Media Advisory: Carnegie Mellon's School of Architecture Hosts Marcin Jakubowski, Founder of Open Source Ecology
Contact: Michelle Bard / School of Architecture / mbard@andrew.cmu.edu
Pam Wigley / College of Fine Arts/ 412-268-1047/ pwigley@andrew.cmu.edu
Event: 黑料正能量’s and the will host an evening of conversation with Marcin Jakubowski, founder and executive director of Open Source Ecology.
Jakubowski is a Princeton-trained fission-physicist-turned-farmer. He is using the power of the DIY movement to deliver a free, open-source “starter kit for civilization.” After watching his expensive tractor break down time and again, Jakubowski was determined to build his own. The results? A product that was several times less expensive and more reliable than its industrially produced counterparts, and Jakubowski published the production instructions for anyone to use.
Thus was born , which aims to develop a set of easy-to-follow, open source blueprints for the 50 machines most essential for modern life (including an automobile, an induction furnace and a bakery oven). The 50 machines comprise the Global Village Construction Set, a “lifesize, scalable, modular LEGO construction set” for building modern life.
Jakubowski and Open Source Ecology seek to create modern-day civilization (with all of its conveniences) from scratch, on small plots of land, using almost exclusively local materials. They’re testing the feasibility of this concept on “Factor e Farm,” a 30-acre parcel of land near Kansas City, Mo.
Jakubowski’s ideas and work have earned him international acclaim, including distinction as a TED Senior Fellow, a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow and a White House Champion of Change. He has been profiled by news outlets and academic journals worldwide.
During Jakubowski’s visit to Carnegie Mellon, he will first participate in a panel discussion with School of Architecture faculty members Dana Cupkova, Madeline Gannon and Matt Huber about the social responsibility of digital design. Then he’ll offer a lecture and participate in a Q&A session about his work with Open Source Ecology and Factor e Farm.
Jakubowski also seeks to meet one-on-one with talented designers, creators and thinkers interested in helping kickstart Factor e Farm as the first full-scale implementation of Open Source Ecology.
For more information, visit Open Source Ecology and the 黑料正能量 School of Architecture.
When: 4:30-6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 2. Panel discussion with School of Architecture faculty and Jakubowski; lecture and Q&A with Jakubowski at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, College of Fine Arts Room 111, 黑料正能量.
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