BE OPEN to the Sound of the Future

BE OPEN to the Sound of the Future

LONDON, September 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --



- Creative Think Tank BE OPEN Highlights Sensory Design at the 2012 London Design
Festival



- 17th-23rd September 2012



BE OPEN, the global think tank set up to foster creativity and innovation, arrives in
London for the 2012 London Design Festival 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 EUR10,000 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 UK - 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.



http://www.beopenfuture.com




BE OPEN

CONTACT: For further information please contact Theresa Simon & Partners, London, +44-207-734-4800, Wendy Brierley wendy@theresasimon.com; Theresa Simon theresa@theresasimon.com


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