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February 2024
WE HAVE UPDATED OUR N55 FACEBOOK PAGE. FIND THE LATES NEWS HERE
Our new permanent greenhouse at Den Bemandede Legeplads (a public playground) in Nørrebroparken, Denmark, Produced by NJORD ApS, designed by N55/Ion Sørvin, Anne Bagger and Anne Romme.
July 2023:
SHELTER VILLAGE/ SHELTERLANDSBYEN, permanet public artwork, Fyn, Denmark 2023. by N55 and @anne_romme, in collaboration with Anne Bagger. Help from Till Wolfer, @conorkcoughlan, @per_schandorff, @njord.green and David Babba The Project is funded by @statenskunstfond and Tarup Davinde I/S
June 2023:
XYZ CARGO MOBILE WORKSHOPS, Chernihiv, Ukraine 2023:
We showed local persons from Chernihiv how to build mobile workshops. They will be used to repair homes destroyed during the Russian attacks and alike. One of these specialized XYZ CARGO Cycles will also be used for food delivery.
May 2023:
XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE visiting CLIMATE ART - ALTERNATIVE VISIONS reimagining human - art -nature relationship, Albert de Chapelles museum, Helsinki, Finland, 2023.
January 2023:
WE HAVE UPDATED OUR N55 FACEBOOK PAGE. FIND THE LATES NEWS HERE.
We are working on creating comprehensive Facebook albums for all our projects, including exhibition situations from around the world. Videos with interviews etc. are already available.
We have recently moved our N55 studio by ion Sørvin, out of Copenhagen. We maintain a Copenhagen office, but our new homebuilt studio in a small village by the sea, allows for exploring new thoughts and ways of living. N55s studio by Till Wolfer in Hamburg, Germany remains the same and we are looking forward to making a lot of interventions and experiments together, in the local urban environment. We aim to use this page in the future, as one of many ways, to share our experiences with art and everyday life. Experiences from an urban environment as well as a rural environment.
January 2023:
SHELTER VILLAGE/ SHELTERLANDSBYEN: Have a look at videos here and here
Introduction:
In spring 2022 we won a competition after being invited by the Danish Arts Foundation, to design a group of shelters for Tarup-Davinde, a former gravel pit area. Shelters are established in nature these years in Denmark, by both private people and public organisations, for anyone to use. Hikers or families that wants to sleep outdoor together etc. Traditionally shelters like this are built from wood. But we have chosen a different approach on sustainability. The sleeping platform will be from locally sourced larch wood, but the shelter itself will be made from aluminium and recycled Acrylic. They will be covered inside with a layer of local wool felt. Now we have building permission and are getting ready to produce lots of parts. We are planning to have everything ready in May. Morphologically inspired by the many sea urchin fossils to be found in the area, but translated into long lasting, durable, thin aluminum shells, clad with wool. Interior furniture in wood. We are grateful to @statenskunstfond and Tarup-Davinde I/S for the opportunity. By N55/Ion S�rvin and Anne Romme, Team: @conorkcoughlan (intern) and Anne Bagger (engineer) #shelters #thinshellstructure
2022 August:
XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE TRIKE:
Introduction:
The XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE TRIKE enable persons to do office work anywhere they want to. It is possible to choose a nice new place to work everyday, inside or outside the city. The best views are available without paying high rents. XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE TRIKE provides the necessary shelter, table, lights and seating as well as solarpower for computers and phones. Two MOBILE OFFICEs kan be aligned facing each other for a meeting. or several can be placed in a cirkel. A toilet and running water can be mounted in the seat. In cold climates the XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE TRIKES could make arrangements where a storage building or similar are used by a collective of MOBILE OFFICEs. The manual for XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE will be published soon� The XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE TRIKE is based on the XYZ CARGO TRIKE by N55/ ion S�rvin and Till Wolfer The XYZ CARGO MOBILE OFFICE TRIKE was developed for the exhibition Climate & Art- Alternative Approaches, in Finland in 2023 at the museum: chappe.fi | Facebook | Instagram
News 2022+2023:
SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSEs produced by NJORD:
Introduction:
In order to distribute our work beyond the white cube and art organisations, we have tried different ways. In this case we have made a license agreement with the company NJORD. NJORD has a focus on social and environmental sustainability and turned out to be a perfect collaborator for us. They have setup a factory and provides various size greenhouses for public and private use. The last year the greenhouses have been presented and used for different events around Copenhagen and elsewhere. NJORD Dome is based on SPACEPLATES by N55, Anne Romme and Anne Bagger
Learn more about NJORD here: Njord
June 2022
Our small contribution to Documenta 15 has started to float from Berlin to Kassel! We (N55/ Ion Sorvin and Till wolfer) have finished our contribution to the "Citizenship" for documenta 15 by german collective ZK/U. Along with The base of the raft is the old upside down hall roof of a ZK/U building. Extended with a pedal and solar drive, Our contribution consists of �XYZ OPEN CITY modules, functional elements for shitting, eating and sleeping, to be used by the crew during their journey from Berlin to Kassel. Our modules provides a compost toilet, micro garden, kitchen or ship bridge with hammocks. But they can also be brought ashore and be completely transformed according to local wishes: A performance stage, a long dinner table or other installations for art and collective actions.
