Welcome to the Archive of IDRA
The International Design Resource Awards Competition was created by Tom and Barbara Johnson, of Johnson Design Studio in Seattle, WA in 1994 with a grant from the State of Washington’s Clean Washington Center. The Clean Washington Center was charged with the task of finding markets for recycled content materials. These materials were being gathered in greater and greater quantities as the result of mandatory waste collection programs in the State of Washington.
Foreword |
We at the Studio felt that the best way to create markets for these new materials was to put them in the hands of the design community, because it was this group who could best use their creativity to find the highest values for the new materials. From the beginning the goal of the program was to generate sustainably designed, economically viable products and architecture from these new materials. Not only was there a criteria for designing with recycled, sustainable or re-used materials, and for design for dis-assembly and re-use, but we wanted the designs to add value to these new materials so that they would be used in economically viable products suitable for multiple production.
The Competition format was the perfect venue for designers, marketing people, manufacturers, and educators all to meet and exchange ideas. We asked for the winners to send us an actual sample of the product and these became the centerpiece for wonderful exhibits here and in the UK, Japan and China. We hoped that the Competition and Exhibits offered the best chance for the proposed products and building ideas to get to market, and in fact quite a few have done so. What started as a local economic development project blossomed in the first year to over 200 entries, both student and professional, with half the entries coming from outside the US! I thought it would be helpful to make an archive of the program so these ideas and projects, which contributed to the development of the idea of sustainable design, would be available for research in the years ahead. Enjoy! Tom Johnson |
1994-2003
Design with Memory™ |
During the exhibit at IDEE in Tokyo as part of the Whole Earth Project, I met Professor Fumi Masuda and he suggested that the term "sustainable design" didn't translate well into Japanese, because "sustain" was a musical term for them. After some wonderful conversations we agreed that "Design with Memory" would be a more exact translation from English to Japanese and vice versa for this type of design effort. We both thought this new phrase provided an excellent opportunity to explore new meanings and possibilities for this new field of design. With funding from MITI, the Japanese Ministry of Trade, and other interested parties, we launched a series of exhibits and seminars leading up to the 5th and 6th Design Resource Awards Competitions. The original design criteria for the competition remained the same, but we encouraged people to explore design using new approaches suggested by "Designing with Memory" as a way to add value to their work.
Click on the images below to see some examples of the four identified pathways of designing with memory from past winners in the Design Competition and the accompanying exhibits |
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