sprayed with corrosive acid. Viewers are faced with their mortality both on an individual and collective level, in the age of an obsessive, hedonistic pursuit for youth, in denial about effects of consumption on others and on the planet. (RS) Gustav Metzger À From 29 th September until 8 th November 2009 ☞ Serpentine Gallery, London

www.serpentinegallery.org

Discover a fairytale world of art and design in this collection of fantasyinspired furniture; 50 delightful and mischevious objects from contemporary designers across Europe; Weiki Somers’ Bathboat, Joris Larman’s Rococo swirl-radiator and Joep van Lieshout’s bed encased in a giant skull. Divided into three sections, “The Forest Glade”, with a honeycomb vase made by bees is nature-based fantasy; in “The Enchanted Castle” we fi nd parodies of historical displays of power and status; while “Heaven and Hell” contains some chilling pieces inspired by death and beyond. The exhibition is a tale of magic all of its own. (RS)

15.

Telling Tales

À Until 18 th October 2009 ☞ Victoria and Albert Museum, London

www.vam.ac.uk

13.

Story told

15. ¤

THE WEE ISSUE

France

( 16 ¤19 )

16.

17.

18.

THE DIARY

16.

Documenting a people

18.

Happy new year, une fois

Traditionally an ¤ artist’s portraitist, photographer Denise Colomb also photographed the West Indies – more specifically, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Haiti - profusely, bringing home over 5,000 negatives from her latest trip meant to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the abolishment of slavery. She focused her lenses on everyday life sceneries, from schools, port life and markets to fishermen, street games and dance traditions. Mostly made up of black and white prints, the exhibited work – consisting of 130 framed photographs – reveals Colomb’s knack for detecting the softer, human side in her subjects whilst at the same time telling a story. (NL)

If the Russians ¤ and the Chinese have theirs, no reason Belgians couldn’t have theirs too. A New Year celebration that is. Having held its fi rst edition in May 2008, Paris’ Belgian New Year comes back to the city at full throttle, promoting its idea of ‘a tradition of the avant-garde’ and putting forward the Belgian state-ofmind along the cultural poles of music, cinema, performance and animations. With a live DJ set by Ghinzu, a Vive la Fête showcase as well as a day of Belgian fi lm projections among many other festivities, expect a day of absurdity and very patriotic partying. Having a Belgian acquaintance in Paris never was so ‘in’ apparently. (NL)

Denise Colomb and the West Indies (1948-1958) À From 29th September until 27 th December 2009 ☞ Jeu de Paumes, Paris

Belgian New Year À 26th September 2009 ☞ Elysée Montmarte, Paris

www.nouvelanbelge.com

www.jeudepaume.org 19.

17.

19.

An idea is born

It is sometimes dif¤ ficult to imagine, but all design emanates from a drawing – be it a CAD rendered illustration to a couple of doodles drawn on the back of a napkin. A way for designers to translate mere ideas into visual representation, drawings form an essential part of a designer’s creative process – a feat made clear at Les Arts Décoratif’s exhibition. Presenting preparatory studies, atmospheric drawings and communication visuals from world-renowned designers Marc Newson, Jasper Morrisson and Konstantin Grcic to name but a few, the showcase honours the importance of drawing in design conception. (NL) Dessiner le Design À From 21st October 2009 until 10 th January 2010 ☞ Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris

www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

Visual destruction

Surrealism’s fascina¤ tion with the subconscious, the non-meaningful, is sometimes hard to grasp and contextualise in the larger sphere of contemporary fine art photography. Given the abundance of ways in which surrealists used their photography – from magazine publications to advertising – the viewer had, at least in the beginning, somewhat of a difficult time placing their work within the confines of the art world. Not so with the Centre Pompidou’s exhibition, which brings together close to 400 works of art in an attempt to question the surrealists’ use of photography and illustrate the relentless experimentation the movement was reputed for. (NL) The Subversion of Images – Surrealism, Photography, Film À From 24th September 2009 until 11 th January 2010 ☞ Centre Pompidou, Paris

www.centrepompidou.fr

Brussels Philharmonic – het Vlaams Radio Orkest Michel Tabachnik, chief conductor/music director, orchestra in residency at Flagey

Dare to discover… the wonders of classical music > Mahler 4 Flagey, 3/10/2009 > A New World Flagey, 29/10/2009 > Beethoven 9 BOZAR, 12/11/2009

Brussels Philharmonic – het Vlaams Radio Orkest is een instelling van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap.

WIN FRE

E TICK

ETS! Send an e-mail w ith your tickets@ favourite brusselsp classical hilharmo piece to nic.be, a the winn er of a fr nd you ee conce could be rt ticket!

www.brusselsphilharmonic.be

Vlaams Omroeporkest en Kamerkoor vzw | Eugène Flageyplein 18 B-1050 Brussel | T +32 2 627 11 60 | info@brusselsphilharmonic.be

THE SHRIMP ISSUE

THE DIARY

Holland The thin red line

Attempting to make ¤ sense of the subject of confl ict zones and their impact on communities, five guest curators are invited by Noorderlicht to select bodies of work and provide their views on documentary photography as they see it. With a particular emphasis on confl icts which take place in back alleys and are thus far removed from the public gaze – and consciousness – we’re particularly keen to see British photographer Adam Patterson’s work on Brixton gangs as well as Belgian Vincent Delbrouck’s more abstract prints. Expect to be served some heavy-hitting poetic justice. (NL) Noorderlicht International Photofestival 2009 - Human Conditions À From 6th September until 4th October 2009 ☞ Groningen, Holland

20.

Concert Picks ¤ The Heavy on 30th September @ L’Ancienne Belgique

– If Isaac Hayes was backed by Eagles of Death Metal, you’d get something not unlike British dirty funk band The Heavy. ¤ Fink on 3rd October @ Botanique

– Minimalist guitar riffs, dry vocals and fragile lyrics characterise this Ninja Tune-signed folk man’s work. A good companion to grey, rainy mornings. ¤ Mahler 4 on 3rd October @ Flagey © Vincent Delbrouck

20.

www.noorderlicht.com

– The Brussels Philharmonic plays Mahler’s fourth and shortest symphony, combining it with Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzone in a night of contrasting periods. ¤ DJ Vadim & Breakestra on 29th October @ Het Depot

– British producer DJ Vadim and Californian deep-funk maestros Breakestra descend on Leuven’s Het Depot for a night of liplicking livery.

What we’re giving away Two pairs of tickets to the following concerts

The Heavy at l’Ancienne Belgique on 30th September 2009 ¤ DJ Vadim, Breakestra and DJ Lefto at Het Depot on 29th October 2009

Four pairs of tickets to the following Symfonie Orkestr Vlaanderen concerts

Etienne Siebens and Ning Kam at Bozar on 15th October 2009 th ¤ Seikyo Kim and Pieter Wispelwey at Bozar on 19 November 2009 ¤

What you need to do Send an email to wewrite@thewordmagazine.be, specifying which concert you wish to go to in the subject line. The first readers to do so will each win a pair of tickets to the concert of their choice. Conditions Only one pair of tickets permitted per reader. Until tickets last. Applies to Belgium only. Normal conditions apply.

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THE SKIMP ISSUE

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; You might need a magnifying glass to get a glimpse of our Nano Papers such is their insignificance â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at least in terms of the physical space they occupy. We hop on a midget of a motorbike, delve into the big business that is small applications and perfect the art of shortened communication in what can only be a 21st century farewell bid to the English-language. Writers Nicholas Lewis, Karen Van Godtsenhoven and Randa Wazen

BELGIUM

A BRAVE NEW NANO WORLD

Six inch foil realised in the Polymer Vision technology comprising several instances of the 64-bit organic transponder chip

A brave new nano world Nanotechnology is sizzling hot: according to the National Council of Science and Technology (US), “Nanotechnology will change the nature of almost every human-made object in the next century,”, and it's no understatement. Not only is nanotech used to tackle big issues such as global warming and medical care, it also makes more mundane objects – from small electronics to clothes and furniture - sturdier, faster and smarter. Because it plays at the molecule level, nanoscience is the art of manipulating matter at the nano-scale, changing the atom's structures. Nanotech has its roots in physics and quantum mechanics, and is as such a very complex science, but one with very practical application domains in daily life. True to its nature of a technology-fanatic nation, Belgium is a hotbed for nano research, with at least four globally-renowned nano universities: Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp and Leuven. It's also home to Europe’s biggest

independent nanotechnology research centre – IMEC in Leuven - and other related nano centers VIB (biotech), IBBT (broadband technology), VITO (tech research). The synergies of public spending (73 million euro in 2008) in nano research, IMEC’s state-of-the art infrastructure and a fertile environment (tax reduction) for R&D, makes Belgium a true beehive attracting top class researchers to its labs. There are no numbers available for people working in nanotech, because it is not seen as a separate industry, but nano is integrated in all sorts of technology companies. Big names of nano companies include Bekaert, Nanocyl, SIRRIS and Cytec. In Flanders, nano developments are very intertwined with IMEC and hence focused on micro-electronics ; two new spin-off companies, Photovoltech and Pepric, focus on discoveries in photonics, which harnesses the power of light. These discoveries will enable the creation of more efficient solar cells, healthcare sensors and even batteries for hybrid cars. Brussels and Wallonia-based companies focus more on materials, such as paints, plastics and coatings for aerospace vehicles and hi-tech cars. Ecofriendliness and energy-saving qualities are what make these

industries so attractive. Despite its advantages though, nanotechnology has not yet succeeded in fully winning over the public: too little is still known about its potential adverse effects on the human body or the environment. For this reason, IMEC does outreach activities with creative people and art students, to show the world the beauty of the invisible and the unknown. The book ‘in.tangible.scape.s’ by IMEC and Addictlab artists, features many prime examples of converging nanotechnology, science and art. So you have ambient devices that allow long-distance lovers to communicate with each other, intelligent toys, GPS- powered transport tools, virtual wallpaper, interactive yoga wear and even Hussein Chalayan’s Mechanical Dress. The fashion industry seems especially interested in nano technology’s virtues. Nanotechnology can make fibers dirt- and crease-resistant, which might mean the end of washing and ironing. But more than that, nano fashion can also save your life: with the new sensing and detecting technologies, your jacket might detect a harmful gas, a virus contamination, determine whether you had a heart attack or simply, whether you have fallen in love. (KVG)

THE DWARF ISSUE

THE NANO PAPERS

Little “d”, big difference ? Tiny details can make a huge difference. Case in point: surnames that are preceded by a particle. One, two or three letters, preferably written in lower case. They don’t add up to much yet still seem to impress a great deal. Nobility is still alive and kicking. As put by professor Paul Janssens - one of the rare experts in this field - Belgium could almost be featured in the Guinness book of World Records as it is one of the very few countries that still grants noble titles on an annual basis. The number of nobles in Belgium is currently estimated at approximately 30.000, six times as many than two centuries ago. The main reason behind this spectacular growth is that the nobility is constantly renewing itself, as opposed to other European countries and monarchies where it is slowly fading away. According to Mr. Janssens, who is also the president of the Nobility Council of Belgium, an interesting point is to look at the kind of individuals who are opposed to it. “Maverick republicans and people who are against Belgium as a nation. They see monarchy and nobility as an obstacle to the suppression of the country.” Even though the title no longer comes with legal privileges, most of them still clearly belong to the elite. A study conducted in the eighties showed that nobles

ran a whopping 10 percent of the 3.500 principal national companies. Such a ratio raises questions given that nobility only constitutes 0,3 percent of the nations population. In order to spot these happy few, examining their surnames is usually a good start. Families originally from ancient nobility typically have a particle such as de, de la, du or le in French, van, van der, van den, de, ’t or ter in Flemish. Since in both languages the nobiliary particle is the same as a regular prepositional particle that was used in the creation of many surnames, it resulted in ambiguity and a widespread misconception that any name bearing a posh sounding “petit de” or “kleine van” automatically belongs to that social class. “The particle never had that much relevance in Belgium,” explains M. Janssens. “It is true that when you look at most nobles’ names, the majority of them bear one. However, what truly distinguishes nobles is the addition of names, which occurs within wide and established families. For example you have de Kerchove de Denterghem, de Kerchove d’Ousselghem, de Kerchove d’Exaerde.” Towards the end of the 19th century, it became fashionable to request additional names, mostly by noble families wanting the names of their castles included and bourgeois

families seeking extra cachet. The particle was scarcely asked for, except in certain cases like the “Frenchisation” of certain foreign names that has spawned quite peculiar combinations like the Polish de Lobcowicz or the Korean Shin de Pyeongsan. Speaking of weird, intermarriages in bilingual Belgium have also resulted in some hybrid Franco-Flemish particles such as van Outryve d’Ydewalle or van de Werve d’Immerseel. It is these “noms à rallonge” that still sound intimidating, especially to an unaware audience. Connoisseurs and members of the nobility are more likely to appreciate the historical cachet linked to certain surnames or their seniority for example : families like de Mérode or de Croÿ, who belong to the princely houses, or de Kerchove and de la Faille, who are amongst the oldest noble families in the country. And while a vast majority of people whose surnames are preceded by a particle are not noble, numbers of such evidence remain inexistent in Belgium, as there has never been an inventory. In France however, about 49 out of 50 surnames containing a particle do not belong to the nobility. Tellingly, just as many nobles do not bear a name with a particle, especially the new ones. “Nobility status is something that is defi ned by lineage. The name has little to do with it,” concludes Mr. Janssens. No need to get too excited when meeting a “petit de”, as there’s a fat chance said person is a mere commoner. That is of course if obsolete traditions and outdated concepts still get your attention in the fi rst place. (RW)