March 2021
We have been invited by the group Space Caviar to make a contribution to the V-A-C exhibition, at Palazzo delle Zattere in Venice, during the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2021.
We have made three new works: XYZ CARGO MOBILE LIBRARY, XYZ CARGO MOBILE PUBLISHING STATION and the XYZ CARGO MOBILE BROADCASTING STATION. The three cycles will be on exhibition first and then be activated by Space Caviar in public space.
The XYZ CARGO LIBRARY was completed and shipped from Copenhagen last week and the framework for the XYZ CARGO MOBILE BROADCASTING STATION and the XYZ CARGO MOBILE PUBLISHING STATION was completed in Hamburg. (The special equipment, will be installed in Venice with SPACE CAVIAR, later).
XYZ CARGO is a collaboration between N55 and Till Wolfer. It was initiated by N55 in Copenhagen in 2011.
November 2019
This is what the visitors will see, from now on, flying or driving into the danish airforce base in Karup. We have just finished mounting the N55 MONUMENT FOR PEACE/ very large swing set with climbing grips, in front of the united danish defence forces headquarters in Jutland, Denmark.
We are still hoping that we can make the necessary changes to our society, redistribution of wealth and ressources, in a democratic and peaceful way. We are proud to live in a society where this sculpture is accepted in front of the headquarters of the defence. I guess it would not have been accepted in a similar place in the US, Russia or China...
N55 usually produce a manual together with the work. We have always believed that providing a written context can help communicating the work in a more transparent and nuanced way. We will be making a booklet about this thing as well. Until then here are a few things to explain some thoughts in relation to this in the form of a couple of questions and answers:
Why would N55 ever accept a commission from the Danish Defence? ( Answered by me: ion Sørvin )
Through my entire carrier my collaborators and I have been intentionally transferring money and ressources from concentrations of power like the state, various institutions like museums, foundations, municipalities, companies, private collectors etc, into N55 and used it to try to find new ways of thinking and living, that questions and criticises the same concentrations of power. We have always been trying to find ways of living with as small concentration of power as possible. Because of the fact that concentrations of power doesnt necessarily respect the rights of persons and dominates our societies.
I believe that the Danish Defence is a necessary institution and I respect the persons doing their jobs and working to try to provide peace in this way. I am strongly against some of the political decisions that Denmark has made to interfere actively in other countries. And this is a good example of what I am repeating all the time: We should always try to find ways of living with as small concentrations of power possible. This certainly applies to the military. We need them but it should always be kept as small as possible.
On a concrete level I have transferred an amount of about 700000 DKK into N55 and this project, that goes from the other activities of the Danish Defence. All the work, that we havent done ourselves, has been done by local subcontractors and will eventually benefit the local community. Building permits and dispensations has been obtained via applications to the local municipality.
Why does it look like this?
Art can be described as:
Persons and their meaningful behaviour with other persons and things in concrete situations
Our approach of course has been to find a respectful way to work in this context, with the people who has to be confronted with this in their daily life. The Defence has been represented by a group of employees that has approved the project before we started to implement it. Furthermore we have looked at the physical context. The different branches of the Danish Defence already have their own monuments in the area: A large tank and a fighterplane mounted on a pole etc. All quite large objects and camouflaged. So making a large steel object painted in camouflage seemed like a good starting point. There is a long historical tradition for building monuments in the danish military. These would often be very large and powerful objects intended to mark a historical event and instil respect. We have chosen to use the shape of a wellknown anti tank blocking device called a “czech hedgehog”. Since the tradition for monuments uses a lot of symbols, we have used a passive device like this as a symbol of defence. Furthermore it marks the unity of the three main branches of the Danish Defence in the way the three main tubes are united in a geometrical very strong way. Three bolts holds everything together. A simple narrative that is easy to grasp. This way of assembling things are also used by N55 in many other things like the XYZ CARGO bikes. The inspiration originally comes from the De Stijl movement and Gerrit Rietwelds chair.
