RCA’s Platform 11: Not Just About Designing

9 Apr 2008 Category: Conscientious Design, Events & Exhibitions, Products, Worldwide

RCA’s Platform 11: Not Just About Designing

Did he just jump out of a mecha? Awesome techy gear! With his "Avator Machine," Marc Owens is wearing a costume with a tiny camera behind the head that allows him to view himself as virtual character - but in real space. The system potentially diminishes social responsibility, and could lead the user to demonstrate behaviors normally reserved for the gaming environment... See people's reaction in Tokyo from here.

Today, PingMag would like to venture a little bit into academia to meet provocative ideas at their dawning: the Design Products course of one of the most famous postgraduate art and design institution, the Royal College of Art (RCA), has a reputation for its great offspring, such as Ross Lovegrove, Jasper Morrison or our favourite Takeshi Ishiguro, to name only a few. With just thirteen students enrolled, its Platform 11 studio uses design as a medium to address contemporary and speculative issues related to technology, psychology and socio-political trends. Time for PingMag to talk to the tutor, Noam Toran, who stopped by Tokyo for the students’ CRASHLAND exhibition at Trico Gallery last month.

Written by Chiemi

First, tell us about the platforms within RCA’s Design Products course…

The two-years MA Design Products course has seventy students and the platforms are a way of making smaller groups and having them focus. Each platform is run by two tutors who are usually specialists in areas of design. Some of the platforms are focused on furniture design or industrial design and there are different ways of going about that. For example, some of them are interested in philosophy, environment or materials.


From the CRASHLAND exhibition, Benjamin Males’ “Hermes:” British people are being watched by numerous CCTV cameras. As potential application of this technology, he created…

… a fully automatic racial targeting system, captured a target by camera to analyse and distinguish race.

Freddie Yauner’s “The Fastest Clock in the World” displays a millionth of a second, suggesting problems which might be caused by possession of the exact time…

What is the concept of Platform 11?

Platform 11 has been running for five years, and essentially we are interested in using design processes to address complex issues of society. A lot of these issues deal with the affects of emerging technologies. It’s not necessarily technologies themselves, but how they might influence behaviour or affect emotions. So, one element is technology and another element is socio-political trends.


Tony Mullin’s “Untitled” focuses on people’s relationship to their social and natural environments. The sand castles made with this bucket show…

… about decaying landscapes, dislocated bodies and natural environments…

Interesting that you try to approach those issues through design, not art.

Design could be suited for it more than art because it sits within a material language that we understand, and that is very personal and intimate rather than art which is seen and understood in a space that separates, in a gallery… So, the philosophy that we’re attempting is “Does design have the capability to address these issues in the same way that film, literature and art do?”

Hmmm… what kind of stuff do your students produce through a given brief?

They don’t try to answer the brief. The idea we focus on is the area of research. And from that, they develop work very subjectively, so we are not interested at all in the outcome. We just want students to produce interesting works that speak about complex issues, and afterwards, we can choose what context they want to be seen within.


Matthew Plummer-Fernandez’ “The Analogue Website” explores the possibility of mechanical survival in a digital world: a webcam running along a train track (above) takes images of physical objects (below)…

… thus acting as an interpreter between the two realms since its converting the pictures into imagery that is uploaded to the Internet.

What are they working on specifically, for example?

Lucia Massari’s work came about from the brief in this year when we asked them to “engineer an experience.” Meaning they had to create a simulator. So they needed to imagine real life circumstances or some based on personal experience, or desire and artificially create them using tricks such as movement, sound and smell.

So, Lucia ended up doing a video and a book about the bodybuilder. She was interested in the concept of hyper reality and she started to look at bodybuilders because there are aesthetics twisted from a generic understanding of physical beauty. She hired a bodybuilder to critique a statue of Michelangelo’s David that symbolises Western beauty. She videotaped him going through the image book criticising every element of David’s body. It was very funny. In the end, it wasn’t really a piece of design but it became something more of an art work.