BELGIUM

Tap Tap Revenge was downloaded 10 million times during that period and is still the most installed application. “The iPhone marked the beginning of mobile 2.0. Engagement was dramatically bigger than any mobile device that came before. That means the iPhone App Store is disruptive. Old models die, new ones will emerge. You no longer produce a product and ship it, but you create one as a free service and build business on top. Tap Tap Revenge is a free service, but we license new music every week, offer game enhancers and keep it fresh with continuous updates. The goal is to build a social network around the game that keeps people coming back. People like our game because it’s simple, fun and there’s something new every week. We have also invested a lot of time in the user community,” says Bart. Some critics doubted whether the app store would prove profitable for anyone but the producers of the top ten apps, but Decrem retorts: “For 10 to 30, 000 dollars, you can produce a very good app. You don’t need to charge very much to make a profit, especially not when you offer the app as a service and monetise in a more creative way, which is much easier since the advent of in-app commerce with the iPhone 3 OS.” Bart is also excited about other revolutions the app store will bring about: “It's like the Internet back in 1994. It was hard to make money then, but very important to figure out how it worked. Here’s a new medium coming of age, and we’re still learning from each other. Some companies have made a lot of money, some developers a bit, and some people very

little. However over time, there will be a smaller number of established brands/companies, that get a large piece of the pie, just like with the internet.” Bart is an open source enthusiast but says other platforms and smartphones will not only have to be compatible, but offer as good a user experience as Apple, or they won’t stand a chance. He predicts the app store model will be taken up by many systems, and is open for collaboration with anyone: “As long as I like what I’m doing and I am part of an exciting usercentered development, I couldn’t be happier,” says our man who made a big business out of small apps. (KVG)

SMALL APPLICATIONS MEAN BIG BUSINESS

Small applications mean big business Tastes in smartphones may differ, but no one can deny that Apple’s app store has shaken things up in the software world. The Word talked to Belgian serial entrepreneur Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous, home to the most downloaded game in the app store, and most popular iPhone application, Tap Tap Revenge. Software used to come in physical packages, on CDs that had to be installed and upgraded. Nowadays, it behaves like a service on the web, or at least, it lives on the web and you download it. The openness of many software platforms and social networks, along with the advent of mobile surfi ng, brought along ‘molecular’ software, to be plugged into any system, taking up very little space. By losing its material form though, software risked becoming yet another kind of free web content (like music and newspapers). But then came the iTunes app store, proving that money could be made from even the tiniest, free apps. The central entry point for over 63, 000 apps and counting, the app store had one billion downloads in the fi rst nine months of its existence.

Widget

A small graphical object that gives access to a specific application or user interface. The widget is just the symbol for it, the entry point. Application

Any piece of software that makes you do things, or does things for you: it is software that directly interacts with the user. Plug-in

An extension of an existing program that brings new functionality to its host. Plug-ins are often developed by users, so that they can add functionality without intervening with the basic software.

THE MIDGET ISSUE

THE NANO PAPERS

Follow the leader The influence of Twitter cannot be understated: with an exploding userbase showing no sign of slowing down, its effects on communication and search behaviour are so big that giants like Facebook and Google watch it very closely, jostling for its acquisition. This year especially, Twitter has entered the mainstream: celebrities have found their place in the Twittosphere, news services tweet their output and brands recognise the value of interacting with potential customers. The one hundred and forty character limit has affected many journalists, marketing people, politicians, brands and opinion makers. Its nickname of ‘microblogging site’ has made Twitter the posterchild of the ‘molecular’ online evolution. So, even if you don’t tweet, you are still subject to Twitter’s far-reaching influence. After early adoption in 2006 and 2007 by techies and bloggers, the Belgian Twittosphere gained much traction in 2008, with more marketeers, journalists and media. 2009 saw the adoption of Twitter by politicians, if only for the last months of their election campaign.

Despite its constantly growing user base, the percentage of the Belgian active Twitter population is quite small, and hard to pinpoint. However, Belgian ‘tweople’ are an active lot, organising ad hoc ‘twunches’, fl ashmobs and pillowfights on a regular basis, which accounts for a lot of the media hype. Belgian Twitterers are often multilingual, with some users tweeting in three languages. The French-speaking community has Brussels as its epicenter, whereas Flemish Twitterers more often come from Ghent or Antwerp, where a lot of start ups and creative industries are based. Profi ling indicates that the French community accounts lean more towards ‘independent’ bloggers and personalities, whereas the Flemish accounts are, although still personal, more often tied to a company (Netlash, Techcrunch). Belgian celebrity profi les mirror Belgians’ major interests, since two of the most followed Twitter accounts are cyclists: Robbie McEwen, Aussie by birth but living in Flanders, and Astana-manager Johan Bruyneel, Belgian by birth but living in Spain, each have more than twenty thousand followers. Trending topic #tourdefrance was the doing of many Belgians this summer. To truly benefit from using Twitter, you must remember that online reputation is a big deal, as Atog says: “Your avatar and biography

have to please me. It doesn’t have to be real, but originality convinces me.” Account manager Pekesenertjes says, “the only rule is that your tweets have to add value, and the Twitter karma will come back to you.” When asked how they perceive Twitter, Belgians follow their nature: they compare it to a cocktail party or a pub: “You need to look around a bit at fi rst, you don’t know where your friends are, but it’s generally well worth it. I have found customers, new friends and people that inspire me,” says Pekesenertjes. Atog confi rms: “I've met the coolest people in real life through Twitter meet ups. So there’s a discovery and a social incentive in using Twitter, and that’s where the threat for Google lies: because people trust their social circle better than a web spider, they tend to search more things via Twitter.” (KVG)

ITSY BITSY RIDER + WHEN MUSIC BECAME…

BELGIUM

Our initial interest in this little beast of roadragers started off rather sinisterly. Indeed, my girlfriend and I had just walked out of her place when we saw a twenty-something lying on the ground, motionless. He had just crashed into a pole, having lost control of his Honda Dax. Setting aside the obvious trauma of the accident (fear not though, the youngster made it), the mini-motorbike’s distinctive design (a rounded headlight, upright steering bars and chrome fenders) and ingenious compactness instantly hit the right chord. “Must fi nd out more,” was the only thought buzzing in my head, and every lead we followed up on led to the same person time and again: Papa Dax, president of the Antwerp Dax Association (Belgium counts about 16 such associations) for the past 25 years. A self-confessed Dax fanatic, he is somewhat of an institution in Antwerp, always to be seen roaming the city’s streets on his devilish Dax. The Honda Dax was fi rst introduced to Belgians in 1970, on the back of the period’s penchant for lifestyle two-wheelers - Vespas,

Itsy bitsy rider

Caminos, Boosters and the likes. The motorbike quickly became the transport mode of choice for thrill-seeking teenagers who, growing tired of their bicycles’ speed limitations, opted instead for the Dax’s more aggressive drive. Former Dax lover Nico Jacobs: “When you are 16 and never experienced nothing else than a bicycle, driving a Dax feels like driving a small motorcycle.” Indeed, the Dax always held a particularly strong emotional appeal amongst its enthusiasts as

Papa Dax fondly points out: “They ride well, are cute and the contact with the road is more intense since you’re closer to it.” Unique to the Dax is the sound it emits. Indeed, its roar is particularly recognisable and, to some, the sole reason they loath the lowrider. “I remember driving in a group of approximately seven riders and setting off car alarms as we drove past,” admits Jacobs who, pushing his obsession to acceptable limits, actually named his son Dax. Now if that isn’t fatherly love… (NL)

“But the idea is to use these old consoles as new music instruments. It’s a tiny scene so most of us know each other and do it as a hobby. The philosophy is quite DIY and open source, music and programs are distributed for free.” Bored with the Gameboy sounds, Marc went on to create the LittleGPTracker, a program that would allow him to use samples and different consoles such as a PSP, offering a wider range of tunes. Unlike traditional instruments, the equipment is cheap and ultra-portable so

chiptunes can be made virtually anywhere, like standing in line at the post office. But it goes without saying that you’d better be tech savvy before attempting it. “It’s defi nitely geekier than a guitar! ” Marc concedes. (RW)

If you’re familiar with the W bus line going from Brussels to Rhode-Saint-Genèse, chances are you’ve spotted Marc Resibois on his way to work fiddling with his PSP, Koss Portapro headphones fi rmly fi xed to his mop of bleached hair. It might look as if he’s playing a random game, but this self-confessed “nerd with a social life” is actually creating music as one of the few chiptune artists in Belgium. 8-bit music was born when cyber punks hacked computer games and created intros presenting themselves. Specific software was designed in order to make music for these intros, slowly generating a whole scene in the late nineties. Another movement involved the recycling of used and old machines that were worthless in order to get something interesting out of them. “Many people think that when we do chiptunes, we’re just taking video games music and re-organising it”, explains our man, who goes by the stage name M-.-n, aka Marc Nostromo.

When music became child’s play

[M-.-n] will be playing at ‘Buzz On Your Lips’, together with Robots in Disguise (UK), Covox (SW), Droon and Tex Taiwan at Kultuur Kafé on 17th October 2009

THE MICROSCOPIC ISSUE

THE INSTITUTION

Jacqueline by day, Mamy by night — She’s 68, looks like a regular grandma, but has the quick wit of a kid, curses like a trucker and can be a real badass when rubbed the wrong way. Having spent more than 25 years in the restrooms of the capital’s hottest club, she’s seen all of Brussels looking worse for wear and knows everybody’s dirty secrets.

Writer Randa Wazen

Holding the fort : Mamy

Paying a visit to the restroom is almost inevitable when clubbing. Yet it’s quite likely that those five, 10 or 15 minutes won’t leave much of an impression 24 hours later. Such an assessment can’t be made for anyone who’s been to the Mirano in the last decades. In all fairness, the toilets are nothing special. However, the old lady looking after them, charging every customer 50 cents per passage, is one hell of a character… Jacqueline Wagner, aka Mamy, is probably one of the most famous figures of Belgian nightlife. Lorenzo Serra, the art director and co-founder of the Dirty Dancing parties held weekly there for the past six years, sums it up quite well: “In 25 years, one out of four people living in Brussels must have handed her a coin at least once in their lifetime. People either bitterly resent giving her money, or they do it with great delight.”

" People my age are retarded. When I see those grey haired oldies complaining about this and whinging about that, it drives my crazy. "

and one night, help was needed downstairs in the lavatories. “I thought it was very amusing so I continued,” she recalls. Amusing wouldn’t be the fi rst thing to come to mind when talking about such an unpopular job, but Mamy managed to turn it into a fascinating experience. Let’s face it; the woman has seen some crazy shit go down. When it comes to clubbing, forget the dance floor, the VIPs or even the bar; the restroom is where it all happens. Breakups, hook ups, chemical intakes, fights, gossip, you name it.

Jacqueline, a typical “brusseleer” with a heavy accent, used to run a tavern that went bankrupt. Along with her husband, she answered an ad to work at the Mirano in the eighties. She started out doing cleaning work

Everybody confides in Mamy, opening up about his or her life, heartaches and deepest secrets. She even jokes about how she could write the wickedest of memoirs on earth if she set her mind to it. What she enjoys most is the direct contact with people from all kinds of horizons,

The good, the bad and the very ugly

but she also has to put up with some gruesome scenes. While the “dancing” occurs upstairs, she gets stuck with the “dirty” downstairs. Surprisingly, she explains that women are by far filthier than men and has countless examples to back it up. Like the story of a girl who once smudged blood all over the bathroom stall, or the one who urinated while standing in line, or even the one who vomited in the sink and got her head shoved in it by Mamy when she caught her doing it. Some folks are in such a hurry that they never make it downstairs therefore it’s not unusual to find puddles of urine behind the big black curtain at the back of the club’s main room and sometimes even faeces in champagne buckets. The wackiness doesn’t end here. Mamy almost witnessed a heavily pregnant woman giving birth in the ladies’ room, saw another one compulsively inserting and removing her tampon while sitting on the floor, or even ambitious ladies attempting to relieve themselves in urinals. Some scenes left her speechless, like opening a stall and fi nding two guys in the middle of a romp and candidly answering “we’re fucking” when asked what they were doing. Others had her in stitches, as in when a sharply dressed snob got vomited all over her suit by a young man who obviously had one too many. Some things on the other hand, are no joking matter to her. Viciously opposed to drugs, her biggest phobia is to fi nd someone who’s overdosed. So she makes sure it doesn’t happen on her watch by asphyxiating those who stay too long in a booth with air-freshener. Another trick is to apply a layer of pure bleach on the toilet flushes and seats. “Sometimes I’ll hear someone scream and I know it worked.” The hardest part is to remain cool when insulted. “Some guys can get really nasty. Some even try to physically assault me. That’s harsh.” Thankfully, she can rely on the regulars, who often hang out with her downstairs, but especially on Mike, whom she calls her “bodyguard”. He worked at some point for the club and he’s been coming every week for the past six years, keeping her company and making sure no one messes with Mamy. Not your average grandma

“Past a certain hour, the toilets of the Mirano are not like a zoo, they are a zoo.” In order to keep up with the chaotic atmosphere, Mamy usually needs a drink or two – whilst a good

JACQUELINE BY DAY, MAMY BY NIGHT

BELGIUM

sense of humour also helps. She casually jokes with everyone, especially when asked stupid questions. She’s heard thousands of excuses from clubbers reluctant to pay the toilet fee. Fed up with people presenting her with large bills, she once prepared a bag fi lled with 49,50 euros worth of five cents coins. Believe it or not, when a guy handed her a fifty that night, she left him with no choice but to go home with said bag. “Sometimes I wonder if we come from the same planet,” she ponders. “At night, people are not the same as they are during the day.” The same could easily be said of her. When we met her in broad daylight at a local tavern she goes to every day for a cup of coffee, she struck us as being the most normal looking sixty-yearold in the world. “On Saturdays I might seem a bit loony but during the rest of the week I am just a grandma.” She irons, cleans up her place, watches the Young and the Restless, spends time with her eleven grand children, walks her pet Chihuahua ( which she christened Dirty ) and basically leads the life of a retired lady. Yet as much as she might look her age, Jacqueline sure doesn’t sound like your average grandma. As a matter of fact, she admits she doesn’t have a single friend her age and despises regular old women. “People my age are retarded. When I see those grey haired oldies complaining about this and whinging about that, it drives my crazy. My grandchildren prefer going on holidays with me rather than with their parents. I think in a way, I stayed stuck somewhere in my twenties.”

