STOP RECYCLING. START REPAIRING.

Knowledge / Events

Led by their Repair Manifesto that has taken the world by storm, Platform 21 aims to raise awareness about the mentality and beauty of repairing. Don't end it, mend it!

By Editor Design.nl /asdf 29-06-2009

Platform21 = Repairing starts with the idea that repair has been underestimated as a creative, cultural and economic force. If we don’t start looking at repair as a contemporary activity soon, an incredibly rich body of knowledge – one that contributes to human independence and pleasure – could be lost. The situation is especially puzzling when you consider current global interest in other ideas related to sustainability, such as recycling and the cradle-to-cradle philosophy.

Platform21 = Repairing aims to raise awareness of a mentality, a culture and a practice that not so long ago was completely integrated into life and the way we designed it. It is not too late.

In the hope of spurring a reappraisal of repair, Platform21 has written a manifesto describing the benefits of fixing things and calling upon designers and consumers to break the chain of throwaway thinking, a culture in itself almost designed to cater to short term needs of both industry, politics and society. But by being very successful at short term effects it has lost track of the innumerable and rich possibilities that lie ahead if durable notions of design in general, and repair especially, are reconsidered and implemented. The manifesto includes points such as: Things should be designed so they can be repaired, What doesn't kill it makes it stronger and Reparing is a creative challenge.

In the slipstream of the Repair Manifesto, Platform21 will organize workshops, an exhibition, lectures and repair evaluation clinics both with professional designers, students, amateurs, as well as the general public. It is in the richness of the pallet we want to present, from the mildly absurd positions of some of the participants involved, to the completely functional, logical and directly implementable techniques of others. Maybe the most important quality of repair is to give your products a longer life, but this is not the only quality. Repairing adds a soul to products, teaches us how things are made and to take care of things. It gives a sense of accomplishment and control, and not least important, it is fun. STOP RECYCLING. START REPAIRING.

Participants of Platform21 = Repairing include Jan Vormann, Cynthia Hathaway, Krijn Giezen, Yuri Suzuki, Rachel Griffin, Eran Nave, Guy Keulemans and Martijn Dijkhuizen, Nienke Sybrandy and Eva Heisterkamp, Ernesto Oraza, the Lloyd Hotel, Daan van den Berg, Nina Katchadourian, 5.5 designers, TXT department of the Gerrit Rietveld academy and Helmut Smits.

The full programme includes:

Exhibition
13 March until 30 August, Platform 21

Most Remarkable Repair Contest
16 March until 14 August
Ever made a repair you were really proud of? One that made a broken item more valuable, more beautiful, better? Or have you got a beloved broken item you’ve been planning to mend for ages? Well send in a picture of your lovingly repaired object to go in the running to win the Most Remarkable Repair Contest. Organised in collaboration with Bright.

Worklab
3-5 July, Platform 21
Bring in your broken things to be repaired in the Repairing workshop.

Repair Road Show
For the last few weeks, The Repair Road Show caravan has been travelling around festivals in The Netherlands. BYO cool things to repair. You can still catch the road show at:
11-12 July, Parade Festival, Utrecht
1-2 August, Parade Festival, Amsterdam

Premsela Forum on Repairing
Read more about the Premsela Forum on Repairing which was held in Milan recently as part of the 2009 Fuori Salone.Poster photography Leo Veger
Images 1-5: Houtfestival, Haarlem. Photography: Johannes Abeling
Image 6: Tapestation in Platform21, photography Leo Veger
Image 7: Plastic Surgery of artist Jan Vormann