Lucia Massari’s “David Pumpe by iron pumper.” Lucia showed a book and a video of a bodybuilder criticising the body features of the David statue.

According to the bodybuilder, poor David needs more muscle…

Dash Macdonald’s “In Your Hands” is a performance and accompanying video where remote-controlled roller skates place the artist’s fate in the hands of the audience to challenge its ethical parameters. It shows how far people are willing to go. By the way, Dash has done this performance in several countries and someone made him fall down stairs…

Demitrios Kargotis’s “Dr. Zorbas” - by watching the Greeks’ greatest moment in a little box, a Greek can blow a balloon with his pride. Of course, the size of the balloon depends on how big his pride is!

Jen Hui Liao’s “One Month’s Worth” allows a person to carry a months’ worth of supplies in the event of a catastrophe where organising systems break down and people are left to their own devices.

By the way, the CRASHLAND show was actually fantastic! The stories and the concepts from your students were fun and very interesting.

I’m glad to hear that. I think the show was successful too. The work itself had to be visually stimulating enough from the beginning to make people really want to know more about it. This show was a first test and we are going to look for a venue to exhibit it again in London.

Thomas Pausz’ “Futourist Kit.” A very eye-catching plastic bag turns into a hammock to reference present and future communities on the move, such as migrant workers, tourists or designers, thus projecting possible needs in a rapidly changing cultural and natural environment.

Tom Foulsham’s “Investigations into Drawing with Light - Mechanism No.10.” The inverse of moving a pen across paper is moving the paper underneath the pen…

By using the camera lens instead of a pen, and the camera film instead of a sheet of paper, the drawing is shown on the night sky as the light.

Giuseppe Guerriero’s “Sun City” is a proposal for a new amusement park based on the true experiences of living in Napoli, Italy. Giuseppe made an illusionary façade and the dark side of the Napolitan experience into a cartoon.

How did your students feel about having a show in Tokyo?

I think they were thrilled. They must have learned a lot about how to organise and to exhibit a show abroad. The RCA students are not kids, they tend to be quite professional but they could be easily distracted by the power of Tokyo and sucked in. I’m really glad that they managed to do it.

A shot from the reception party of CRASHLAND exhibition at Trico Gallery.

In what direction do your students usually go after graduating from Platform 11?

Variety of things. Some people start to teach.

I guess not very many of them become ordinary product designers…

Oh, they do. I have a lot of graduates who have become very traditional product designers.

That’s interesting…


Platform 11 tutors Noam Toran (left) and Onkar Kular (right.)

Yes (Laughs.) Because Platform 11 is conceptual and has a bit of a… strange side as a product design course (Laughs.) But our students have good design, engineer and programming skills. I’m very proud of them becoming professional designers.

Noam Toran, thank you very much! Looking forward to seeing your students becoming the next uber designers!

48 Comments

  1. outstanding article as always! lots of cool stuff! thanks pingmag, i love you!

    Posted by: mike on April 9th, 2008 at 11:42 pm

  2. Great to hear what students are doing. I love the Michelangelo work and also felt very close to Sun City - lol. Keep it up!

    Posted by: Aroldo on April 10th, 2008 at 1:52 am

  3. outstanding article as always! lots of cool stuff! thanks pingmag, i love you!

    Posted by: web on August 29th, 2010 at 2:52 am

  4. Great to hear what students are doing

    Posted by: tattoos on August 29th, 2010 at 2:53 am

  5. outstanding article as always! lots of cool stuff! thanks pingmag, i love you!

    Posted by: seks on October 5th, 2010 at 11:18 am

  6. outstanding article as always! lots of cool stuff! thanks pingmag, i love you!

    Posted by: calmiva on March 17th, 2011 at 4:08 am

  7. outstanding article as always! lots of cool stuff! thanks pingmag, i love you!

    Posted by: altın çilek form seti on March 19th, 2011 at 12:13 am

  8. It is nice to find a site about my interest. My first visit to your site is been a big help. Thank you for the efforts you been putting on making your site such an interesting and informative place to brdsgdshowse through. I’ll be visiting your site again to gather some more valuable information. You truly did a good job.

