|
The slogan, "Japan, a nation based on science
and technology," has come to prominence on the political stage
as a representation of the direction that Japan should take in the
twenty-first century. Even if there is a discrepancy between the
concepts of "citizen of the earth" as exemplified by the
slogan "The twenty-first century will be the century of the
environment" and the conceptual framework of "the nation
of Japan" referred to in the phrase "a nation based on
science and technology," very few people have argued against
promoting science and technology as one approach that Japan might
take to participating in the world community in the future.
Science has two application fields; technology and engineering.
If we assume that technology is a way of turning science into systems,
then I believe that engineering presupposes something concrete being
created from the research of engineers. So then, what is our own
field of "Design," which is expected to take the same
role of creating things? In the field of industrial design in particular,
which has supported this Good Design Award system for half a century,
there has been a tense cooperative working relationship between
engineering and design. Industrial design is by no means a mere
decoration applied to things created by engineers. By questioning
this relationship once again, we can recompose the evaluation criteria
for the Good Design Award, which in turn will enlarge the fields
for the Award.
THE INTEGRATION OF DESIGN AS A CONCEPT AND DESIGN
AS ACTIVITY
A look at this year's winners of the Gold
Prize and the Theme Prizes shows that almost all of them have arrived
at highly decisive means of solving problems in both technology
and form. The Yamaha TMAX scooter and two passenger
cars, the Nissan Primera and the Toyota Soarer
are obvious examples of this. This is a field that brings together
all of Japan's technological prowess, and even in that sense, these
products exemplify design fulfilling its role to the fullest extent
and are replete with an attractiveness that is downright entertaining.
Even in fields where achieving human-oriented design is considered
important, the top prizes went to products that succeeded in humanizing
technological innovations. First, in the Communication Design Category
founded this year, the "Small Fish"
by Triangle is a charity music concert which used technology to
allow hearing-impaired people to perform music and enjoy concerts
along with hearing people. Similarly, the color recognition device
Color Talk of Hokkei Kogyo was developed for
the visually impaired, while the Soft Mechanical Suit
of the Robotics Department of Ritsumeikan University was developed
to support the ability of elderly and physically impaired people
to exercise.
Looking at items that gave rise to new functional values, I can
say that there was an abundance of superior products that other
countries have no chance of matching. The INAX Satis
Shower Toilet has computerized the conventional low-tank household
toilet to create a tankless toilet. Matsushita Electronics is so
confident of the sturdiness of its CF-28 personal
computer. Similarly, in each field of industry we could see that
most of Special Prize recipients have all crystallized the functionalities
achieved through high technology in an honest, polished, and spare
form. The pick of this year's competition may be Yamaha's specially
installed swimming pool, SWIM 21. Allowing temporary
installation of a pool that meets international competitive standards
in an existing facility opens up the prospect of major cost reductions
and reuse. It has met the challenge of the three major issues of
ecology, economy, and energy. When it came time to decide the G-Mark
Grand Prize for 2001, the SWIM 21 competed its
value with Sendai Mediatheque to the last moment
of adjudication.
THE POINT OF VIEW OF A PROFESSIONAL DESIGNER
It goes without saying that one comes to a
fork in the road during the technological development process and
must decide between A and B. On what basis and by whom will the
decision between option A and option B made. After Mario Bellini
announced the office chair Ypsilon, four years
passed before it went on sale. The importance of the professional
designer's viewpoint of which their zeal to develop new material,
to refrain experiments, and to challenge technology was strongly
emphasized.
The following three entries, which received the highest number of
votes on surveys of people attending the exhibition, all inspired
a acknowledgment of the role of the professional designer. Bang
& Olufsen's audio system BeoSound 1 was
of such polished design that operating it was an emotional experience.
The answering telephone muTECH produced by Tae
Kwang Industrial and Iwasaki Design Studio, and the future model
of hydraulic excavator by Komatsu and Hirano Design also showed
that great care had been taken with their forms and showed designers
fulfilling their roles to the utmost by taking great care with forms
and creating attractive shapes. Even in-house designers, who are
usually considered to take a back seat to the technicians, have
actually exhibited painstaking attention to design in their products.
Toshiba's Electromagnetic Cooker, designed by a female in-house
designer, not only exhibits a sense of completeness in its form
but is also user-friendly in every detail.
THE MISSION OF DESIGN: TO MOTIVATE TECHNOLOGY
We have begun to hear calls for the reintegration
of the two domains of design, which have gradually split away from
each other in our industrialized society. If we think of formalism,
functionality, and social responsibility as part of a total package,
we will once more see demands for the power of integrated product
development that supersedes boundaries again. Both recipients of
the Ecology Design Prize, reproduction of tableware and the Crystal
Clay's glass recycling network are the result of cooperation among
industry, academia, and private businesses. I believe that one of
the most important roles that contemporary society demands of the
designer is constructing systems that move us closer to a sustainable
society and incorporating them into daily life.
Sendai Mediatheque by Toyoo Ito and Sendai City,
which received the Grand Prize in the Facility and Architecture
Design Category, invites the citizens to an artificial park made
of "plates" and "tubes," and succeeds in creating
a relaxing space as if people could rest among trees. I believe
that this success stems from the fact the architect's superb sensitivity
has provided a strong motivation for both the systems operating
in the tangible aspects of the architecture, such as structures
and facilities, and for the intangible aspects, such as media environments.
What will be required of Japan in the future
will in fact not be mere technology, but ways to arouse the passion
that brings forth ideas and products in Engineering. I feel that
this is the mission of design.
Coco Funabiki
Vice Chairman of the Jury
President, Tokyo Design Center
|
