COORDINATED BY VINCENZO DI MARIA AND SUSANA ANTÓNIO
This creative lab operating simultaneously in Lisbon and London challenged senior college students and recent graduates to design solutions that would contribute to improving the quality of life of the elderly, based on building intergenerational relationships. Given the widespread phenomenon of the aging population, Action for Age addresses the challenges and opportunities for interaction as a means of fostering social cohesion, reciprocity, and transversal involvement, affecting the elderly.
Action for Age launched a national idea contest in October of 2010. EXD’11 now presents, at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the outputs of the 12 projects selected by the jury among the entries from 22 Portuguese schools. The exhibition will engage viewers in a journey through the entire work process, which was develop throughout a 12-month mentoring programme assisted by the Action for Age coordinators. The opening is marked by the projection of the documentary directed by Rui Simões, which has followed closely the unfolding of the work process, preceded by a brief introductory conference.
The goal is to assess the current status of the projects, where there future design professionals dealt with the many phases of project development, such as design, budgeting, management or monitoring of the implementation. An educational and formative approach to the design process, from the reflection around the original brief to the implementation stage, with all its inherent challenges.
Action for Age involves a total of 45 students from 5 teaching institutions (IPVC, UA, ESAD CR, FBAUL) that developed the work in five different locations: Viana do Castelo, Vale do Cávado, Aveiro, Caldas da Rainha, Lisbon. The exhibition of the outcomes also opens up new possibilities for other partners to join and support the continuity of these projects. A demonstration of design’s potential as a driving force for social innovation, mediating efforts and strengthening ties between institutions, stakeholders and users on the ground.
Original Brief Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and commerce/ Co-production EXD, RSA, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Santa Casa da Misericórdia/ Coordinators Vincenzo di Maria, Susana António/ Documentary Rui Simões – Real Ficção/ Exhibition Design Vincenzo di Maria, Susana António/ Graphic Design Marco Balesteros/ Participants T(h)REE GENERATION — Bruno Ferreira Mendes, Daniela Pereira Mata, Josiana Santos Vieira/ Simple Phone — Carolina Vieira de Sousa, Jaime Ribeiro Martins, Samuel Nogueira Cordeiro/ Projecto COR — Carolina Domingues Gaspar, Joana Oliveira Ramos, Joana Moreira de Carvalho, Mª Beatriz Pinheiro Lacerda, Pedro Gomes Araújo, Rui Couto Ramos/ Chat Analógico — Daniela Gapo, Melissa Borges, Samuel Lemos/ Com amor se paga — David Teixeira dos Santos, Diana Dias da Cruz, Francisco Quaresma Bairrão, Margarida Ferreira de Pinho, Pedro Oliveira Santos, Sandra Gil Saraiva/ Raízes — Diogo Cruz Louro, Inês Vizinho da Maia, João Valente Silva Alves, João Lopes Carvalho, Joel Enes da Torre/ GeraCity_Viana do Castelo — Fernanda Araújo, Tiago Gonçalves/ Saber à la Carte — Joana Isabel Fernandes da Cunha, Mariana Pereira Novo/ experimenta | cultivar — Joana Santos Nunes, Pedro Fróis Menes/ Vianna Cubo — Jorge Passos, Sara Vaz/ BECONNECTED — José Miguel Soares Pinto, Rita Mota Silva, Sara Silva/ Oficina dos Mestres — Luís Félix Viana, Maria de Fátima Cerqueira/
