By Design
January 10th, 2008 by Dan HillThere are relatively few regular design or architecture shows on the world’s radio. There’s the subject of this entry below; Japan’s J-Wave has one; Melbourne’s Triple R has the excellent The Architects; KCRW in Santa Monica hosts the monthly “DNA”; and NPR’s syndicated weekly Smart City. But that’s about it, as far as I know (comment below if you know more). The BBC has certainly never committed to a regular show, despite its array of networks. The Architects is probably the best for architecture, but for a general magazine programme about design, architecture, urbanism and related issues, ABC Radio National’s weekly ‘By Design’ is pretty hard to beat.
It’s fronted by Alan Saunders, who also presents their weekly philosophy programme The Philosopher’s Zone, and he’s an excellent presenter, with the rich sonorous voice beloved of speech radio. A somewhat fruity sybaritic pom, he will always find room for an item on lingerie, bikinis or gastronomy, and really, who can blame him. That food is often considered might seem odd for a show ostensibly about design and architecture, yet the issues of craft, detail, provenance, supply chain management, lifecycle thinking, organic production, sustainability and branding are all evident here, just as they are in the wider field of design. So all credit to the show for its open mind. They describe it as a show “about how we shape our world”, which is just about right.
The slightly daggy music breaking up each section - “And now, trends and products” - is as endearingly Radio National as dear old Alan’s plummy tones and wry delivery. But the show has developed nicely into enquiring, considered, well-informed and smart round-up of genuinely interesting design, architecture and urbanism developments, with an emphasis on home (Australia) but a view to the world..
The latest show repeats a good interview with Danish architect Jan Gehl, on re-orientating Sydney’s centre towards people, a not terribly enlightening item on video games, and a slightly creepy tour around Alain de Botton’s home in West London (it’s de Botton that’s creepy; the ‘through the keyhole’ format works surprisingly well on radio.) The previous featured one of those swimwear items that Saunders perhaps spends a little too much time on, but also some fascinating discussions of molecular food, how our notion of comfort, cleanliness and convenience has changed and the mobile home.
But the show before, broadcast just before Christmas as an annual ‘Best Of …’, provides a good overview of what the show covers: the excellent Elizabeth Farrelly of the Herald rambles slightly about her new book Blubberland (desire, beauty, happiness, obesity, cities - together at last); a good look at sustainable vs. endangered building materials; the paradoxes in the world’s food supply; and a great piece on prefabrication, by an architect who’s studied the automative and aeronautical industries for inspiration.
ABC Radio National: By Design 22/12/07 (mp3)
January 10th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Why do mainstream media owners run a mile from design? Why does something that *seems* so important get so little pop media attention. I don’t have a good answer, except that I sometimes think designers *think* they’re more important than they really are. They defensively classify themselves alongside engineers and artists but they’re frightened that they really belong over there with the manicurists and the landscape gardeners :->
January 18th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Hmm, engineers and artists are designers, at least in the broad definition of design that ‘By Design’ rightly takes. Design as a sphere of activity, shaping things (hence Saunders’s inclusion of food etc.) (Although that broad definition should probably then include politicians etc., which would make it something quite different.)
So design in this wider sense certainly includes landscape gardeners, architects, engineers, product designers, as well as the graphic designer (web designer?) you’re probably alluding to? Hence its importance. The manicurist I’d class as a stylist rather than a designer, but these aren’t exactly precise definitions.
Radio 4, for instance, has regular shows on sports, politics, farming, ‘medical matters’, travel, food, money, religion, ‘country life’, even poetry for goodness’ sake … and of course the media itself (how could the media not have a show about the media?) The lack of a design/architecture programme there speaks volumes about the BBC’s (Britain’s) lack of understanding of such things.
It might also be because, like snooker, some will struggle with what they think of as a visually-orientated subject matter on the radio. That again shows a lack of understanding of design. Equally, By Design - and the other shows I mention - indicate that it’s entirely possible to cover the subject(s), and well. I wonder if, in Britain at least, networks like Radio 4 are still largely run by the vestigial nub of an establishment orientated towards the literary (e.g. despite our best efforts here, highlighting the likes of Chris Watson et al, how many shows orientated towards sound, music or film, compared to books?). I’d be interested in what other countries/cultures have to offer in this area. For example, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, China, India, Mexico, Brazil. It’s interesting that Australia and Japan cover it.
However, as a designer, I know might have fallen into your trap and look a little defensive. But have a few listens to By Design. I’d be interested in your thoughts.