    Posted by: men watches online on May 23rd, 2011 at 11:18 am

  9. Awesome website. Keep up the good work.

    Posted by: Podcast Business on May 29th, 2011 at 10:08 am

  10. Nice website. Awesome job.

    Posted by: podcast marketing scott paton on May 29th, 2011 at 5:31 pm

  11. Extremely nice website. Excellent job!

    Posted by: podcast Jason Van Orden on May 29th, 2011 at 10:37 pm

  12. Yeast Infection is something you dont knead to live with there is many cures

    Posted by: Anonymous on June 3rd, 2011 at 7:19 am

  13. Gout is the most painful thing I’ve ever felt. Your website is a godsend! Thank you.

    Posted by: gout cure on June 9th, 2011 at 11:33 pm

  14. interesting site, looks cool,some good stuff on it, keep up the good work.

    Posted by: Create Profitable Niche Market. on June 12th, 2011 at 6:43 am

  15. ” Our life is the creation of our mind.” -Buddha.

    Posted by: future of computing on June 17th, 2011 at 1:13 am

  16. tutti i componenti ecessari per l’autocostruzione di

    Posted by: energie rinnovabili on June 17th, 2011 at 12:44 pm

  17. Cloud Computing � Unified Communications,

    Posted by: InBound Marketing & Sales Consultants on July 15th, 2011 at 10:49 pm

  18. This is the best soccer website ever!!!!!!!!!! And u can shop from the ads they r all right!!!!!

    Posted by: Soccer on July 18th, 2011 at 2:58 pm

  19. If u like soccer visit us!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Posted by: Soccer on July 19th, 2011 at 2:32 am

  20. süper site

    Posted by: goruntulu sohbet on July 22nd, 2011 at 3:10 am

  21. Virtual Reality in another form?

    Posted by: Fence New Jersey on July 30th, 2011 at 12:04 am

  22. Design and socio-political trends. I’m not sure I get it much.

    Posted by: Wedding Videography Philadelphia on July 30th, 2011 at 12:41 am

  23. So the latter designs actually make much more sense than that virtual reality thing.

    Posted by: Patios South Jersey on July 30th, 2011 at 1:38 am

  24. Keep it up kids!

    Posted by: Video Production Company Philadelphia on July 30th, 2011 at 1:38 am

  25. google seo birinci siraya cikin sizde

    Posted by: goruntulu sohbet on August 6th, 2011 at 1:17 am

  26. A detailed Advertising Review

    Posted by: united healh care on August 10th, 2011 at 9:40 pm

  27. I have never seen it from that perspective. Fortunately there are a couple of approachs to do things. I always prefer to undertsand a new approach of taking a look at it. Thanks for the information.

    Posted by: Marketing Strategy Template on August 16th, 2011 at 6:18 pm

  28. That is an attention-grabbing subject and also you carry up some really attention-grabbing points. I by no means thought of it like that.

    Posted by: Examples Viral Marketing on August 17th, 2011 at 1:28 pm

  29. I always prefer to undertsand a brand new manner of looking at it. Thanks for the information. I never thought of it like that.

    Posted by: Skinny Guy Muscle on August 21st, 2011 at 9:43 am

  30. Enjoy this site very much. Chess training is ongoing; individual play, individual coaching, clubs, tournys, computers, so many opportunities for improved play. What do you think?

    Posted by: pc chess games on September 2nd, 2011 at 4:36 am

  31. I loved reading this post. I am completely happy to seek out this post because I’m interested within the topic.

    Posted by: Natural Products Database on September 9th, 2011 at 10:45 am

  32. I like your website,looking for the best kitchen cabinets in town gta.

    Posted by: gta kitchen cabinets in toronto on October 9th, 2011 at 7:55 am

  33. I am really thankfull

    Posted by: All Failure on October 21st, 2011 at 12:42 am

  34. I am impressed with your website and interested in collectibles.

    Posted by: Jim Shore Collectibles on November 2nd, 2011 at 3:37 am

  35. Hey, I like your website, it is a wonderful site! I’m looking for some informations about sports betting to put in my page.

