All Tomorrow’s Problems: the Biweekly Design Night for Future-Focused People
Starting on October 1st at 7pm, we’ll be running biweekly Design Nights focused on creative problem solving All Tomorrow’s Problems. Namely, we’re going to kick things off looking at the issues of youth retention in the city and gradually move on to other future-focused issues. BCL’s Research Director, Justin, and a rotating co-host will guide [...]
![It’s taken a number of weeks, but we finished wiring the LED sign at tonight’s Office Hours! It was a pretty incredible moment to plug in the sign, turn off the lights, and realize that we made this come together. I’m really, really, really happy with how it turned out!!! There are still a few [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/img_2667-150x150.jpg "The LED Sign is Finished!!!")
![On Thursday, Justin heads up the 401 for WHAT IS OUR URBAN IMAGINARY? Thursday | December 6 | 7 – 9pm at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Join the conversation as we consider how building design, urban spaces, and creative interventions in the city shape our collective experiences and imagination. Guest panelists include artist Justin Langlois, co-founder [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/KWAG-invite-Urban-Imaginary-150x150.jpg "Panel Discussion: What is our Urban Imaginary?")
![We are already nearing the end of our priming process for our letters after only beginning last week! While we got to painting the rest of the letters on Friday, I prepared a few things earlier in the week for our next step, painting the letters in a fabulous bright red. After deciding on a [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/leadRosinaPic-150x150.jpg "Finishing Phase Three and Experimenting with Colour")
![Meeting twice in a week is awesome. I can’t say that enough. So much time makes us way more productive and makes it a lot easier to be OK with not having everyone there all the time. First on the list, doing some really, really quick tests of the potential of embedding LEDs in ice [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/IMG_6483-150x150.jpg "Snow, LEDs, Flights, Fill-in-the-blanks, Proofs, and Postcards")
![We spent a couple hours on Monday exploring some specific sites around the city to start planning some upcoming projects. Getting out and documenting and talking about these places really helped to solidify how important it is for some creative intervention/interaction with the city and how excited we are to do it. The clear view [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/Welcome-to-Windsor-sign-on-Dougall-just-off-the-401-150x150.jpg "BCL Report – Sept 29, 2008")
![Sara and I spent some time planning out some very preliminary designs for our Grades for Public Spaces project. The gist of the project is to have a series of rubrics to annotate / grade public space — or rather, use those rubrics as a tool to generate conversation and engagement in the use and rethinking [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IMG_6597-150x150.jpg "Grades for Public Spaces (design phase)")
![We’ve been quiet on the blog, but not because we haven’t been busy. I’ve been working away at the final touches for the maps for Sites of Apology / Sites of Hope, which while taking longer than I had anticipated, was well worth it. The map looks great, we’ll be posting it on here soon [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/IMG_3153-150x150.jpg "Mid-August: Maps, Writing & Cardboard")
![To continue the progress of our cardboard letter project, I took the remaining pieces home on the weekend to finish T, E, and R. Though the first stage may be over, there’s still plenty left to work on in terms of researching and experimenting with various materials which I looked into as well. After constructing [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/IMG_3279-150x150.jpg "Fun with Cardboard Letters")
![Just back from an incredible week installing at Eye Level Gallery for our show, Unrest Everywhere (tools for playing with Halifax), which runs until May 12, 2012. The show features a number of multiples and interactive works, all of which are yours for the taking and borrowing. The premise for the show was to create [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IMG_7792-150x150.jpg "New Exhibition: Unrest Everywhere (Tools for Playing with Halifax)")
![We’re in the middle of reviewing the submissions for Homework: Infrastructures & Collaboration in Social Practices! Using the mail-merge function built into Word, we’re taking the csv file that our form builder wordpress plugin generated from all the Homework submissions and putting them into a readable document. It’s 212 pages long. We’re working through this [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-30-at-8.51.26-AM-150x150.png "Reviewing 212 Pages of Homework Submissions")
![I picked up five test panels on Friday from the printers and got a test shot of them installed on the buses. These first five panels were made up internally at BCL (we still haven’t had the chance to start going through all the submissions yet). I’ll be going back to the downtown terminal this [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/img_3773-150x150.jpg "Text In-Transit Test Panel")
![In preparation for Art’s 1,000,046 Birthday Celebration this Saturday, January 17, 2009 at Phog (starts at 8:30pm, $3 for students and unemployed and Artcite members, $4 for everyone else), we spent Sunday evening making Broken City Lab fortune cookies from scratch. There’s lots of pictures of our adventures in baking after the jump. The process of making [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/img_1964-150x150.jpg "Making Fortune Cookies")
![Wednesday afternoon shifts into further work on testing the efficacy of the styrofoam letters being black. We’re trying to decide in anticipation of our Letter Library (A Collection of Alphabetic Interventions). Sara and Hiba painted. HELLO. Also, Kiki came by to help us paint the movable wall! And, Josh made these for a workshop [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMG_9276-150x150.jpg "Designing & Prototyping tools for intervention: Letter Library + Gif Party")
![Last night was the second iteration of Cross-Border Communication where we sent a variety of messages from Windsor to Detroit. We started with “We’ve Missed You.” We’ll be doing the final iteration of this suite of Cross-Border Communication tonight (Wednesday) around the usual time (8pm). Some other folks stopped by on our side to see [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/IMG_4629-150x150.jpg "Cross-Border Communication: We’ve Missed You (and other things worth saying)")
![Something I meant to do a while ago, but I’m doing it now… I’ve uploaded the list of 100 ways we suggested to save the city. The list ranges from the entirely possible to completely imagined, but each one might just make this city a better place, or at least make you feel a little [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/100ways-screenshot-150x150.jpg "100 Ways to Save the City in PDF")
![Yet another extremely productive weekend at BCL HQ! We’ve been finishing up the last preparations for our cardboard letters, which we hope to be unveiling them in our first chosen spot next week! On friday night, we cracked open the paint once more to paint the final coats on before we begin to add the [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG_0578-150x150.jpg "Prepping for Next Week- Last Coats and Beads!")
![Tuesday night’s Broken City Lab Office Hours were successful, but as usual, all too short. Spending the majority of the time in Lebel’s wood shop, we started working on our LED sign, but still have a long ways to go with it. We cut plexiglass, drilled holes, and started soldering—I think we’ll continue next Monday [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/img_2074-150x150.jpg "LED Sign Construction")
![Above, Homework Artists-in-Residence presenting their work, Photo by Eduardo Aquino It’s a week later than we had hoped to be making this kind of wrap-up post, but we also know this is just the beginning of a larger conversation that will span far beyond this space. Homework: Infrastructures & Collaboration in Social Practices hosted over 120 [...]](http://d1ugx41kvdwavn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/yes_no_9-3-150x150.jpg "Finishing Up Our Homework (late assignment)")