Whether she sees 40 people or a 1000, her salary remains the same as she is paid by the hour. Around 5.30am she’ll bring her till up, count it and is gone by six. Sundays are her lazy days, especially since she never sleeps after a shift. One ritual she religiously repeats though is taking a bath in which she dilutes two caps of bleach as a symbolic gesture. The woman swears by bleach and simply can’t get enough of it! “Once my boss even jokingly asked me if I drank bleach… I use it for everything. It works like a charm.” Before each party Lorenzo introduces her to the guest DJs and performers so she knows who can go in for free. The artists are usually intrigued by her outgoingness and brutal honesty. “Unlike most lavatory attendants, she is not a piece of furniture that morphs into the background. She goes over to people, says hello, cracks jokes,” he explains. Amongst the many artists she’s met, her favourite is without a doubt Felix Da Housecat, with whom she shares a very intense bond. She is so fond of the house producer and DJ that she even once brought him home cooked meatballs, warning him that she wouldn’t allow him to begin his set unless he ate the whole dish. “When you think of how internationally famous and respected he is, no one would ever dare doing that. Yet she doesn’t care, and he loves her for it.” Some artists can’t get over her age and even go up to Lorenzo telling him that he’s crazy to employ someone that old. “One of them once asked me if I was not afraid she might have a stroke during a shift. I never really thought of it… But she’s a tough cookie.” And she sure is. Jacqueline never missed a shift in more than 25 years. “My husband passed away on a Friday, but I was working the following night. My mother passed away on a Friday too and I went to work the following night. I went there with a flu, with a cast on my arm, on my leg, a broken rib but I never missed a single Saturday,” she fi rmly states, which says a lot about her die hard personality. “I’m a thorough person. When I set my mind to something, I do it. If I like you I like you. If I don’t, I don’t.” Mamy plans on working for as long as she can. “Contrary to popular belief, I love my job. The day I have to drag myself to work, I’ll quit. It’s as simple as that.” With the Dirty Dancing parties now over, the whole crew left the Mirano to relocate to the K-Nal. Though they did make sure to bring Mamy along…

" One ritual she religiously repeats though is taking a bath in which she dilutes two caps of bleach as a symbolic gesture. "

A die hard personality, odd routines

Jacqueline arrives every Saturday around 10.30pm, sets everything up, has a drink and then goes down to her station, which she’ll never leave for the next seven hours.

THE ATOMIC ISSUE

THE DEBATE

Nano – the flip side, the down side ? The fi rst time I met George Paschalides we went for coffee, talked about politics in general – and Greece’s Green Party specifically – , and then got around to his personal activism. Not only was he quite often in Brussels and several other cities as an NGO member allocated by the European Environmental Board, or the European Consumers Association, partaking in roundtables and conferences on nanotechnology, but in his own municipality he was fighting as hard as he could - and for as long as anyone would listen. (One hour was my fi rst experience.) Nanotechnology may promise to be the next best thing since sliced bread, handing us wrinkle free clothes, streak-free window cleaners, medicines and procedures that work better but what do we really know about it? What if, thanks to its nano qualities, it also has the possibility to enter into our DNA helix and change it ? Paschalides, is on the board of governors of the Greek Green Party (Ecologist Greens) which fell short of being listed in the previous European Elections but proudly points to the fact that for the fi rst time in political history, his party achieved one seat in the European Parliament. He currently works for the Ministry of the Environment in Greece, is on the board of directors of an NGO dealing with product and packaging issues, as well as being a lecturer on nanotechnology to postgraduate medicine students. Nanotechnology, he says, is a kind of catchphrase for a growing range of activities and uses at the nano-level, although these can be focused more specifically on particles (such as carbon or silver), materials (engineered with nano structures, such as carbon nano tubes that make up carbon nanofibres), and products (from cosmetics to textiles). “Those involved claim that they will bring about improvements, providing new products and services, enabling increased and new human personal abilities, and generally reshaping societal relationships through innovation in many different sectors.” “Some future applications include better targeted medicines, more effi cient energy storage and lighting, better insulation materials or enhanced physical characteristics of natural resources, including products of dubious importance such as stain-free fabrics, lighter and stronger tennis rackets and selfcleaning windows,” says Paschalides.

However, all of these upbeat, ‘miraculous’ assessments of the benefits of nanotechnologies and materials are reminiscent of the promises made when nuclear energy and biotechnology were fi rst introduced. At the time, they were credited with the potential to solve global energy needs or abolish world hunger; Nanotechnology is too, in some circles. Similarly, many chemicals and substances were welcomed for their benefits before their negative impacts on human health and the environment were identified and understood, including DDT, asbestos and PCBs. In response, Paschalides and other civil society groups worldwide are calling for a precautionary approach to the use of nanotechnologies and materials since there is a wide gap in what is known - and what is not - about them in terms of environmental and human health impacts.

" All of these upbeat, ‘miraculous’ assessments of the benefits of nanotechnologies are reminiscent of the promises made when nuclear energy and biotechnology were first introduced. " “Safety tests performed so far on bulk materials are not extendable down to the ‘nano’ level enough to confi dently predict safety levels,” says the anti-nano crusader, citing an EU Scientific Committee opinion. Legal restrictions in the nanomaterial sector are still sketchy. An unfi nished and confl icting study, recognising a repeated failure of existing chemical regulatory frameworks to manage the risks on nanomaterials, underlines that existing regulations do not require manufacturers to treat nanomaterials as new chemicals, a position reaffi rmed by the European Commission in 2008. What NGOs such as Greenpeace, The Australian Greens, and other society groups

suggest is clearer defi nitions and labelling. Legislation should start dealing with nanos and their existence in any sector - whether these are chemicals or food. “Preventing known and potential exposures to nanomaterials that have not yet been proven safe according to established criteria should be the ultimate aim of effective management of nanomaterials,” says Paschalides. A detailed labelling of the lifecycle of nanos has also been requested by the UK Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. Full lifecycle, environmental, health, and safety impacts must be assessed prior to commercialisation they stress. Many more worried heads seem to be rearing; it’s not just the NGOs anymore. On her fi rst trip to Brussels, President Barack Obama’s newly appointed Commissioner to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Margaret A. Hamburg, recently described what concerns the US may have on this “emerging technology”. The scope of nanotechnology spans “across almost every product that the Food and Drug Administration in the US regulates; drugs, medical devices, cosmetics and - even I was surprised to learn - clothing and fabric creation,” as well as affecting many other products not in the FDA’s reach, she said. “But because it is emerging and relatively new we are still examining what are the best ways to study it and use it in products and the best ways to regulate it and to monitor for safety,” Hamburg said. It is still an area where the US needs to “determine what are the best oversight mechanisms and I would say it is an evolving area and one where the benefits and opportunities clearly are enormous but one where we want to reassure the public that the appropriate protection mechanisms are in place,” she stressed. If it was up to the NGOs it would not just be labeling and precaution. Products that were new would not enter the market, a pre market registration would be established and legal frameworks would be made, not just any frameworks, nano specific frameworks. Above all, research into the possible impacts of nanomaterials on the functioning of natural and human systems would be a priority in nano technology’s advancement. The future is undoubtedly bright; the potential for nanorobotics and technologies to challenge and elevate us to the next progressive stage is exciting, but fi rst, a clearer picture of the field’s many unknowns would be wise, if only to avoid any unexpected surprises in the future. At least, that’s what the flip side plays like. (AP)

NANO – THE FLIP SIDE, THE DOWN SIDE?

Standing fi rm : George Paschalides

LIFESTYLE

THE POCKET ISSUE

THE DREAM

Maison du Word — Slowly reaching that stage in our lives where we are now referred to as ‘first-time home buyers’, we thought it high time to dream up our ideal pad – on a miniature scale that is. Enlisting the expertise of architect Sophie Uhoda, we hand built a utopian communal living space loosely inspired by our current office-come-housecome-debauchery-den. Taking as starting point a children’s wooden model garage we bought in an antiques shop, we updated the former structure with modernist tones whilst at the same time keen to preserve the building’s original features. Architect and model-maker Sophie Uhoda Interior Designer Delphine Dupont & Sophie Uhoda Photography Operation Panda

The original façade, a sharp contrast to the gardenfacing one and its large windows. (See picture 03)

MAISON DU WORD

01.

LIFESTYLE

THE INFINITESIMAL ISSUE

THE DREAM

As always, the project began with high expectations : each resident was to have a specific role ( interior designer, farmer, administrator, etc…) and we even planned to create an advisory board which was meant to include the likes of Luc Schuiten and CO2logic ( to name but a few ). We were forced to slightly rethink our plans of inclusiveness though when the holiday migration hit us hard, although the brief remained the same. First and foremost, the project was meant as an exploratory study into urban community living, a sort of activist hippie community for 21st century living. This meant that we based the project on the typical semidetached “Maison de Maitre” prevalent in Brussels. We were also very keen to build a place which combined our private and professional lives, one which reflected the blurry lines which existed between our living and working spaces. This was extended to our communal public-private partnership : each couple was to be given a private quarter (complete with children’s room, parents’ room and bathroom) whilst all the kitchen, dining area, living room and garden were open to all. The key words were : open plan, modular, organic ( in terms of how the house blended into its environment ) and referential ( considering the heritage ). Similarly to the magazine, we wanted our house to be functional, operating along the lines of the “less is more” dictum. Needless to say we gave strong consideration to the project’s overall sustainability and environmental impact, although having fun and trying out something new was just as intrinsic. Getting down to specifics, we had a couple of imperatives. We all were keen on a common library, a large dining area able to seat us all, a greenhouse and botanical garden, a children’s playground, as much green space as possible and an indoor basketball court (the building’s original structure lent itself perfectly for this last request). Lots of space and an unrestricted flow of light were essential. After close to two and a half months, we fi nally opened the doors to our dreamed-up miniaturised den end of July… all we need now is to figure out how to downsize ourselves. (NL)

The original arcades.

02.

Previous pages 01.

Maison du Word in full view

These pages 02.

03. 04.

Aerial view of the basketball court-come-lounge, complete with wall-mounted library The garden-facing facade View of the interior from the main entrance

The indoor basketball court, a central feature in the renovation process.

MAISON DU WORD

LIFESTYLE

Terraces help to maximise the indoor living space.

Stairs which double up as a library. Central to the project was the optimisation of each zone as a living space. 03.

04.

Check The Word Blog for before and after photographs of Maison du Word. www.thewordmagazine.be

THE ITSY-BITSY ISSUE

THE WAY

To the power of one — We have somewhat of an obsessive fascination for characters who pursue their passion and core beliefs at all costs. Indeed, some of the country’s finest retail, cultural and food outfits stem from these one man bands’ steadfast vision and indefatigable energy. We therefore thought it high-time to give centre stage to these sole players and their emporiums. Photography Sarah Eechaut Writer Nicholas Lewis Alice Gallery

Opened by Alice van den Abeele and Raphaël Cruyt in December 2004, Alice Gallery is a cultural hotspot which encompasses a shop, a gallery and a project room. Located at the end of Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat, Alice’s boutique has, as she puts it, “fi ve big shelves fi lled with what we like.” A natural extension of her own passions and tastes, the boutique peddles everything from art books, t-shirts, Vejà sneakers, sunglasses and screen prints. The neighbourhood cultural powerhouse is especially reputed for the art shows it puts on – Maya Hayuk being the most recent one. Attracting everyone from skateboarders looking for a book on board design and the Spanish out-of-towner on the lookout for an original print by a local artist to the architect who needs to buy a present for a friend’s birthday, Alice has, in the space of five years, become a name to be reckoned with on the cultural trail.

