A zoo is a window on nature. A zoo is a place where we can become familiar with nature, learn about it, think about it; a place that expresses a country's culture and teaches us many things. A zoo is where children can receive an education of impeccably high standard, a resource-rich visual field for building an environmental education from the bottom up. This exhibition opened the door to novel, approachable design linked to real-world experience through the expertise of Yasuko Ikeda, a professor at Kyoto Saga University of Arts who has been involved in the design of numerous zoos and botanical gardens. "Design zoo~ was created at kyoto ddd gallery in the image of Kyoto City Zoo, realized as a project of her university. Among its features were a symbolic tree that taught about biodiversity conservation, a kaleidoscope filled with animal and plant-based materials that visitors could use while walking around the gallery, signs with life-sized animals that seemed to “leap out” at the visitor, miniature dioramas that showed animals' natural habitats, and a game that explained eco-systems.
ID
ddd_224
Exhibition Name
Design ZOO ー Life meets design
Period
January 18, 2020–March 21, 2020
Exhibition Type
ddd exhibition
Venue
ddd Uzumasa, Kyoto
Featured Designers
Poster Designers
Cooperation
January 18, 2020
Gallery Talk & Workshop
kyoto ddd gallery- Participants: OMORI Masao、IKEDA Yasuko、TAKEUCHI Osamu、SAKAMOTO Hidehusa、TANAKA Masayuki
The first half on the discussion was about the exhibition. Ms. Ikeda said she has been totally focused on design relating to zoos and botanical gardens out of a desire to draw out the thoughts of the people who work there, to convey them to children. Mr. Takeuchi, speaking about the display plan, said that although personally he isn7t fond of animals, he designed from the perspective of making it thrilling for visitors, adding that he strove to enable students to manifest their individuality. The second half of the talk began with an explanation by Mr. Sakamoto of the history of Kyoto City Zoo. He said that due to budget constraints they had to design the zoo themselves, the results being poor. He said that working with Kyoto Saga University of Arts was a tremendous help. Mr. Tanaka, whose field is research, expressed the view that design is very effective for quickly and broadly conveying researchers' commitment to their work, which they themselves are able to do only in writing.
Gallery
Photographer: YOSHIDA Akihito