(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)
Abstract
Hassan Fathi’s highly influential Architecture for the Poor (1969), imbued the practice and research of the built environment with a newfound layer of socio-cultural focus. Juxtaposing the vernacular with global visual-material elements brought to light crucial questions ranging from involving local communities to the necessity of architectural conservation. However, while the concept of vernacular architecture rapidly influenced its own discipline, it did not emigrate to the field of design. Indeed, in this paper we wish to define and describe the importance of the concept of ‘cultural object’ to the field of industrial design, not only from a practice-oriented approach, but from a socio-cultural stance, one that links cultural objects to empathy and social design. For the last ten years we have been teaching a unique practice-oriented course for product designers focusing on three distinct cultures of wood – classic Japanese carpentry, Western and Southern African wood cultures and the ascetic design of the 18th and 19th century Shakers. Instead of working in a classic manner of presenting the students with a design brief describing our intended result, including a clear function and market-value we drove the students to start thinking about cultural philosophies, norms and conventions, as well as religious principles. Since a major rule in this course is that products must be an innovative interpretation, rather than mimicking their origins, the results were staggering. Mixing various Israeli cultures (Ultra-Orthodox, Palestinian, Ethiopian, and more) with a contemporary interpretation of these three cultures presented an interesting optional definition to the essence of cultural objects in contemporary design. As a result, we will present several strategies for materializing local and global socio-cultural attributes. Furthermore, we will outline the very essence of practicing several theoretical approaches relevant to cultural design – phenomenology, hermeneutics, and semiotics. These three will be encapsulated in a complex understanding of our view of design interpretation.
Prof. Kenneth Segal is a leading industrial designer in the field of transportation and an associate professor at the department of Inclusive Design at Hadassah College in Jerusalem. Segal has founded, built and headed two academic departments of Industrial Design in Israel, in Shenkar School of Engineering and Design and the Hadassah Academic College. In doing so, he has been one of the leading figures to define, mold and improve Israel’s design education discipline. A visiting Lecturer at NID the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad India, Segal focuses on teaching the history of design, design culture and design methodology.
Prof. Jonathan Ventura is a Design Anthropologist specializing in social and healthcare design. Jonathan completed a PhD in applied design anthropology at a joint venue of the industrial design department at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and the anthropology department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He continued to complete a post-doctorate focusing on social design at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, Royal College of Art, London UK. Today, Jonathan serves as Associate Professor at the Department of Inclusive Design at Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, and at The Graduate Program in Design at Shenkar; he is also a visiting research fellow at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, at the Royal College of Art, London. Ventura published various books and articles focused on design anthropology, design research and theories. Currently, Jonathan co-heads the Social Design Network, developing and advancing an international effort to bring social design to the forefront of design practice and research.
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Thursday 16th June, 2022