¤ One other shop you admire and why ? Icon, a fashion boutique on Rue A. Dansaertstraat. Michèle, the owner, will not let you buy what you want if she thinks it does not fit. What future plans do you have for the shop ? We just changed the set up of the shop to have a project room in addition to the gallery. We will hold exhibitions every two months in this new space. We’ll start the season with local artist NEB from Brussels. We’ll also have a show by LA based artist Cleon Peterson in the main gallery. Your motto ? Look straight ahead and keep on going. Rue Antoine Dansaertstraat 182 1000 Brussels

www.alicebxl.com

TO THE POWER OF ONE

Septante Sept

Owner Pierre Marino-Smette opened Septante Sept, his limited edition design store, in October 2006. Huddled in the heart of Brussels’ Chatelain area, the shop stocks an incredible array of items –approximately 150 designers can be found in the intimate yet packed store. The perfect spot to fi nd a last minute gift or discover emerging local talent, Pierre loves, as he puts it, “to make people discover new things; things I like. I started with music as a DJ and party promoter; now it's my love for objects, fashion and art that I want to share.” Mostly catering to thirty-something European ‘Bourgeois Bohemes’, Septante Sept is defi nitely the place to hit if you’re keen to get a sense of the pulsating local flavor.

LIFESTYLE

L’épicerie Fine de la Senne

¤ One other shop you admire and why ? Jewelry designer Marie Le Lorrain’s boutique on Rue Berkendael 175 Berkendaalstraat, 1050 Brussels. What future plans do you have for the shop ? In September, the shop will be part of ‘Design September’ with an exhibition dedicated to young Belgian designers working with light.

Valérie and Christian opened their savoury deli and gourmet kitchenette in August 2004. Nestled in the pedestrian street linking Boulevard Anspachlaan to Rue du Marché au Charbon/Kolenmarkt, their eatery attracts the area’s locals, employees on their lunch break, the neighbourhood’s gay community as well as tourists. Famed for its wide selection of fresh vegetables and anti pasti, L’épicerie also plays host to the odd exhibition or two (Valérie’s doing) whilst always playing a pleasant selection of tunes, courtesy of Christian. Aptly named after the 19th century river flowing underneath it, L’épicerie is without a doubt the team’s favoured downtown lunchtime den. ¤ One other shop you admire and why ? Prive Joke (men and womens fashion boutique), Look 50, Fox Hole (vintage clothes) and Septante Sept.

Your motto ? Always try to surprise myself and therefore surprise my customers.

Your motto ? Diversity, friendship and a good glass of wine.

Rue du Page 77 Edelknaapstraat 1050 Brussels

Rue du bon Secours 4 Bijstandstraat 1000 Brussels

www.septantesept.be

www.epiceriefi nedelasenne.be

THE TEENY-WEENY ISSUE

THE WAY

Delecta

The Delecta fi rst opened its doors in 2001, although current owner Coralie Rutten – dubbed “La Biche” – took the place over in 2007. A bar-come-eatery which doubles as the “place to be” every Thursday night, what was formerly a grocery store has managed to build quite a following since : a two minute walk from the up-and-coming Flagey area, the bar attracts neighbourhood regulars as well as the city’s writers, musicians, graphic designers, actors and the likes. “I need people to feel at ease at the Delecta. It’s an intimate place, where lots of things happen – meetings, creations, exchanges,” says the joyful host. With a wide selection of dishes winning the hearts and minds of her clientele – the mix platter of meats, cheeses and grilled vegetables served with toasts being the most in demand – we’ve made the Delecta our home away from home for some time now.

¤ What future plans do you have for the shop ? Improve the place in general, and continue with our acoustic concerts and DJ nights on Thursday evening. One other shop you admire and why ? I like places with a soul. I admire the Archiduc and Sibémol for their persistence after all these years. Your motto ? I operate through intuition. I sometimes look up to my ceiling and ask for some assistance. Rue Lannoy 2 Lannoystraat 1050 Brussels

TO THE POWER OF ONE

Choosy Juice Bar

One-time Word contributor Laura Vannerom started juicing it in October 2006. Housed in an intimate, pink-lined shop off Rue du Midi/ Zuidstraat, the idea to open up came, well, quite naturally to Laura: “I had worked in bars and restaurants and also some offi ce jobs but neither made me happy, so it was kind of natural to think about starting my own business. I decided on a juice bar in May 2006 and six months later it was up and running.” Essentially a meeting point for local fruit fiends, Choosy has more than 45 juice mixes on its menu and also offers a simple food menu - a soup and salad of the day, a couple of sandwiches and some desserts. Its specialty though: the brightly coloured Choup juice, a heady mix of apple, beetroot, ginger, orange and pineapple.

LIFESTYLE

Plaizier

¤ One other shop you admire and why ? Restaurant Le Vismet, for its consistency and quality. What future plans do you have for the shop ? I would like to develop the events part. For starters Choosy will be catering at PassiveHouse 2009 (Tour&Taxis). I’d also like to do something with the space above the shop on the first floor, perhaps have workshops or more seating for groups, or even rent it out for meetings and parties. Your motto ? Be Choosy, be healthy, be delicious and Carpe Diem.

Plaizier, open since the summer of 1977, is the brainchild of Wijnand and Mieke PlaizierVermeiren. A tiny five by 10m shop, the multifaceted store started off as a gallery, going on to publish its own series of postcards as well as working closely with artists on publishing books and catalogues. The closest the city of Brussels has to a visual archive, Plaizier has over the years built up an impressive collection of postcards, posters and small-print books with a special emphasis on the capital city. Catering to everyone from Brussels buffs, to Japanese, Chinese and European tourists, Plaizier is a personal affair and an extension of Mieke’s interest : “We continue to follow our own subjective choices and after years we now have people who like the same things (as us).” A pleasure indeed… ¤ What future plans do you have for the shop ? O.W. Link exhibition in Congres station (until 4th September 2009) and we hope to continue publishing cards, prints and calendars.

Rue des Pierres 40 Steenstraat 1000 Brussels

Rue des Eperonniers 50 Spoormakersstraat 1000 Brussels

www.bechoosy.be

www.plaizier.be

THE SCANTY ISSUE

Peinture Fraîche

Peinture Fraiche, an art bookstore in Brussels’ Chatelain district, opened its doors in February 1989. Founded by Benoît Waterkeyn and Dominique Michaux, this high-art treasure-trove stocks everything from limited-edition fi ne art photography books and obscure Japanese graphic design publications to Korean architecture magazines and one-off publishing marvels. A meeting point for the city’s creative folk, the store attracts, as its owners tell us, “all types of passionate people, of all ages.” We strongly recommend the bookstore for anyone looking to be inspired. ¤ One other shop you admire and why ? Plaizier, for its uniqueness and the pleasure its window display always brings us. What future plans do you have for the shop ? To remain a small bookshop and to continue doing our job as best as we can. Your motto ? One amongst many: living without beauty, is like living without light. Rue du Tabellion 10 Notarisstraat 1050 Brussels

THE WAY

Veals & Geeks

Opened in April 2008, Veals & Geeks has quickly cemented a reputation for retail curatorial excellence – shaped, nearly entirely, through owner Stan’s longstanding personal passions. An avid crate-digger and vintage video game aficionado, he has stocked the boutique-come-gallery with everything from records and DVDs to magazines, books and vintage video games. Attracting a nerdy bunch of shoppers – “We have die hard music fans, lost travelers, record geeks and magazine freaks from all over the world visiting the store,” Stan says –, this is one store you’re sure to come out of a little less ignorant, such is the prevalent expertise flowing through the air. A refreshing addition to downtown shopping…

¤ One other shop you admire and why ? Catherine, the cheese shop on Rue du Midi 23 Zuidstraat, I appreciate the seasonal products and the old fashioned atmosphere. What future plans do you have for the shop ? We're currently adding more furniture to expand the record section and we have a showcase coming up for Hank Harry's new album in September. Your motto ? Hey Ho, Let’s Go. Rue des Grands Carmes 8a Lievevrouwbroersstraat 1000 Brussels

www.vealsandgeeks.com

www.veuve-clicquot.com Notre savoir-faire se dĂŠguste avec sagesse - Ons vakmanschap drink je met verstand

THE MEAGER ISSUE

THE WORD ON

My little doggy — Before the rise of celebrity Chihuahuas and superstar Pugs made walking your dog just another fashion fad to follow, Belgian grannies were reputed for keeping a very special place in their hearts for their often particularly tiny tail-waggers. Here, we meet Maria, Isabelle and Yolande to find out why their four-legged flea bags get the sofa treatment. Photography Sarah Eechaut

Maria Duitshouwer is 88 and lives in Brussels. She got her dog – a York called Pruts – after her husband lost 15kgs following the death of their previous dog. It too was called Pruts.

MY LITTLE DOGGY

LIFESTYLE

Yolande Steurbaut is 69 years old and lives in Ghent. She has always been surrounded by dogs and apparently cannot live without one. Her dog – a Shih Tzu named Benjy – keeps her company.

Isabelle Neirynck is 85 and lives in Ledegem. She got her dog – a West Highland white terrier called Blaffie – after being burgled. He is now the house’s watchdog – seriously.

THE LONESOME ISSUE

THE OTHER WORD ON

Me, my toys and everyone I know… — Passions and hobbies, however expensive they become, always keep the child in all of us alive and kicking. In the following series on collectors, we meet those who have a soft spot for the small – from miniature Delft china and Marklin trains to downsized excavators. Photography Sarah Eechaut

Willy Van Delsen from Herzele collects it all – from the rarest to the kitschiest. His house is as packed as Ali Baba’s cavern with everything from vases, lace and Delft colour-coordinated into separate rooms.

ME, MY TOYS AND EVERYONE I KNOW…

D. Gids collects Marklin trains. Meticulous in his approach, his collection is minutely archived in a floor-to-ceiling cabinet.

Tom ‘Kraan’ Maervoet’s father used to work as an excavator operator. Little did he know that by giving his son a miniature crane for his 7th birthday he would kick start a fascination with the excavating beasts. All his are on a scale of 1:50.

LIFESTYLE

THE INSIGNIFICANT ISSUE

THE SHOWSTOPPERS

Miniaturised marvels — We’re aiming for a clean slate this time around. Be it our Vodka followed by an espresso, some clothing accompanied by a bib or some soap, we’re not about to be caught out by some unexpected accident, however small it may be. Photography Operation Panda Writer Nicholas Lewis

01. Barking mad Even the meanest of brutes will be forced to crack a smile when he lays eyes on Labrador’s canny set of illustrated T’s. Created by Antwerp-based designer and art director Ilse Pierard, we were instantly drawn to her illustrations’ simplicity laced with witty references. With the 2009 collection including, amongst others, a pink paint brushwielding eagle, the undertones of understated humour hit just the right chord with the office’s comic cognoscenti. Printed on 100 percent Organic Cotton American Apparel t-shirts, we chose the backdoor ice cream polar bear as our motif. Nothing but joy… From € 25 to € 40

www.labradortshirts.be

MINIATURISED MARVELS

LIFESTYLE

02. Take away They might seem slightly on the frivolous side upon fi rst inspection, but a closer look - and a tryout - will reveal sheer good sense and a serious dose of ingenuity. An elongated, strap-on bib which morphs into a tablecloth, Bavetton is described as an ‘accessory for contemporary kids’. Given the plethora of different motifs and colour patterns it comes in, you tend to imagine this tablebib on the same type of toddler to sport Baby Dior overalls, drinking from a Philippe Starck baby bottle. Created by trained-architect-turned-product-designer Lara Boudron, Bavetton is unexpectedly functional and agreeably liberating judging by the hit it was with the office’s recently delivered arrival, Sienna. We got her two. BAVETTON, € 39,50 Available amongst others at Espace Bizarre Rue des Chartreux 19 Karthuizersstraat 1000 Brussels

www.labaronnepython.com

03. Have a little spirit We already had somewhat of a penchant for their different-fl avoured vodkas – Ruby Red being our poison of choice at the moment – but this here is outright positive provocation if you ask us. Neatly packed into a set of five, we found Absolut’s spirited mini-mart to be the perfect (regulating) partner in our quest to minimise our summer alcohol intake to 50ml a pop. We forgot to limit the amount of pops per night though. Oh well, next year. ABSOLUT Five Available from all good supermarkets

04. For play Fed up with over-the-top luxury lines or bottom-of-the-line ill-suited collections for your little one ? Cotton & Milk’s understated kids’ wear collection is probably just what you’re after. The side-project of freelance knitwear designer Justine Glanfield, the newly-launched label includes cotton sleeveless v-neck jumpers, strap-on long skirts and exquisite high-topped socks. Imbued with 21st century New England references, the label distinguishes itself through its sturdy knitwear and maritime influences – most sweaters come with everso-cute shoulder buttons. www.cottonandmilk.com

