Open Design City

Just a few hours after I’ve written my latest blog post about the creative space in general and 3rd Ward as an example, I found this article about the future of DIY. One example is the Open Design City in Berlin, a project by the bethaus Berlin.

I will quote the ODC-principles, to make sure you understand it:

“Open Design City, is more than a workshop, it is a collaboration space in which new relationships and projects will be formed between it’s citizens. Open Design City is a space that encourages the sharing of tools, knowledge, ideas and skills. It is a space to explore the principles of Open Design.
Open Design is design for the commons. Products that people are free to make, adapt, modify and build upon. The barriers to entry and access should be minimal. Open design products by their nature should be delivered in beta, perceived not as complete but continuously evolving, in dialogue with the user and the world.
To this end Open Design citizens should seek to share their work with the world according to the above principles. We shall be exploring with you new methods of monetisation and reward, and will support you in this quest.

The guideline for Open Design City is one word.

Share – Share yourself – Share your tools - Share your time – Share your ideas” (via odc.betahaus.de)

It was a long quote. But I think worth presenting it here. Maybe you prefer a video, than take a look at Delivered in Beta:

I love it. Now I just need to ask betahaus Hamburg to start the Open Design City in Hamburg as well. I took part at some workshops and other events in the betahaus. It’s a lot of fun, and you meet interesting people.

But there is one thing missing. And which makes me want to start a 3rd Ward in Hamburg. You can’t just rent a half hour to use the band saw or bench grinder. That’s what I am missing a lot. A possibility to create the stuff I want. In Berlin it is possible.

Another great idea are the fab labs. It is the short term for fabrication laboratory. Take a look at wikipedia for more information or watch the following video. There is one thing I really like a lot in the future vision: the sharing button.