"Litracon" - light transmitting concrete

LitraCube Semi-Transparent Concrete Lamp

By Evan Ackerman

The LitraCube lamp is made of four concrete blocks with a lightbulb in the middle. Not the greatest idea for a lamp, you might be thinking… But that’s because you’ve never seen semi-transparent concrete blocks before. Litracon (light transmitting concrete) is normal concrete with thousands of parallel optical fibers embedded into it. The strength of the concrete is unaffected, and the fibers pass light and color straight through the blocks. So, now you can build your very own glass house and throw all the stones you want.

Litracon itself is available as a conventional building material in a variety of colors and fiber patterns (like the layered and organic examples above). Unsurprisingly, the price of this stuff is not for the faint of heart: the cheapest it gets (25mm thick unsealed) will run you $1,000 per square meter… But you can buy the lamp for only $770. Plus shipping from Hungary.

Evan Ackerman. (Unknown). LitraCube Semi-Transparent Concrete Lamp. Available: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2007/08/17/litracube-semi-transparent-concrete-lamp/. Last accessed 29 July 2008.

Adaptation

I feel, the most remarkable and essential thing of a design process is the capability and need to adapt to a situation. When I started my diploma project, my initial thought was to superimpose the nokia design process with the current project. As i went on with the project i realised that its not possible to do a Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V when we talk about design processes. each project need a re-look at the methodology. e.g. Lampshades are not as user centric as a phone. hence, users cant be the center of the process.

The "flat" world

" No one gave me directions like this on a golf course before: "Aim at either Microsoft or IBM." I was standing on the first tee at the KGA Golf Club in downtown Bangalore, in southern India when my playing partner pointed at two shiny glass-and-steel buildings off in the distance, just behind the first green. The Goldman Sachs building wasn't done yet; otherwise he could have pointed that out as well and made it a threesome. HP and Texas Instruments had their offices on the back nine, along the tenth hole. That wasn't all. The tee markers were from Epson, the printer company, and one of our caddies was wearing a hat from 3M. Outside, some of the traffic signs were also sponsored by Texas Instruments, and the Pizza Hut billboard on the way over showed a steaming pizza, under the headline "Gigabites of Taste!"

No, this definitely wasn't Kansas. It didn't even seem like India. Was this the New World, the Old World, or the Next World?...

..."Honey," I confided, "I think the world is flat." "

Thomas Friedman. (2005). While I was sleeping. In: Paul Elie The World is Flat. Unknown ed. Great Britain: Penguin group. 3-4.

Designing Freedom

Designing Freedom
By Poonam Bir Kasturi, Bangalore INDIA

"To summarise the points made against craft –
1. Craft is an old, inefficient way of production
2. Craft is not and should not be an important item on the national agenda
3. Technology is the most important tool we have to “solve” our problems not craft.
4. Craftsmen don’t have a great image of their own work (perhaps of themselves too?) they wouldn’t want their children to work as they do.
5. The best thing to do is to turn it into a tourist attraction – nothing more.
6. Current Indian craft is mostly kitsch, non-utilitarian.
This list highlights a perception shared by a large group of people as well as the policy makers – it seems to be the current construct in India surrounding craft."


"...as Amartya Sen (1999) says, we need to include them:
“An adequate approach of development cannot really be so centered only on those in power. The reach has to be broader, and the need for popular participation is not just sanctimonious rubbish. Indeed, the idea of development cannot be dissociated from it.” "

"I started asking questions like – “Is there a different way for design to engage with craft?” “What can design contribute to craft – apart from just ‘packaged designs’ for others to thoughtlessly reproduce?” "

"Myth 1
“Craftspeople can’t be expected to design contemporary products; they need to link up with someone who has an exposure to the urban and international markets”."

"Myth 2
“Craftspeople need to be trained in skills and new technologies.” "

"Myth 3
We must gear up to increase export – it is finally the best market for Indian Craft (look at our software industry)"

"Myth 4
Craft is antiquated – needs to get in line with the 21sth century"



To read the entire paper, please visit.... http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf


Poonam Bir Kasturi. (Unknown). Designing Freedom. Available: http://www.playnspeak.com/finalpaper.pdf. Last accessed 18 July 2008.

Looking around and observing-I

Hatworks Boulevard, Bangalore

Survey Sampling Methods

Sampling Methods

It is incumbent on the researcher to clearly define the target population. There are no strict rules to follow, and the researcher must rely on logic and judgment. The population is defined in keeping with the objectives of the study.

Sometimes, the entire population will be sufficiently small, and the researcher can include the entire population in the study. This type of research is called a census study because data is gathered on every member of the population.

Usually, the population is too large for the researcher to attempt to survey all of its members. A small, but carefully chosen sample can be used to represent the population. The sample reflects the characteristics of the population from which it is drawn.