THE LIMITED ISSUE

THE SHOWSTOPPERS

05. Pressto! Cleverly packed into a neat leather-lined carry pouch and graced with a functional Italian design edge befitting the best of espresso bars, Handpresso’s Outdoor set will have any design buff scrambling for the presser. Including a downsized espresso machine, a thermos-fl ask, four unbreakable espresso cups and even two napkins, the brew bag has it all worked out. You’d be forgiven for expecting a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ window such is the sense of purpose to this on-the-go barista. HANDPRESSO Outdoor Set From € 169 Available from Natural Caffé Avenue Louise 196a Louizalaan 1050 Brussels

www.handpresso.com

06. Scented scrub The ‘LustAball’, created by Ghent-based contemporary artist Karien Vandekerkhove, are soaps made of 100 percent extra virgin olive oil and infused with a wide selection of different essential oils – from French lavender and Belgian Callebaut chocolate to Egyptian geranium and Spanish rosemary. Handmade in Belgium and a follow-up to her ‘Adoraballs’ collection, the 118gr rounded rinse reminded us how much more we preferred soap bars to shower gels when given the choice. For our own guest restroom, we picked the Thai Lemongrass scented scrub… LustAball From € 5,70

www.karienvandekerkhove.com/soap

THE WORD & CACHEMIRE COTON ET SOIE

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contagious and creative sensation

crash course in seduction

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C/C/&/S

cachemirecotonetsoie.com Rue Franz Merjay 53 Franz Merjaystraat 1050 Brussels 02 647 09 88 Opening Hours From Monday to Saturday / 11h00 to 18h30

THE MINIMAL ISSUE

THE TEASE

Iddlies (rice pancackes) delivered for

Because they do! ( Mangalore )

breakfast every morning ( Mangalore )

Ready for takeoff ( London Heathrow )

And they mean it! ( Mangalore )

India on a Leica Early June, my girlfriend and I set off for 20 days in India. We both needed a change of scenery, and the south of India seemed like the right place to do so. We began by a week of ‘do-nothing’ in Mangalore – and the family townships of Kallianpur and Bramavar – visiting relatives, dodging the monsoons, feasting on fi sh curries and reading everything from 032C’s summer issue to James Frey’s Bright Shiny Morning. We then moved up to Bangalore for some memorable karaoke Bollywood-style and drink parking lot ‘mixed chai’ with two good friends – having such of a good time we changed our fl ight back to Mangalore twice. After a couple of days back in Mangalore, we fi nished the trip off with four days in Mumbai. You might say we did things backwards given the intensity that is the capital city, although we prefer to be of the opinion of ending the trip on a high… Photography Nicholas Lewis & Mélisande McBurnie Using Leica’s new D-Lux 4 digital camera

Bandit Queen in-the making (Bangalore)

Drive-through ‘mixed chai’ ( Bangalore )

INDIA ON A LEICA

LIFESTYLE

A billion magazines for a billion people ( Crawford market, Mumbai )

Straight out of a movie scene ( Mumbai )

A colourful selection of pan – chewing tobacco mixed with fresh betel nuts,

Municipal water fountains. Drink at your own risk ( Mumbai )

catechu, cardamom and lime ( Mumbai )

Say ‘Paneer’ ( Mumbai )

Leica D-Lux 4, from € 699 India’s answer to Tony Soprano ( Mumbai )

www.leica-camera.be

THE MINOR ISSUE

THE FASHION WORD

— Lunchroom meetings are being held, briefcases exchanged and documents thrown to the shredder. Judging by our bankers’ suspicious behaviors and hush-hush demeanors, something big is about to go down, requiring their undivided attention. Photography Vincent Fournier Styling & Production Eleonore Vanden Eynde

Left: Shirt Iceberg, Tie Paul Smith from Balthazar, Cardigan Closed Right: Shirt Iceberg, Tie Paul Smith from Balthazar, Jacket Essentiel Vintage Phone from Ping Pong

Left : Vest Chauncey, Trousers Giorgio Armani, Shirt COS, Shoes Hermès, Vintage Bow Tie Right : Vest Hermès, Trousers Agnès B, Shirt COS, Shoes J.M. Weston, Vintage Bow Tie, Briefcase Delvaux

Suit, Tie and Shoes Ermenegildo Zegna, Waistcoat Ralph Lauren, Shirt Essentiel

Suit Lacoste, Shirt Comme des Garรงons

Left : Suit Paul Smith from Balthazar, Shirt Calvin Klein, Tie Yves Saint Laurent, Shoes J.M. Weston Middle : Suit Agnès B, Shirt Gucci, Shoes Hermès, Vintage Bow Tie Right : Suit COS, Shirt Lagerfeld, Shoes J.M. Weston, Vintage Bow Tie

Suit Hermès, Waistcoat Agnès B, Shirt Hugo Boss, Tie Givenchy from Francis Ferent, Shoes Paul Smith, Cuff Links Givenchy, Vintage Light from Ping Pong

Left : Suit Essentiel, Shirt H&M Trends Collection, Shoes J.M. Weston, Belt Louis Vuitton, Vintage Bow Tie Middle : Suit Essentiel, Shirt Degand, Tie Tommy Hilfiger, Belt Delvaux, Cuff Links Louis Vuitton, Shoes Giorgio Armani Right : Suit Essentiel, Shirt Lagerfeld, Shoes J.M. Weston, Belt Louis Vuitton, Vintage Bow Tie

Suit Ermenegildo Zegna, Shirt Paul Smith from Balthazar, Tie Degand, Briefcase Delvaux,

Belt Hermes, Shoes Paul Smith from Balthazar, Hat Maison Michel

Left : Suit and Shoes Giorgio Armani, Vest Degand, Shirt Filippa K, Watch Longines

Photographer Vincent Fournier www.carolelambert.com Assistant photographer Delphine Gilson Production and styling Eleonore Vanden Eynde Hair and Makeup Bérangère Dosière & Sofi e Van Bouwel at Touch for Chanel Model Jesse Clarysse at dominiquemodels Retouched by Bee Factory www.beefactory.be With special thanks to Sara Lammens at Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België www.kbr.be Ping Pong Vintage Design Shop Rue St Georges 75 Sint Georgesstraat 1050 Brussels

Right : Raincoat Burberry, Shirt Hacket, Shoes Hermès, Trousers Giorgio Armani, Tie Alain Figaret

YOU SPEND SO MUCH TIME TRYING TO GET IT RIGHT DON'T ASK THE REASON WHY

DESIGN IT'S A PART OF LIFE

OUR LOVE CAN BE DIFFICULT AT TIMES BUT IT WAS BY DESIGN OUR LOVE WAS DIFFICULT AT TIMES BUT IT WAS BY DESIGN (DIFFICULT BY DESIGN, KYLIE MINOGUE)

SPECIAL

THE DESIGN SPECIAL

As regular readers of The Word will be aware, if there’s something out there waiting to be collected - be it art or airline memorabilia there’s never a Belgian far behind. And so it was that we bumped into Victor Hunt as we admired Maarten de Ceulaer’s green suitcase cupboard at the stand of Milan’s Nilufar gallery. Victor Hunt is both a ‘he’ and an ’it’. Still in his early twenties, Hunt the man ( real name Alexis Ryngaert ) is an avid collector while still young enough to be of a generation with those whose work he buys, ( he was hanging out near Maarten de Ceulaer because the pair were driving back to Brussels together, along with that other young gun of the Brussels scene Raphael Charles ). As an ‘it’ Victor Hunt is a brand name that will come attached to Brussels’ fi rst dedicated contemporary design gallery and project space; a disused garage on Rue Leon Lepage set to open in November. The Victor Hunt enterprise is comfortable on Design Art territory. “For me, design art is the conceptual reinvention of objects which questions functions, techniques and looks,” he explains, contentedly disclosing his fondness for the kind of conceptual work associated with the Eindhoven school and its ex alumni. In this world, the notion of design

can hover just a whisker away from performance – works made in situ in full public gaze, or demanding interaction. Design Miami / Basel is a good indicator of what Victor Hunt is up against ; of 28 galleries showing at the fair, three were from Brussels. This is no bad thing. They all have their own specialist areas – modernists, post war furniture, glass and ceramics – but their presence confi rms the city’s reputation with collectors. Hunt knows what serious buyers want, because he’s had to fight them for works, and he feels that his strongest suit at the moment is his combination of taste and a refusal to bullshit. “I can talk very frankly to designers – they are not intimidated because of my age – they just say what they think,” he explains, intimating that if work is not to his taste, he wastes no time in mentioning it up front. The Hunt design stable is impressive – including current Word-stars Sylvain Willenz and Raw Edges – now he needs to track down those wily collectors. (HJ)

THE DESIGN PAPERS

The hunting set The Art Basel fair seemed to contain all the spending money left in the world. There were expensive tans, big white teeth and plenty of girls for whom further education meant learning how to walk in heels the height of a milking stool. There was art of course, and artists, and dealers and collectors, and bars full of journalists ; everyone knew their place. Apart, it seems, from the little upstart Design Miami / Basel pavilion tucked away at the back, which besides a loose smattering of vintage works and prototypes, was largely dedicated to the sale and promotion of Design Art. Despite having been a fair fi xture for four years now, much of both the design and art worlds still seem unclear as to what exactly Design Art is; certainly the higher end of the art press seems to regard it with a slightly curled lip, if at all. Whether art made by designers, design made by artists, people (Brad Pitt among them) were buying. Without waiting for the pedants to catch up, this young genre had already defi ned itself by its own market of collectors.

During Design September Victor Hunt will present Surveillance Patrol by Humans Since 1982 at various locations. www.victor-hunt.com

THE MINUTE ISSUE

THE PROCESSES

Love what you do when you’re doing it — We asked three of our favourite design studios to talk us through the process behind their recent projects, and to tell us about what excites them when they do the things they do. Writer Hettie Judah

01.

The learning process: BarberOsgerby – Lanterne Marine (Venini)

Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby fi rst worked with Venini in 2002 when the duo commissioned the Murano glassworks to create bespoke door handles for Stella McCartney’s store in New York. They have since collaborated with the fi rm on the creation of the Cupola table, a monumental work in blown glass produced for the Meta collection. Four years ago Roberto Gasparotto, Venini’s artistic director, invited BarberOsgerby to develop a project of their own with the company. Earlier this year they presented the fi rst prototypes of the resulting Lanternes Marine, a series of awe-inspiring vases. “We were fascinated by the process,” explains Jay. “Learning to work with glass is like doing another degree. With wood or plastic and other materials, you can quite quickly understand the constraints.” Glass, by contrast, is worked as a liquid, and as Edward points out, it doesn’t become solid until the job is finished. “It’s very difficult to manage – you can’t control its shape, its size, even its colour.” What thrilled the pair was not only the challenge of working this strange, temperamental material, but the arcane atmosphere that informed every part of their experience with Venini, from the ferry boats that took them to the island, to the mystery surrounding the chemical formulae of the glass. “Glass companies have their own colours,” explains Edward. “They’re a closely guarded secret. Apparently only one guy at Venini guards the formulas, and his father kept the

02.

LOVE WHAT YOU DO, WHEN YOU'RE DOING IT

THE DESIGN SPECIAL

03.

secret before him.” Coloured glass is created with almost alchemical mystery. Sand from France is mixed with white and grey chemical powders; but only once the glass is melted do the colours emerge. Even then the colours vary according to humidity and atmospheric pressure. “If it’s hot they tend to be more vibrant – if it’s a lousy day they are more muted,” Edward explains. The designs of the Lanterne Marine themselves are based on the lamps and buoys the British designers passed in the lagoon on the boat trip over to Murano ; coloured glass pods with a torch-shapes vase section that rises out of a metal cage. The different colours of the glass are layered across one another, and on some pieces an extra level of reflection is created with a double radius. But as decorative works, they are very restrained by Murano standards. The original marine lanterns inspired a contrast between the hand-made craftsmanship of the Murano glassblowers and the laser cut anodised metal components that form the cage. Jay explains that they aimed for the illusion of something standardised and geometrically controlled from the glass blowing process ; “it’s almost more difficult for these guys to get that,” adds Edward, explaining that the production and development of the vases has already taken years. The moulds for all Venini pieces are carved from pearwood, and stored in tanks of water in the workshop. Jay explains that once the blow stick and glass are put into the mould the water in the wood generates a huge quantity of steam : the glass effectively floats on a bed of vapour within the mould while it

04.

is being blown which in turn escapes through holes drilled through the wood. The biggest leap of faith for the duo has actually been in committing to their designs. “Glass is all about subtlety,” explains Edward. “You can sketch and do mock-ups, but it just looks rubbish. The only way to know how something will turn out is to commit to a mould. You have to do the whole thing once you’ve committed

to moulds because that takes a fair amount of money and time. When you haven’t done it before it’s very hard to be intuitive about it.” It is that very self-doubt and unpredictability that excites BarberOsgerby most about working in glass. “That fear is something that helps the design process,” explains Jay. “If you don’t have that fear and the timetable set by the glass workshop, you can keep redesigning endlessly.”

THE MODEST ISSUE

THE PROCESSES

05.

