BE OPEN to the Sound of the Future

BE OPEN, the global think tank set up to foster creativity and innovation, arrives in London for the 2012 London Design Festival (through Sept. 23, 2012) as part of a broader project by the think tank to explore the five traditional senses - sight, smell, taste, touch and sound - the starting point for research into the next realm, that of the sixth sense, or intuition.

Sixth sense design would represent the ultimate synthesis of human sensory perception and technological genius, offering an infinite variety of sensations that would overcome the perceived limitations of design today.

London has been chosen to host sound, while other key design cities will become centres for research into the other senses, through to completion of the circle at the London Design Festival 2013.  Sound will be explored through the BE OPEN Sound Portal, a site-specific installation co-produced with the London Design Festival and designed by world-leading acoustic engineers Arup, for Trafalgar Square, one of the most iconic spots of the city.

A series of talks and events will accompany this installation: the BE OPEN 'Sound Design' Talk, in collaboration with WIRED Consulting and BE OPEN Sound Portal Lunchtime Talk at the V&A; BE OPEN SPACE at The Dock with Tom Dixon; BE OPEN AWARDS exhibition and ceremony at 100% Design.

Elena Baturina, Russian businesswoman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded BE OPEN, explains: 'Our project at the London Design Festival, the BE OPEN Sound Portal and associated events, involves working with people who represent the future of acoustic development. "We will effectively be setting up an ambitious mobile laboratory for exploring the boundaries of what can be achieved with sound technology - an active demonstration of design's transformational abilities - and holding talks and discussions to put these ideas forward. We engage with people across all platforms - the arts, science, education and the media - as we believe that the most innovative discoveries are made where these disciplines meet."

After its residency in Trafalgar Square, the Portal will be installed at Chelsea College of Art and Design, where it will host student sound works, commissioned by BE OPEN, that will be presented in 2013 as part of BE OPEN Inside the Academy, a platform to support emerging talent.  The BE OPEN Awards is another initiative to support young creatives, with three winners being selected from over 300 submissions from 47 countries to receive study grants for leading design institutes and to share €10,000 to develop their projects further.  Their work will be showcased at 100% Design, while at Tom Dixon's Dock, young design studios will exhibit their latest ideas in the BE OPEN SPACE.

With three countries - Italy with Salone del Mobile (April 2012), Switzerland with Design Miami/Basel (June 2012) and now the U.K. - and numerous events already under its belt, and at not even a year old, BE OPEN is already on its way to becoming an international byword for innovative design.

For more information about BE OPEN, visit their website: http://www.beopenfuture.com.

Image Courtesy: London Design Festival Facebook