    Posted by: christian louboutin on November 10th, 2011 at 1:02 am

  36. Your business sounds interesting. Why is it important to the industry?

    Posted by: See Clear Without Glasses on November 12th, 2011 at 8:04 am

  37. It’s great, thank you.

    Posted by: lct300wblackfriday on November 17th, 2011 at 8:43 pm

  38. school of thai massage and spa certificaes Association of thai treditional medicine Appoved by the Ministry of Health

    Posted by: School of thai massage on November 25th, 2011 at 6:09 am

  39. Reviews & Cheapest Black Friday D5100 Discount On Black Friday And Cyber Monday 2011 Only

    Posted by: Black Friday D5100 on November 27th, 2011 at 12:31 am

  40. Cyber Monday 2011 Deals List my blog. you can shopping online Cyber Monday Sale have product HDTV,3DTV,Tablets,Laptops,Netbooks,Notebooks,Game Consoles & Electronics, you can see list Best Cyber Monday Deals and buy cheapest product and super saving shipping from AMAZON.COM

    Posted by: Cyber Monday 2011 Deals List on November 28th, 2011 at 8:27 pm

  41. Anuncie no Katavendo e usufrua DE TODOS OS BENEFICIOS OFERECIDOS, NO KATAVENDO voce encontra: anuncio, anuncios, anuncie, anunciar, classificado, classificados, classificados gratis, anuncios classificados gratis, imovel, imoveis, autos, automoveis, automovel, veiculos, carros, motos, celulares, video-games, computadores, dominios, cameras digitais, livros, quadinhos, revistas, cds, cd, dvds, DVD, hd, informatica, eletro-eletronicos, eletronicos, audio, video, decoracao, joias, relogios, esportes, lazer, negocios, filmadoras, videos, selos, moedas, ferramentas, antiguidades, raridades, oportunidades, promocoes, empregos, curriculos, servicos, artigos esportivos, empresas, produtos, vestuario, revistas, Sao Paulo, sp, Rio de Janeiro, rj, parana, pr, classificados, katavendo, kata-vendo, catavendo, cata-vendo, an�ncios, gr�tis, gratuitos, gratuitamente, empregos, oportunidades, comprar, vender.

    Posted by: An�ncios Gr�tis, An�ncios Classificados - Kata-Vendo on November 29th, 2011 at 1:33 pm

  42. wat a nice post

    Posted by: Movies and TV Series on November 30th, 2011 at 6:02 am

  43. I was Mtalbtvn

    Posted by: reza atayee fard on December 4th, 2011 at 9:45 am

  44. Your business sounds very interesting. It is great to have businesses that can contribute to so much to our society these days.

    Posted by: Removing Tattoos Naturally on December 12th, 2011 at 6:33 am

  45. Lorèm Ipsum dolor chita ame, anile reply. Ou tanpri e-dèy. Nou toujou, tankou plis plis plis isit la lide sou ide li yo, pa Teyorèm ou an oswa pi plis. Posted pous

    Posted by: buy cheap vacuum cleaners online on December 28th, 2011 at 3:01 am

  46. thanx for your valuable post…I love to see this type of interesting posts.

    Posted by: Watch Movies and TV Shows | AioStream on January 1st, 2012 at 7:00 am

  47. ηλεκτρονικο τσιγαρο,ego-T

    Posted by: ηλεκτρονικο τσιγαρο on January 12th, 2012 at 8:55 pm

  48. Безплатни обяви в Facebook, сайт за обяви вестник за обяви добави обяви, София, Пловдив, Варна.

    Posted by: Безплатни обяви on January 13th, 2012 at 3:10 am

  • Share and Enjoy:
  • del.icio.us
  • digg
  • Fark
  • NewsVine
  • RawSugar
  • Reddit
  • YahooMyWeb
Previously on PingMag