The N55 PEACE MONUMENT is obviously useless and highly dysfunctional in a military sense. We have tried to undermine the authority of this large heavy object, by making it invisible with camouflage paint and by combining its symbolic functionality with functions from a children's playground: Climbing grips and swingsets. In this way the monument becomes accessible and can provide the pleasure of looking at the sky resting on a peace sign swing. Hopefully reminding the users of what they are here to protect. The peace sign is of course a very direct way of showing what we want to communicate. Since the headquarters of the Danish Defence is situated at an airbase, the peace signs are also visible from the sky.
July-September 2019
We were invited to make an exhibition and 2 workshops at the Volkswagen Autostadt in Wolfsburg, German:
August 2019
We did another workshop and city intervention, with students from the Copenhagen University Summerschool.
Maj 2019
We had a visit from Shanghai. A group of very well educated and well informed people named FuturistCirkle aiming to influence the future of Chinese industry. A good chance to discuss our thoughts on local production, RECLAIMING PRODUCTION, fair production, sociallly and environmentally sustainable business and the general moral and aesthetics of fair capitalism (meaning capitalism under democratic control with rules like a maximum allowed fortune and symbiotic exchange of ressources etc.) These are all core subjects for us in N55 at the moment and in focus of our artistic practice and research.
March 2019
We are primarily working on the XYZ CARGO/ XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES project at the moment. Designer He Di made a short interview with ion in March: Watch the video here. We also had a visit by students from Konstfack in Stockholm recently, did a talk and showed what we are working with:
Latest XYZ CARGO model, XYZ CARGO SHORT:
We are involved in building a monument for peace in front of the Danish Defence headquarters in Jutland. It will basically become a combination of a monument and a playground with large swings. We are still waiting for part of the building permit. The steel needed for the construction arrived recently though:
We are currently working on a large permanent public art project in Denmark. Together with Anne Romme and Anne Bagger we are also working on a large scale project based on the SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSE with a collaborator in Florida, USA.
We had a very busy year in 2017. We participated in the 11ª Bienal de Arquitetura de São Paulo, Gwangju Design Biennale, State of DESIGN, Berlin, Ecovention Europe, Museum De Domijnen among other exhibitions. The XYZ CARGO project is constantly growing and developing and new models are added. The learning process of creating and maintaining a sustainable art-business is very satisfying. Have a look at xyzcargo.com or look up @xyzcargo on Facebook.
Here is a special XYZ CARGO TRIKE for an exhibition called Ecovention Europe at the Museum De Domijnen in the Netherlands:
The XYZ CARGO CLEAN AIR TRIKE actively removes harmfull particles from the air. At a cycling speed of 25 km/h the system cleans 4.86 m3 of air per hour. A human being would inhale about 0,5 m3 per hour. The filter removes between 80 and 90 percent of 0,4 μm size particles from the air. The clean air is distributed in public space and hereby shared directly with other persons.
The CIRCULAR LIVING SYSTEM, Till Wolfer & N55, Hamburg 2017:
The CIRCULAR LIVING SYSTEM is a closed loop system for local and independent food production from own waste. On one hand It allows individuals to plant food locally and to cook. On the other hand, the resulting biowaste and excrements can be recycled in an integrated DIY biogas plant: they are returned to cooking gas and fertilizer for the new food production. The CIRCULAR LIVING SYSTEM proposes an alternative to the existing one-way street of food import, consumption and waste processing: a local, self-sustaining cycle that enables food production and waste recycling at self-determined conditions. The CIRCULAR LIVING SYSTEM consists of four circularly connected elements:
- Local garden - fertilized by its own biowaste
- Cooking station - Powered by self-produced biogas
- Collecting station - Bio waste and collective toilet for faecal upcycling
- DIY biogas plant - Generates biogas for cooking and gardening from organic waste
The CIRCULAR LIVING SYSTEM is based on the open source system XYZ OPEN CITY by N55 & Till Wolfer - a modular construction system for rooms and infrastructure. The CIRCULAR LIVING SYSTEM was developed by Till Wolfer & N55 in cooperation with Dirk Manns. All elements can be made inexpensively with hand tools made of standard materials themselves.
If anybody should wonder why we focus so much on the XYZ CARGO project these years, (we are working on other projects too) here is an article that might provide some degree of overview: CARGO BIKES AS AN ARTISTIC MEDIUM. It is a way of operating in public space and trying to work with the aesthetics of setting up a fair production and distribution of things at the same time. Have a look at xyzcargo.com or look up @xyzcargo on Facebook, or instagram xyzcargo to see the latest developments.
January 2017
We are busy developing the ROOMCYCLES/ XYZ CARGO TRUCK. More about that soon. New exhibitions comming up soon as well.
