Notes Design

What happens when a PhD materials scientist and a fashion trend forecaster get together to predict the future? Sounds slightly far-fetched, but this was exactly the premise for Left Brain/Right Brain, a Design Week-concurrent (but not -affiliated) presentation held at The New School in Manhattan earlier this week.

Andrew Dent, Material Connexion's chief materials librarian, formed the Left Brain part of the show; Li Edelkoort played Right -- for those not familiar with her stuff, she heads Trend Union, a trends, colors and materials forecasting group, and judging by the turnout and price tag ($300 for two and a half hours), enjoys much respect in the fashion and architecture communities she serves.

Dent's half consisted of a rapid rundown of sustainability-oriented developments in a half dozen different material groups, featuring several choice informational sound bites. For example:

-Humans have made more concrete than any other material on earth, and its production is responsible for between five and seven percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.