The technical process: Front – Moment collection (Moroso)

Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken, Anna Lindgren and Katja Sävström have often produced works focused more on the story of the process than the end-products themselves. Most notably their Design by Animals series, that features a wallpaper pattern ‘designed’ by gnawing rats, a vase shaped from a dog’s leg hole in deep snow and a tabletop decorated by the paths of wood-eating insects. This year they presented a series of collections linked by their abiding interest in surface and illusion, including the Blow Up Vase for Moooi, for which they created a digital Delft vase, ‘shot’ it in a computer game, then manufactured the distorted result. The Moment collection for Moroso is a series of sofas, rugs and tables that likewise capture a split second event. “They’re all based on one particular moment in time,” explains Charlotte. “We wanted to enhance the qualities that come when you take a photograph of something ; the tables have a light flare on the surface, the carpet is printed to make the perspective look a bit false, and you see the light from the window on the surface.” The sofas are both caught in a haphazard state of disarray ; one with awkwardly stacked cushions, the other draped under a hastily thrown piece of cloth. The photographs are digitally printed onto the upholstery or surface of the objects ; “when you look at the things you see something that is at once two dimensional and three dimensional ; two dimensional photographs of three dimensional objects that have been turned back into different three dimensional objects.” In working out the original photos for the series, the quartet tried to keep the photographic perspective logical ; thus from one position in front of the objects, the pieces look ‘right’ ; correct in perspective, and in light and shade. “It’s a surprise when you start to move beyond that point and see, for example, the

06.

07.

carpet from the other side ; the distortion of the perspective becomes very weird.” While Front’s processes in the past have been led by advances in technology, for the Movement series the powerful, wigged-out results are largely due to old-fashioned craftsmanship and attention to detail. For the sofas they fi rst created the print by photographing miniature sofas mocked up in their studio from wood and cushions. The manufacturing process took the reverse direction from the norm ; rather than cutting cloth to fit the design, they fi rst had to make the cover to fit the photograph, and then create a sofa to fit the cover. Front decided to use a short-pile velvet fabric by Kvadrat which allowed the digital print to sink deep into the fabric. Producers Moroso are particularly celebrated for their skills in upholstery, so Front went to the company’s workshops in Udine to work out the technical details.

“They have this really skilled model workshop where they cut out the prototypes by hand,” explains Charlotte. “Patrizia ( Moroso ) has a great talent for working with process and we knew that by developing it together with the company we’d come up with something good. They have so many years of knowledge.”

Previous pages 01. The Lanterne Marine on the drawing board 02. The mould for the vases 03. Turning the glass 04. The fi nished vases This page 05. The Moment collection thought up 06. Draping the sofa 07. Sketched together Opposite page 08. The Labobrain 09. No desks mean writing on the wall

THE DESIGN SPECIAL

LOVE WHAT YOU DO, WHEN YOU'RE DOING IT

08.

The thought process : Mathieu Lehanneur – Labobrain (private commission)

Technical process interests Mathieu Lehanneur less than conceptual process ; although he has recently produced both blown glass works and tufted rugs for the limited edition market, he regards manufacturing as a means to an end, rather than an area to be explored for its inspirational appeal. The processes that fascinate him are scientific, and specifically biological; the natural symbiosis that can exist between fish and salad plants, or the power of plants to filter air in our living spaces. Last year the Harvard Professor David Edwards, who has worked with Mathieu in developing industrial applications for such biological phenomena, approached the designer to create his Paris office. “He asked me to provide certain key elements,” explains Mathieu. “He had to be able to draw on the walls, he didn’t want a desk, and although he had a lots of books and archive material he didn’t want to see them, because they stopped him working and thinking.” Mathieu decided to model the office along the lines of the human brain, creating two interconnected hemispheres, one ‘Cartesian’, dedicated to order, memory and logic, the other to imagination, creativity and emotion. “I have long been interested in the work of the Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfi eld,” Mathieu explains. “He started mapping the human brain and the way it related to the body back in the 1950s.” The rational ( left ) hemisphere of the office was very white “ like a virgin memory, the memory of a newborn,” says Mathieu. It provided a space for the professor’s assistants to carry out administrative work, and caches hundreds of white archive boxes as discreet storage for all the paperwork. For the creative ( right ) hemisphere, Mathieu created a space he describes as “almost like a prehistoric grotto for a modern mathematician”. Watching the professor at

09.

work helped Mathieu create an appropriate working environment for his client. “I went to a meeting between three scientists who were talking about their inventions, and they were all drawing calculations and equations at the same time.” He gave the ‘grotto’ a whiteboard fi nish so that it could constantly be drawn on and wiped down. The cave also has a conscious sonic dimension, rather like a bubble of sound containing a conversation ; “you have the sensation of something very intimate – the sound is very targeted.” Mathieu worked with an acoustician to create the effect of being inside a very precise, but invisible sound field. In a sly dig at that most cerebral of architect/designers, he created a furnishing element called “Bucky’s Nightmare” – a leather version of Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome. “Buckminster Fuller is the personality that links designers, engineers and scientists – this was the meeting point between me and the scientist,” explains Mathieu. Stitched in soft leather, the dome collapses on contact with the human body, allowing the professor to use it as a chair, sofa or even a bed. In the ground beneath it, Mathieu planted a subterranean moss garden that humidifies the space, and permits the fantasy that one is having a siesta in a garden rather than a nap

in the office. For Mathieu, the vegetation also acts as a reality check ; “even in a world where science and technology play a great part, nature is still there, just underfoot ; it’s there to help them recall where they came from.” Works by Front can be seen as part of Visual Voltage at Design Vlaanderen. 11th September to 25th October. Rue de la Chancellerie 19 Kanselarijstraat, Brussels 1000. Andrea, domestic objects that use plants to filter air, designed by Mathieu Lehanneur together with Professor David Edwards, can be seen at Designed in Brussels. 18 th September to 1st October. Rue de Laeken 99 Lakensestraat, Brussels 1000. All three design studios are presenting a conference at the Flagey auditorium during Design September. Mathieu Lehanneur on 18 th September, BarberOsgerby on 24th September and Front Design on 25th September.

www.barberosgerby.com www.frontdesign.com www.mathieulehanneur.com

THE NARROW ISSUE

THE PROGRESSION

Arik Levy in his Paris studio

This is Where We Are — Challenges and questions don’t go away as a design studio becomes more established, they just shift emphasis. We asked three very different designers how things look from where they are right now. Writer Hettie Judah

Arik Levy’s projects this year have included Osmosis; a rather subversive offering for the Swarovski Crystal Palace in Milan, and the design of the A Scent bottle for Issey Miyake. In Paris, Levy works with a 20-strong team at the multi-disciplinary studio L Design that he founded with Pippo Lioni in 1997 ¤ Could you describe the position that you fi nd yourself at in your career right now ? A career is something in constant evolution; we don’t really know what is going to come. This is a positive moment, since I feel that all the different work I’ve done in the past 15 years in all the different fields are now converging in a good way; art, design, experimentation, industrial design, furniture. It’s like fishing; you cast out these great nets, and at a certain point there’s one single string you pull on to collect the whole net and gather everything together. But I also feel my career hasn’t started at all – I feel as though I’m in the pre-preparation stage. I’m in pre-labour. What’s been the most exciting thing that’s happened this year ? Because of the different fields I work in, there are constantly different things happening, so it’s difficult to say one is more exciting than another on a work level. On a personal level, the most exciting thing is that the industry shows signs of motivation and revival through this depressing crisis situation – the industry is alive even if the virtual money is not there. There was a moment this year when the owner of IKEA became the second richest person on earth. It was exciting, because what we do is real, not virtual; for years we have looked at Bill Gates, and it’s been pounded into our heads that software will save the world. Then in the end a guy with a nail and a piece of wood becomes the richest guy in the world. Beyond that I have lots of launches and projects – most recently the new perfume bottle for Issey Miyake for which I did the whole concept – it’s out in September. What are you fi nding diffi cult ? I’m a positivist, so I don’t think in terms of things being difficult, I think about

THIS IS WHERE WE ARE

THE DESIGN SPECIAL

complexity. People are complex; everything is complex; whether it’s emotional, physical, financial or industrial. I look at how challenging it is to find a solution and not to compromise, and therefore I see no difficulties.

look modern. We don’t control the world; the world controls us. The more flexible we are, the more we can go with the flow and follow the energy. The short answer is –I don’t plan.

What is on your mind for the future ? The crisis is the best thing that has happened to our profession and our kids – what concerns me for the future is oxygen and water; much less plastic chairs. There are some projects that are diverting towards industrial science and environmental science – even if I make one piece of packaging one mm smaller, it doesn’t seem very much, but when you multiply it by millions, then I feel that I have done something. What’s on my mind for the future is how to increase my awareness and personal criticism of everything I do.

" The crisis is the best thing that has happened to our profession and our kids – what concerns me for the future is oxygen and water ; much less plastic chairs. " What have you learned recently ? French. I came for two years, and that was 17 years ago. I didn’t choose Paris, Paris chose me ! I think I’ve been trying to learn French for 17 years, but I have the impression I’ve only learnt it now. There’s a moment when it makes sense and when you talk to people and they stop frowning at you. Acquiring a language as a new tool is fantastic. For every project I do I think in the language of the environment I’m in – Italian, French or Hebrew – it’s quite a minestrone out there in my head ! How far ahead do you plan things ? Where I can, I plan case by case. Every project has its own speed, some take five years, some take five minutes. What I do plan ahead for are things that are to do with other people – we all have the same sort of time, even if we’re in different time zones. So I know I booked my hotel room for Milan for the next five years. I know what I’m going to do on January 26, 2010. Design is retroactive, so I have to imagine what the future is going to look like in order to design a product that will launch in two and-a-half years and

How much of your work is taken up with actually designing, how much with the business side ? In an optimal world I’d like to say everything is creative – if you don’t manage a business in a creative way; you’re gone, you’re dead. I have to answer about 50 to 60 emails a day and I receive about twice as many, but it doesn’t stop me from being creative. I don’t feel I need protection from the administrative side of the business – the best protection is attack! I think the nature of flexibility is the nature of the new business environment. It’s not how it was 20 years ago – but I don’t feel that is an invasion in any way. Are you where you planned to be ? Is this how you imagined your career ? Since I don’t plan, I don’t see it that way. I’m in a process. This profession has a very long life, we can draw and have ideas when we’re 90 or 100 – I think I’m just in the beginning. But I’m happy to go to work, I’m happy about where it is and what it does to me. What advice do you have for those coming up behind you ? There’s no golden egg! You just need a lot of love, a lot of work, a lot of passion, a lot of desire, a lot of self-criticism and honesty. You have to make your projects honest. It’s not about magazine articles or that one chair; it’s about a philosophy, and believing.

THE PEANUT ISSUE

THE PROGRESSION

Sylvain Willenz presented Landmarks, his second collection of lights with British producer Established & Sons this year, as well as limited edition works created in his studio, and the xxs mobile hard drive for Freecom (see The Word’s May-June 2009 Issue). In May his Torch Lights Series won Product of the Year and Best Lighting Design at the Grand Design Awards (UK). He is currently the designer in residence at CIRVA in France, and has just been nominated Belgian Designer of the Year. ¤ Could you describe the position you fi nd yourself at in your career right now ? Since 2008 there’s been a nice turning point. The collaborations with Established & Sons and with Freecom are serious in terms of the design world, and now producers are asking to do things for me. I feel like I can choose right now – I only want to work with people that really interest me, whose vision I like as producers. I feel pretty free and comfortable. The collaborations don’t have to be high end or glamorous – there are small producers that have vision I appreciate as well. I’m very enthusiastic about all the things that are happening right now. What’s been the most exciting thing that’s happened this year ? I would have to say being nominated designer of the year – of course there are more exciting things than that in my life – but in terms of what I do and design that would be it. At this point this means it’s not exciting yet but there are lots of exciting things this will bring; new products and exhibitions. I’ve had some really nice meetings this year so hopefully those will bring some collaborations for Milan 2010, and some very exciting business trips as well. What are you fi nding diffi cult ? To produce good ideas and good products – it’s easier to have loads of ideas. I like to have a consistency through everything I do – even if the things are very different. Whether works are intended for a gallery or industrial production, it’s important to have an approach that ties everything together, a vision or a way of thinking. I want to make things that are complete – not just good, but for which the materials are right, the production is right, that make for a good package. It’s not just about the end result, but the whole idea and life of the item or product. What is on your mind for the future ? I guess working with some brands I like – and expanding the three avenues I like to work in ; editions with producers, gallery work

Sylvain Willenz in his Brussels studio

and industrial design (although gallery work is still on the way). I like the idea of being able to multi-task and having these clear three routes – I don’t feel it devalues the way I work, I feel it’s more enriching. The experience of working industrially might inform how I could work for a gallery or for a producer. I find pure hard 100 percent industrial design is kind of boring – people who only make scissors and lawnmowers and screwdrivers – it’s more interesting when you see that someone is quite diverse in his approach. Then when he does do a screwdriver it might be influenced by how he might do something for a gallery. The jobs that pay the best so far are the industrial jobs because that’s where there’s huge production – work with producers is less for the money, more for the recognition. Not one of these three activities is more interesting than the other. I’d like to make some good proper furniture – I’m still not sure if I can make furniture. The candy collection is still on the edge between gallery and edition work. I’m not convinced – that’s my challenge. I have a chair coming this winter. I’d like to continue building my office – there are loads of things I can’t actually do – I can sketch and scribble but I can’t draw or do 3D work, so I need other people.