Sampling methods are classified as either probability or nonprobability. In probability samples, each member of the population has a known non-zero probability of being selected. Probability methods include random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling. In nonprobability sampling, members are selected from the population in some nonrandom manner. These include convenience sampling, judgment sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling. The advantage of probability sampling is that sampling error can be calculated. Sampling error is the degree to which a sample might differ from the population. When inferring to the population, results are reported plus or minus the sampling error. In nonprobability sampling, the degree to which the sample differs from the population remains unknown.

Random sampling is the purest form of probability sampling. Each member of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected. When there are very large populations, it is often difficult or impossible to identify every member of the population, so the pool of available subjects becomes biased.

Systematic sampling is often used instead of random sampling. It is also called an Nth name selection technique. After the required sample size has been calculated, every Nth record is selected from a list of population members. As long as the list does not contain any hidden order, this sampling method is as good as the random sampling method. Its only advantage over the random sampling technique is simplicity. Systematic sampling is frequently used to select a specified number of records from a computer file.

Stratified sampling is commonly used probability method that is superior to random sampling because it reduces sampling error. A stratum is a subset of the population that share at least one common characteristic. Examples of stratums might be males and females, or managers and non-managers. The researcher first identifies the relevant stratums and their actual representation in the population. Random sampling is then used to select a sufficient number of subjects from each stratum. "Sufficient" refers to a sample size large enough for us to be reasonably confident that the stratum represents the population. Stratified sampling is often used when one or more of the stratums in the population have a low incidence relative to the other stratums.

Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is selected because they are convenient. This nonprobability method is often used during preliminary research efforts to get a gross estimate of the results, without incurring the cost or time required to select a random sample.

Judgment sampling is a common nonprobability method. The researcher selects the sample based on judgment. This is usually and extension of convenience sampling. For example, a researcher may decide to draw the entire sample from one "representative" city, even though the population includes all cities. When using this method, the researcher must be confident that the chosen sample is truly representative of the entire population.

Quota sampling is the nonprobability equivalent of stratified sampling. Like stratified sampling, the researcher first identifies the stratums and their proportions as they are represented in the population. Then convenience or judgment sampling is used to select the required number of subjects from each stratum. This differs from stratified sampling, where the stratums are filled by random sampling.

Snowball sampling is a special nonprobability method used when the desired sample characteristic is rare. It may be extremely difficult or cost prohibitive to locate respondents in these situations. Snowball sampling relies on referrals from initial subjects to generate additional subjects. While this technique can dramatically lower search costs, it comes at the expense of introducing bias because the technique itself reduces the likelihood that the sample will represent a good cross section from the population.

Anon. (1997). Survey sampling methods. Available: http://www.statpac.com/surveys/sampling.htm. Last accessed 15 July 2008.

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About the diploma project

The Design Brief:

To Design a range of lampshades made out of Bamboo [weaves] for architectural decor.

Why this project?

During a crafts workshop at Bhubaneshwar, I tried coming up with products that used the material and the technique of the craft, but broke away completely from the traditional feel of it. Honestly, I was quite thrilled about the things I had done there. when i started digging deeper into the field of design and crafts, i realised that this was not the only way i could go about working with this sector. during my internship, i realised that the intrinsic worth of the craft was not only the material and technique but also the tradition that backed the craft. hence, i wanted to do something where i could use tradition as the base to create contemporary products. also, i wanted to develop a craft product using a comprehensive process as i felt that a methodical and an organised approach was something that might help creating traditional yet contemporary products for today's market. i saw this project as an opportunity to deal with these notions/myths i had.

Why lampshades for architectural decor?

With the advent of globalization, certain monotony has crept into architectural spaces¹. In order to break away from the monotony, people are going back to their roots and trying to revive their cultural identity. We can look at the need for cultural identity as an advanced design trend, as a post-modern expression. Even if we try to bring about the cultural identity with industrial products, the large numbers will again bring us back to the basic problem of stagnation. This problem can be tackled very well with craft products as it has a benefit of producing larger variety in comparatively smaller numbers.

And when we talk about spaces, light plays a very essential role in creating both-spaces and atmosphere. Light is a very interesting medium to explore spaces. With the emerging need for cultural identity, luminaries can be a great entry point for craft products in today’s market.

^{1 When I look around, there are so many buildings, IT parks etc. coming up that eventually look the same. They are either large glass-clad buildings, buildings that look like oversized ventilators, or something that looks palatial. In his book” The World is flat”, Thomas Friedman has mentioned how every place has started looking the same. One can observe pockets of America in India and pockets of India in America. With globalization and international standards to be met, architectural spaces, especially multi-storeys that compete with each other to reach the sky, lack a variety/newness more often than not.}

In admiration of nature

Today was marked by a very unusual incident. In four years of staying in Bangalore, today was the first time I heard a Koyal here. It was so refreshing and pleasant to hear it sing 4.30 in the morning, I forgot about pretty much everything I should have been thinking about. For an instance I even forgot today was the 7th, the day to submit my final diploma proposal.

I thought this was the best way to start my blog. You need not always get straight to the point right!