product design | lean start-up | business model generation | collaborative storytelling | installation design / build | book publishing | crowdfunding
AT A GLANCE
What is it? Social enterprise project that included a book, a line of wearables, a 150-meter installation, exhibition, public events, and a Kickstarter campaign that raised over 22K. Why did I do this? As a Fulbright Research Fellow, I sought to model Lean Start-up strategies of design and innovation at the Rajamangala University of Technology, Pohchang Campus, after determining a need to forge a connection between artists and contemporary designers. Where was this? Bangkok, reaching a global audience. With whom? Thai Sculpture Department at Pohchang College of Art & Design, the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, and Good After Nine |
To find the Nalikae Tree, a little girl builds a bridge of her thoughts across the hot wax sea. She strives to pass two doors that emerge in her path, but at the second one she falls into the sea. (To read the full story, request a copy.)
The reason I selected this lullaby, is that it is the inspiration for the architecture for a modern center for Buddhist study called the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives (BIA). Before the project, many did not realize this fact. The book and installation, along with 6 weeks of public events and exhibitions and coverage from newspaper, magazine, and television served to raise awareness of it. These also brought the lullaby, back into modern usage, inspiring reinterpretations and recordings by pop musicians and poets.
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So, I designed a bridge 150 m long and 4 m wide that went through the building, across the lake and to the island, up to the tree. Managing the construction meant 14-hour days for two weeks, working with teams of builders, volunteers, BIA staff, students and professors.
At the foot of the tree, we installed 4 permanent sculptures that represented the beads the child found in the story. These sculptures were based on the designs we created for the accessories in the AKSHA Kickstarter, and they functioned as long-lasting mementos of the story and the project for people around the world. |