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Design in Developing Countries 1950 – 1985: a summing-up

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2016

Victor Papanek
Victor Papanek*
Affiliation:
School of Architecture and Urban Design, The University of Kansas, 417 Marvin Hall, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, U.S.A.
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Abstract

Since 1950, and increasingly through the 1960s, designers from developed countries tried to help with the design problems of developing societies. They were usually more successful when they lived in the country in question for an extended period and worked closely with local people. During the 1970s developing countries became more independent and able to design for themselves. Little has been written about design in the Third World other than official and conference reports. A seminar in 1975 demonstrated that cooperation between countries, leading to self-help, should replace reliance on ‘international experts’. The most urgent need now is for a breakthrough in alternative energy technology, and this is most likely to come from the Third World.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Art Libraries Journal , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , 1986 , pp. 44 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © The Art Libraries Society 1986

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References

References

1. Graburn, Nelson H. H. (Ed): Ethnic & Tourist Arts. University of California Press, Berkeley 1976 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Papanek, Victor: Miljön och Miljonerna: Design som tjänst eller fortjänst? Bonniers, Stockholm 1970, pp. 47–48 Papanek, Victor: Design for the Real World (Second Revised Edition) Thames & Hudson Ltd, London 1985, pp. 83–85 Google Scholar
3. Ibid pp. 78–79 Ibid pp. 224–228 Google Scholar
4. Form (Sweden) No. 7, 1967, pp. 460–461 Form (Sweden) No. 2, 1968, pp. 92–94 Google Scholar
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9. Ahmedabad Declaration, mimeogr. 4pp., Ahmedabad & Bombay, January 1979 Google Scholar
10. Rao, A.G.: Industrial Design Centre: A Decade of Design Experience. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay 1979 Google Scholar
11. Naipaul, V.S.: ‘India: Synthesis & Mimicry’ in The New York Review 16 September 1976 Google Scholar
12. Diseno Para Mexico. Disenadores Industriales Instituto Technico Politico Nacional, Mexico City 1976 Google Scholar
13. Hale, P.R. & Williams, B.D. (Ed): Liklik Buk: A rural development Handbook Catalogue. Liklik Buk Information Centre, Lae, Papua New Guinea 1977 Google Scholar
14. Bicknell, Julian & McQuiston, Liz (Ed): Design for Need. Pergamon Press, Oxford & New York 1977 Google Scholar
15. Berg, Liv & Nimpuno, Krisno: Recycling: Fran Skräp till Nytta. Stockholm 1972 Google Scholar
16. Droscha, Hellmut: Der Schatz im Kiwusee: Technik für die Dritte Welt. VDI Verlag, Dusseldorf 1974 Google Scholar
17. Darrow, Ken & Pam, Rick: Appropriate Technology Scourcebook. Volunteers in Asia Publications, Stanford (Calif.) 1976 Google Scholar
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19. Energy for Rural Development. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. 1976 Google Scholar
20 Proposal for International Design School in a Developing Country. WG-4 ICSID, 1975. This was also published as follows:Google Scholar
Papanek, Victor: ‘Proposal: For the Southern Half of the Globe’ in Design Studies (Journal of the Design Research Society), Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1983, pp. 61–64, Surrey, England, and as ‘Propuesta para el Hemisferio Sur’ in Magenta, No. 08/09, 1985, pp. 51–55, Guadalajara, Mexico Google Scholar
21. ICSID Philips Award for Design in Developing Countries. Pamphlet, 8 pp. published by ICSID Secretariat (Brussels), and Philips (Eindhoven), no date.Google Scholar
22. Design for Export. International Trade Centre, ITC/UNCTAD/GATT, Geneva, 1975 Google Scholar
23. A splendid self-help book for building houses, settlements, latrines, alternative power sources and much else has been written by the Dutch architect and designer van Lengen as a ‘Barefoof Architect’s Manual’ and published in Mexico. It is: Manual Del Arquitecto Descalzo: Como Construir Casas y Otros Edificios, by Lengen, Johan van, Editorial Concepto S.A., 1983, Mexico City.Google Scholar
On farm tools a recent pamphlet from Brazil deserves mention: Eduardo Barroso, Flavio Ferreira & Osmar Goeden Reis: Equipamentos Agricolas: Apropriados ao Pequeno Productor Rural. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento, Brasilia, 1983 Google Scholar
Goncalves, Luiz C. C.: Desenho Industrial Brasileiro? Editora da Universidade Federal do Parano, Curitiba, 1981 Google Scholar
Neto, Eduardo Barroso, Kollbrunner, Thomas & Broeck, Fabrice Vanden: Estrategia De Design Para Os Paises Perifericos. CNPq, Brasilia, 1981 Google Scholar
Neto, Euardo Barroso (Ed): Desenho Industrial: Desenvolvimento de Produtos, CNPq, Brasilia, 1982 and from Colombia:Google Scholar
Lopez, Oscar Hidalgo: Manual De Construccion Con Bambu, Universidad Nacional de Colombio, Bogota, 1981 The magazine Mimar should also be mentioned in this connection. Published in English in Singapore, the first 16 issues consist of lucidly written papers and overmasteringly beautiful colour photos of Third World Architecture and Design. Magenta is a bilingual (English and Spanish) magazine published in Guadalajara, Mexico. It deals with architecture and the various area of design. Besides offering capsule news about design from all over the world, it features many articles written from a Latin American viewpoint that deal with developing countries.Google Scholar
The strongest consumer’s association in any developing country, possibly the world, is the Consumer’s Association of Penang in Malaysia. This group publishes weekly newspapers, magazines, books and runs international symposia that deal with consumer questions and design for development.Google Scholar
Consumer’s Association of Penang: Development And The Environmental Crisis: A Malaysian Case. Penang: CAP, 1982 Google Scholar
24. Possibly the two books providing the greatest insight are: Harrison, Paul: Inside The Third World, Penguin, Middlesex, 1979 Google Scholar
Harrison, Paul: The Third World Tomorrow, Penguin, Middlesex, 1980 Google Scholar

References

1. Lock, Christine: Some Notes & Suggestions on Handmilling & Making Handmills. Royal Academy of Architecture, Copenhagen, 1972.Google Scholar
2. I was awarded the ICSID/Kyoto Honours Award for this in 1981. An early version was published as ‘Project Batta Koya’ in Industrial Design, New York, July-August 1975, pp. 56–57.Google Scholar
3. See: Papanek, Victor: Design for the Real World (Second, Revised Edition), pp. 281–283, Thames & Hudson Ltd., London, 1985, and ‘Pedalando sul Trattore’ in Modo, No. 7, March 1978, Milano.Google Scholar