How much of your work is taken up with actually designing, how much with the business side ? I don’t design that much – most of my time is spent communicating with people – 70 percent logistics and talking with people and planning things and having ideas – 20 percent of real technical work and working out how something is going to be made, where, what material, what detail. For me that’s the real design work. The 10 percent left is design thinking, which usually occurs when I’m going to bed, sitting on a plane or when I’m relaxed and on holiday. My job is 10 percent thinking of things and dreaming about products and what would be interesting to make and why would it be interesting and new and what it would bring? The real design is working out stuff, driving to factories, speaking to people, learning from them and fi nding alternatives and convincing people that I’m not crazy.

What have you learned recently ? That I shouldn’t be afraid.

What advice do you have for those coming up behind you ? It makes me feel pretentious to give advice – I feel young! I usually think it’s just important to listen to what you feel and work with your gut feeling. Be curious and precise and integral – think about every aspect, so that something should make sense and be simple.

How far ahead do you plan things ? Usually a year ahead – at this turning point it’s hard to plan very far ahead. So I like to have plans for a year. The start of the year is after Milan ; the end of the year is Milan. All year I work on things aiming for Milan.

Are you where you planned to be ? Is this how you imagined your career ? I guess I’m just happy where I am right now ; I don’t plan anything too precise in the long term. I do have plans, but generally I’m just very happy where I am right now.

THIS IS WHERE WE ARE

Raw-Edges in their London fl at

Raw-Edges (aka Shay Alkalay & Yael Mer) were presented in the selection of Designers of the Future at Design Miami: Basel this year. They had previously worked with the Design Miami team during the Craft Punk project at Fendi, for which they spent four days during the Miami design fair making pleated chair seats live in front of visitors. They currently live and work in London.

Stack by Established & Sons at the permanent collection of the MoMA New York. Speaking with Goni, Yael’s cousin back in Tel-Aviv, she is only two years and six months old and takes Skype and webcam for granted. And receiving a new three year working visa in the UK so we can now be focusing in our creative interests and with less bureaucracy involved.

¤ What’s been the most exciting thing that’s happened this year ? Many things: Getting the fantastic opportunity to work with Ambra Medda and Wava Carpenter from Design Miami. Finding a new flat in London with a fantastic wallpaper of a Swiss landscape on one complete wall in the living room. Getting a new motor for our Grove, the revolving trees project, so now it’s going to work forever (this is after our old motor stopped working during the Milan’s Salone at Spazio Rossana Orlandi). Meeting interesting people at our shows that will hopefully lead to new projects. For example, we are now going to make a Seesaw version of our Pleated Pleat project at Fendi. Having

What are you fi nding diffi cult ? Everything ! But the most difficult one is keeping our studio space tidy. What is on your mind for the future ? We going to have few projects in London during the design festival in September, also we hope to have a few new production pieces ready for Milan. What have you learned recently ? How to grill Portobello mushrooms with a bit of olive oil and garlic… that London is a fantastic city when it is sunny and 32 degrees… we know now how to use ATA Carnet when exporting and importing goods to and from Switzerland !

THE DESIGN SPECIAL

THE PETITE ISSUE

THE SPECIAL SHOWSTOPPERS

Wrap around the stock — From essential, lifesaving accessories to limited-edition designs, we mix-and-match it for this issue’s selection of showstoppers. Eagerly torn up, we couldn’t wait to give you a sneak preview, albeit through the cling film. Photography Studio Habousha Writer Nicholas Lewis

VITRA Pretzel Chair

DEDON Seashell Lounge Chair

We were instantly taken aback by Vitra’s Pretzel Chair’s curvaceous back rest and clean-flowing lines. Unbelievably light and sturdy, the chair is elegant in its composure and sits proudly like the woman everyone wants to get a piece of at a dinner party. Designed by Georges Nelson in 1952, Vitra is today re-editing the chair – previously simply known as the “Laminated Chair” – in a limited edition series of 1,000 to celebrate the American designer’s 100th birthday.

If you’re anything like us, you’re probably at a stage in your life when you’re ready to trade in those generic plastic garden chairs for slightly more distinguished alternatives. And German outdoor furniture specialist Dedon has just what you need in the form of its low-seating Seashell collection. Made up of an armchair, a side chair, a footstool, a beach chair as well as a lounge chair (pictured), the collection’s breezy design and open mesh belie a sturdiness and comfort well-suited for parties by the pool. Add to that the lounge chair’s wide backrest – the reason we made it ours – and we’d be surprised if you got us back indoors.

Approximately € 1,900 Available at InStore Rue Tenbosch 90-92 Tenbosch 1050 Brussels

www.instore.be

DEDON’s Seashell Lounge Chair, € 879 Available from Dedon Showroom Antwerp Leopoldstraat 57 2000 Antwerp

www.dedon.be

WRAP AROUND THE STOCK

THE DESIGN SPECIAL

CAPELLINI Skitch Stool We’re suckers for anything remotely comical and functional, and this fold-away, colourpatched high stool hit both tangents with equal resonance. Designed by Australian Adam Goodrum and launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile as an addition to the Skitch collection which already included a chair, the Skitch stool is a fascinating design solution which cleverly manages to combine form, function and fun. Available in white, yellow, red, blue, black lacquer as well as in a mutli-coloured version (pictured), Capellini once again confi rms its reputation as an editor of serious designs which doesn’t take itself too seriously. www.cappellini.it

BROLESKINE Agenda These tidy little agendas are a godsend in this day-and-age of paper rationing and ‘don’t print this email’ campaigns. Taking as central point the recuperation of used paper stock, Broleskine essentially is a binding specialist, (re-) binding everything from accounting paper and second-hand books to packaging and envelopes. Founded by Bariza Benmehenni and Corinne Clarysse, each agenda is a unique and intimate affair – some include glued newspaper cuttings and fictitious agenda entries whilst others simply have the agenda dates scanned in from other documents. Made-to-measure pleasure… Available amongst others from Bozarshop Rue Ravenstein 15 Ravensteinstraat 1000 Brussels

www.brolsekine.be

THE SHORT ISSUE

THE SPECIAL SHOWSTOPPERS

IKEA PS Pendel Part of Ikea’s high-browed PS collection, the Pendel clock has somewhat of a grandma feeling to it. An extension of Sweden’s ubiquitous Mora clock, the simpler – and more affordable – Ikea interpretation comes with a set of shelves, bringing new meaning to the term ‘a bookshelf’. Designed by Carl Hagerling to, as he says in the Ikea PS catalogue ‘combine Sweden’s patrimony with Ikea’s functionalism’, the clock’s imposing presence will ensure we have no excuse for being late. Ikea PS Pendel, € 159

www.ikea.be

MAHAJAN MEDICAL SYSTEMS’ Ophthalmic Surgical Kit We couldn’t believe our eyes – no pun intended – when we stumbled upon this lifesaving kit in the back alleys of Bangalore, India. Invented by India’s leading manufacturer of surgical equipment, the country’s – and most probably the world’s – fi rst Ophthalmic Surgical Kit is a sterile, convenient and affordable alternative for third world eye patients keen to minimise the risks of infections when going under the knife. With everything you need for a stress-free eye operation in a neatly disposed 21x16cm vacuum packed kit, the pack’s colour-coded simplicity and single use functionality makes it a sure shot amongst overworked and understaffed Indian hospitals and their surgeons who might otherwise skimp on hygiene norms because of overflowing waiting rooms. This, judging by initial sales figures, is the solution they’ve been waiting for. From $10

www.mahajanophthalmic.net

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THE SLIGHT ISSUE

THE FUTURE

A staggeringly small world below — What role is there for designers in the new area of nanotechnology ? Are they there to create products ? To serve the inventors with new materials ? Or simply to explain what on earth is going on to a public baffled by talk of dangerous self-replicating nanobots and grey goo ? Writer Hettie Judah

Fifty years ago, Richard Feynman delivered a lecture – There’s plenty of room at the bottom – in which he invited physicists into the vast, but little explored world of the very, very small. “In the year 2000, when they look back at this age, they will wonder why it was not until the year 1960 that anybody began seriously to move in this direction,” he told his colleagues. When Feynman was talking, computers were still the size of a room. He fantasised of an era when such machines might operate at a micro level, then went further, to imagine storing data at incredible intensity, the possibility of micro surgeons that might be small enough to operate within the human body ; and physicists being capable of chemical synthesis, building molecules at an atomic scale. Feynman’s point of reference for what might be possible in terms of function at a supersmall scale was the human body. After all; all the information about the immensely complex human organism is contained in a DNA chain 2.2 to 2.6 nanometres wide. Feynman’s lecture touches on most of what we popularly ‘know’ about nanotechnology - or at least what we fear about it – 50 years down the line. While we’re comfortable with the idea of information and computing power happening at a tiny level, there is still quite a large ick factor attached to the idea of this area getting at all biological. We have come to fear the spectre of small robot surgeons running amok inside our bodies, or rogue self-replicating machines digesting life as we know it. Words like “nano” are now being lavished on countless products as promotional tags to boost their market potential.

“But these products don’t always deliver what they claim : at most one third of them meet accepted defi nitions of nanotechnology as used for example by the German Ministry of Education and Research ( BMBF )”. Dr Thomas Stegmaier Denkendorf Institute of Textile and Process Engineering ( From BASF promotional material for Mincor® TXTT )

" Words like ' nano ' are now being lavished on countless products as promotional tags to boost their market potential. "

Nanotechnology already surrounds us. Quite literally, since the most evident products currently on the market are films or coatings ; sunscreen that contains reflective nanoparticles of titanium dioxide or zinc oxide ; housepaint and furnishing fabrics with a micro-textured surface allowing dirt to sit proud of the surface and wash off effectively in a shower of rain; architectural glass coated with ultraviolet fi lters. They are smart materials that either

utilise known properties of common materials in a more refi ned form ( reflective sun filters that don’t form a white coating on the skin ), or which take inspiration from the protective responses of the natural world ( the waterrepellent qualities of the lotus leaf ). These re-jigged consumer products somewhat lack the dangerous, sexy quality that all the hysteria and hyperbole surrounding nanotech seemed to promise. At the moment nanotech can make us cleaner ( dirt repellent materials ) and better behaved ( more likely to apply suncream ), but this reflects the immediately fi nancially attractive areas of the market – the known appetite for certain common and very lucrative products. “The stuff that is currently on the market described as nano is often not that interesting – it represents science that’s perhaps 30 years old,” explains physicist and nanotechnology advisor Professor Richard Jones. “The role of more forward looking designers is to think of products that won’t be on the market until 2030 or 2040, that may have a big impact. Scientists have all sorts of schemes for doing things – but we don’t have much of a sense of what human needs are.” “How have we got to this state, where we have a backlash to a technology that has not yet arrived ?” Professor Richard Jones Soft Machines: nanotechnology and life

Professor Jones spreads the blame for the hysteria surrounding nanotech between K Eric Drexler; an engineer for MIT, who fi rst popularised the term (and the worst case scenarios surrounding it) in his book Engines of Creation (1986) ; and the scientists currently engaged in the field who hype up the potential of the technology in their hunger for research grants. One of the pressing human needs right now is evidently a grasp of what the heck this alarming sounding new field actually is – and it’s an area that Professor Jones has been working on in partnership with the Design Interactions department at the Royal College of Art in London. Would people still be scared of nanotechnology if we could make it strawberry fl avour ? This was the starting principle behind Cathrine Kramer and Zoe Papadopoulou’s Cloud Project ; a re-fitted ice cream van from which the two recent graduates serve frozen yoghurt (mixed using liquid nitrogen to create ultra-tiny crystals), strawberry fl avoured clouds and create edible snow from a roofmounted rocket launcher that seeds clouds with strawberry ice cream-fl avoured bacteria.

A STAGGERINGLY SMALL WORLD BELOW

DESIGN

It turns out that people will happily eat ‘nanotechnology’ and freaky science if it comes in a cone. The point of the cloud project is both to communicate modern science at a popular level, and to break through some of the hysteria surrounding the subject ; during this summer the van also hosted discussions with prominent scientists and thinkers in the field. Zoe says that her whole neighbourhood

" ( Ginsberg ) fantasises about a world in which the hybrid organisms re-invigorate human biology, creating new-wave pathologies such as luminescent kidney stones or pollution sensing lung tumours. "

has now become nano-savvy as they have watched she and Cat decorating and fitting out their van on the street outside her house. Instead of taking to the street, Daisy Ginsberg has been taking to the laboratory. In her Synthetic Kingdom project, she examines how synthetic biology – nanoengineering that takes its material components from the living world – might be classified, and where to draw the line between the natural and artificial. Her Tree of Life bears a new branch – Synthetica – and she fantasises about a world in which the hybrid organisms re-invigorate human biology, creating newwave pathologies such as luminescent kidney stones or pollution sensing lung tumours. The human body becomes a site of production – in Nano Ecologies she pictures the substances exuded by the body ( sweat, dead skin, other unmentionables ) as harvestable and nutritious nano-particles that can form part of a micro ecology: in her scenario this involves feeding such substances to a goose that in turn lays eggs for the human donor to eat. Interest in nanotech and the field of human harvest is not unique to the design courses at the RCA. Over in Eindhoven, Mike John Thompson’s graduation project Growing Pains imagined the potential for adapting the living skeleton – cultivating the body’s own material during life to provide custom-shaped bone products – such as a pipe or work tool – to be retrieved after its death.

01.

“What would be the utility of such machines ? Who knows ?” Richard Feynman

Amateurs prodding around in the field of nanotechnology quickly hit the broad Rumsfeldian plateau somewhere between the known and unknown unknowns – a vague awareness that they basically know nothing about the field, but are not quite sure of just how enormously ignorant they are. Is it folly to imagine that designers should be fully engaged with every scientific aspect of an area ? Is it enough that they understand the properties of a new material or technology, and then work out the ways it might interestingly be harnessed ? As the science involved becomes increasingly specialised, it seems logical that

some kind of interface evolves to allow designers to fi nd a role for these new technologies in the world beyond the laboratory. In 2006 BASF, the worlds largest chemical company, opened up its Designfabrik – a dedicated facility for designers to communicate with their scientists. The result has been two of the most prominent industrial design launches of the past two years – Konstantin Grcic’s

This Page 01.

Daisy Ginsberg's pollution sensing lung tumor

Next Page 02. 03.

Ginsberg's take on unlimited energy: The Luminaire The New Tree of Life

THE SMALL-SCALE ISSUE

THE FUTURE

02.

Myto chair made in the company’s Ultradur High Speed plastic, and the Bouroullec Brothers Vegetal chair, made in Miramid. Up to 50 years ago the oh-so-naughties nanometre would have been called 10 ångströms. But fashion plays its role in science too: these days talking nano is what gets you attention. There is still plenty of space at the bottom – products are already coming on to the market making reference to the picometre (10 -12), and surely femto (10-15), atto (10-18), and zepto (10-21) can’t be far behind (just wait to see what the next small car or MP3 player ends up being called). As for the utility of the really tiny things ? We all need to talk about it. For further information on Professor Richard Jones:

www.softmachines.org Cathrine Kramer and Zoe Papadopolous:

www.thecloudproject.co.uk Daisy Ginsberg and the Synthetic Kingdom:

www.daisyginsberg.com Mike John Thompson:

www.miket.co.uk The full text of Richard Feynman’s lecture

www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html

03.

www.rado.com

CERAMICA CHRONOGRAPH

THE TIGHT ISSUE

Desktop reading — Seeing the amount of books we get through, we thought it high time to get our eyes tested. Once at the doctor’s practice, we liked the place so much we decided to make it our own, bringing this issue’s pick of publications with us.

THE SHELF

Trees + Flowers – Insects Animals (2009) By Man Ray Steidl

“The only thing consistent about Man Ray’s art is its deliberate inconsistency” writes Merry A. Foresta in her opening essay for the book, and what an understatement that is. Famed for his versatility, Man Ray often made several versions of a single idea in a multitude of medias – from painting and printmaking to fi lmmaking and object making. The latest book to celebrate his considerable artistic estate, it presents over 4,000 items from the Man Ray Trust, meticulously categorised under such headings as Trees, Landscapes, Hats and Automobiles. We were particularly enthralled by his series on Masks.

Photography Yassin Serghini Writer Nicholas Lewis Micro, Very Small Buildings (2007) By Ruth Slavid Laurence King There I Was (2008) By Collier Schorr Steidl MACK

Based on three articles the artist’s father wrote for Car magazine, There I Was is Collier Schorr’s chalk coaled tribute to drag car racer Charles ‘Astoria Chas’ Snyder. At times laced with sorrow yet always belying a truly American narrative, Schorr’s drawings effortlessly move between his childhood racetracks to the battlefields of Vietnam, where Snyder died. Brutally honest in his observations yet refreshingly light in his pencil touch, Schorr’s canny ability to portray the emotive in that most manly of environments – namely, drag car racing – makes him an unlikely hero of the tracks. Grote Verhalen (2009) By Matthieu Keuter Nooderlicht

An intimate and visibly personal account of the world surrounding him, you get the sense that most of Keuter’s work is made in the first person, for his and his friends’ enjoyment only. Sometimes poetically surreal, at other times hard-hitting, you’re somehow always left wondering what the story is about, and what is trying to be said. Add to that the book’s quasi-homemade finish and collage aesthetic, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled upon someone’s personal diary.

The book’s name says it all. From concrete shelters and capsule lofts to tree house spheres and urban community spaces, Ruth Slavid’s study and celebration on the use of small spaces is an ode to creativity and an inspiration to all confined urban dwellers the world over. Zones (2008) By Michel Mazzoni Yellow Now

Eerie, soft and discreet, Michel Mazzoni’s lens focuses on those hidden parts of life you probably knew existed, but never really paused at. Finding beauty where others might see banality, his static yet emotive prints exude a welcome calmness whilst at the same time revealing a certain artistic confidence. The fi rst book to be published by the Brussels-based French photographer, we already can’t wait for one to follow.

Atropa Bella Donna (2009) By Arnoud Bakker Nooderlicht

Describing his photographic work as research, Arnoud Bakker essentially photographs women in all their form: “Their light, their souls, their shapes in 3D, their mouths, their looks and so on,” as he explains, the purpose of which is to explore the idea of a perfect, universal girl. Photographed using a pinhole camera, his body of work is sweaty and sensual, showing women in all their grainy glory… Never Use White Type on a Black Background And 50 other Ridiculous Design Rules (2009) BIS Publishers

An anti-rigidity cry to the design world, the book lists 50 design dictums it says shouldn’t be followed. Everything from ‘K.I.S.S (Keep it simple, stupid)’ and ‘Forms Follows Function’ to ‘Less is More’ and ‘Kill your Darlings’ is contradicted in a visual manifest against the sheepish following of rules and catchphrases. Just like a Woman (2008) By Bettina Rheims Galerie Jerome de Noirmont

‘Just like a Woman’ shows photographs of women on the verge of, or having just had, an orgasm. Red-cheeked and sweat-faced, the unrestricted and unashamed prints reveal a world of unabashed honesty, set against a backdrop of womanly pleasure. The Little Book of Cheese Tips (2005) By Andrew Langley Absolute Press

Novice cheese heads need not be worried anymore, the answer to all their worries has arrived in the form of Andrew Langley’s book. A jam-packed mini-tome of cheesy advice, you’ll fi nd in it 50 tips to cheesebuying, cheese-eating and cheese-storing such as ‘Give your cheese room on the board’ and, our favourite, ‘Always buy your cheese from a specialist shop’.

With Thanks to C.H.U Saint Pierre Site Césaer de Paepe Rue des Aléxiens / Cellebroersstraat Service Ophtalmologie and Lea Munsch

DESKTOP READING

CULTURE

THE UNDERSIZED ISSUE

THE PENCIL

Far from impressed — You could throw a hurricane their way or, more dangerous yet, have an octopus tear up their prized – and regular – beach spot, our unfazed compatriots wouldn’t bat an eyelash for a thing. Illustration Eledone

FAR FROM IMPRESSED

CULTURE

THE UNPRETENTIOUS ISSUE

THE EYE

— Renowned for its world-leading universities and research facilities, Belgium is clearly in pole position when it comes to scientific advancements leading to market introductions. We visit both ends of the spectrum – from research to commercialisation – keen to meet, speak to and capture the people, universities and companies responsible for making a tiny country such as ours a major player in the world of nano research. Photography Sarah Michielsen Writer Nicholas Lewis

ONE FOR THE NATION

CULTURE

Inside IMEC’s 300 mm Clean Room, the largest in Europe

Our national nano tour of duty started with a visit to IMEC, with its campus a stone’s throw away from Leuven’s Catholic University. Europe’s largest independent research center on nanotechnology and nanoelectronics, it opened its doors in the eighties, on the back of the Flemish government’s insistance that certain key industries should (and would) bring about major economic opportunities. Awarded a 270 million euro yearly budget (2008) and employing 1750 people worldwide, IMEC currently has three global offices - one in Silicon Valley opened in the 90s, one in Shanghai opened in 2000 and a last one in Taiwan, opened last year. In part funded by the Flemish government’s IWT spin-off (whose main purpose it is to encourage research and development in Flanders) in part funded by such research partners as Intel, Panasonic and Samsung, IMEC is an incredibly slick affair; well-oiled, well-funded and well-reputed. Its ability to attract researchers who’d normally opt for a stay in the US is essentially down to its infrastructure and facilities (the center has one of the best 300mm clean rooms in the world, pictured above), the numbers of research papers

it manages to get published (approximately 1,500 per year) and the amount of spin-offs it successfully launches (at least one company a year is set up using IMEC technology). “(Every research project) is awarded with the sole consideration for its exploitation potential and ability to create economic added value for Flanders,” says IWT director Lea Van de Loock, who isn’t one to understate the importance of innovation for the region. The same innovation is just as important to the region of Wallonia, who relies on its own stimulus agency, the AWEX, to support, and partly subsidise, Wallonia’s exports. Nanocyl, one of the recipients of AWEX’s largess, is one of the international success stories of the country. Located in a large industrial park in Sambreville, the company was created in 2002 as a direct result of two university laboratories merging. A Carbon Nanotube specialist, Nanocyl fi rst began its work at lab-scale, going on to develop a pilot reactor study and then fi nally starting full blown industrial production towards the end of 2007. Employing 45 people (of which 35 are chemists), the company manufactures Nanotubes which eliminate the damages of

static electricity in electronic packaging and automotive full pumps, known as ‘electronic packaging’. It also specialises in what is known as ‘mechanical reinforcement’ of fiber composites, prevalent in the aerospace and sport industries, as well as researching ways to replace steel by aluminum thus making the latter stronger, and lighter, reducing its weight by a third. But its core product remains its Nanotubes, which are a hit with Asian chipmakers and hard-drive manufacturers. Korea’s electronic packaging and boat making industries have proven especially interesting industries for Nanocyl, who now commands a 75 percent market share in the country, even usurping local companies and leading it to open offices in Seoul made possible thanks to AWEX subsidies. All this, according to Nanocyl’s Global Commercial Executive Director Monique Lempereur, have made the company ‘the Google of chemicals’ in Belgium, effortlessly attracting top university talent looking for their chance to work with the hottest topic in chemistry – namely nanotubes.

THE LILLIPUTIAN ISSUE

THE EYE

The changing room : Before entering the Clean Room, researchers need to change into full bodied suits and walk through a giant vacuum to remove all dust particles

ONE FOR THE NATION

An IMEC researcher at work

CULTURE

THE MINI ISSUE

THE EYE

Chemist Fang-Yue Chan getting the equipment ready before the extraction of the Carbon Nanotubes

ONE FOR THE NATION

Aurélie De Pra in Nanocyl’s warehouse

CULTURE

THE SMALL-MINDED ISSUE

THE EYE

ONE FOR THE NATION

Carbon Nanotubes being weighed once extracted from the reactor

CULTURE

THE UNOBTRUSIVE ISSUE

THE EYE

Nanocylâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketing material

Check The Word Blog for more photographs of our national nano tour of duty. www.thewordmagazine.be

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Small Wonders Office Shenanigans Stuff on our Radar Daily Dribbles Everything we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, and wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, run with in the magazine goes on The Word Blog.

#E WARNED

THE IMPERCEPTIBLE ISSUE

THE STOCKISTS

The Stockists A

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Ermenegildo Zegna www.zegna.com Boulevard de Waterloo 30 Waterloolaan, 1000 Brussels +32 (0)2 511 41 57

Steidl Mack www.steidlville.com

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Tommy Hilfiger www.tommy.com U V

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Veuve clicquot www.veuve-clicquot.com W X

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Comme des Garcons Available from Houben Place du Nouveau Marché aux Grains 6 Nieuwe Graanmarkt 1000 Brussels +32 (0)2 502 32 05

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Cotton & Milk www.cottonandmilk.com

Hugo Boss www.hugobosscom

Hermès www.hermes.com

Noorderlicht www.noorderlicht.vpro.nl O P Q

Yves Saint Laurent www.ysl.com Z

THE OUT OF SIGHT ISSUE

THE ROUND UP

pages 02 – 03

page 05 M AT H I A S S C H O E N A E R T S P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y M I C H E L D E W I N D T

W W W. E S S E N T I E L . B E

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Met steun van de Vlaamse minister van Cultuur, Jeugd, Sport en Brussel

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page 43

Brussels Philharmonic – het Vlaams Radio Orkest

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Dining in style

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24/04/09 15:37:32

THE UNDETECTABLE ISSUE

WHAT'S NEXT

Get your chops on — Practice your Konami Dance Dance — Ditch your Bathing Ape t-shirt in favour of a Visvim polo

K n o w your Udon from your Ramen, your Nigiri from your Sashimi — Forget about spray-on Eagles for your pimped-up truck. ‘Decorata’ is the new black — And don’t even mention Hello Kitty and Koala March — Close to jetting off to the land of the neon for a little inspiration, we thought we’d list all the things we know about Japan, and investigate the exact opposite for fear of falling into a clichéd perception of the country — And believe us, a cliché The Nippon Issue will not be ( ok, we might indulge in a bottle or two of cold sake whilst producing it but that’s as close to a cliché as we’ll come )

The Word's Nippon Issue — Because it’s high time for a new cliché — Out Friday 30 th October 2009

Dining in style