President Obama studying a copy of the XYZ CARGO BIKE
November 2016
We are currently participating in exhibitions at museums in Budapest, Berlin, Dresden and Gent. We recently took part in the Triennale der Moderne in Dessau. It has been a very busy year with a focus on developing the XYZ OPEN CITY project further together with a number of collaborators and of course the XYZ CARGO project. Learning how to share and developing and exploring the aesthetics and ethics of production and things that we need in our everyday life is becomming more and more important. We are standing at a crossroad: Either we find new ways of producing things locally in a socially and environmentally sustainable way and develop systems of distributing raw materials in a fair way globally or we will find ourselves in a situation where production and raw materials are controlled by very few extreemly wealthy and powerfull organisations/ persons.
Talk in our studio during the B_Tour festival in Copenhagen, 2016
December 2015
We have done a lot of talks and workshops in the last three months. Also for students visiting our studio here in Copenhagen. Together we made quick interventions in public space using the XYZ OPEN CITY system.
We have updated N55 discussions with a text called WE ARE ALL USEFUL IDIOTS
We have just finished the prototype for a new XYZ CARGO model as part of the development of the XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES project. The XYZ CARGO FOURWHEELER is a four -wheel-cycle that can be used for a lot of different purposes. Anything from transporting up to four people to carrying heavy loads. We also updated http://www.xyzcargo.com/ and introduced the project on facebook https://www.facebook.com/XYZCARGO/
Together with programmer Tobias Grundvig, we have taken the first steps to develop a XYZ ROBOTICS KIT, an Arduino based system for bulding robots. It uses the XYZ NODES construction system together with 3d printed parts and electronic components. The first prototype we made can make precise holes in tubes:
We also made a SHOP in the Laznia Center for Contemporary Art in Gdansk, Poland:
Together with Anne Romme we are working on several SPACEPLATES projects in various countries. We will develop this project further in the comming years. It has been on hold for a while due to Anne finishing her PHD.
August 2015
Back from a 2 months vacation. Working on the XYZ CARGO project. Till is currently representing N55 in Paris at the POC 21.The SPACEPLATES
UNDERWATER HABITAT is almost ready to be submerged in Sydney Harbour:
We enjoyed using the XYZ OPEN CITY system to create a XYZ OPEN CITY HANGOUT in front of the danish parlament as part of a workshop with students from the University of Copenhagens Summerschool in collaboration with Till Wolfer:
June, 2015:
It has been a very busy spring. We have shown a large version of XYZ OPEN CITY in Aarhus Denmark and we did an exhibition/ workshop/ porposal for a new arboretum centre at Carleton college, Minnesota, USA. We have increased the production of XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES as part of the Open Source based business XYZ CARGO. People are riding XYZ CARGO cycles in more and more places primarily in Europe.
At the moment three N55 works can be seen at the CITY CAMPING situation at the banks of the Seine in central Paris, FREE URBAN HABITAT SYSTEM, SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM and the PARKCYCLE SWARM:
We are also part of an exhibition called URBAN ORGANISMS at the Newbridge Project in Newcastle, UK:
A new piece of Land in Pennsylvania has been added to LAND:
The production of the SPACEPLATES UNDERWATER HABITAT in Sydney Australia is progressing fine:
January, 2015:
We are currently staying at the Carleton College in Minnesota, USA as part of a residency made possible
by a the Ward Lucas Lectures Series and Ross Elfline. We are doing a workshop together with the students focusing on a proposal for a new Arboretum Centre in Northfield and the illusion of ownership of land. As part of this we have built a prototype of ROOMCYCLES:
"The ROOMCYCLES is an Open Source, low cost modular system that can be used by persons to reclaim, use and inhabit areas like streets or parking lots normally reserved for cars.
A basic ROOMCYCLES unit consist of a four wheel human powered mobile platform with a minimal room mounted on top. Each of the ROOMCYCLES can be customized to function for example as a single unit living space, an office, health clinic, workshop, small factory, shop, café or similar.
ROOMCYCLES can also gather up and be combined to form larger temporary rooms and buildings. In this way a new layer of flexible, affordable, mobile and legal rooms and buildings can be added to an existing city layout and make room for new forms of social activities and ways of living."
The result of the process wil be shown at an exibition at the Braucher Gallery together with a retrospective representation of N55 works
We are also preparing a comprehensive exhibition at Aarhus Kunsthal: Extreme Sharing, part of the Collective Making series, developed by Joasia Krysa. N55 will present a new XYZ OPEN CITY:
WELCOME TO XYZ OPEN CITY!
XYZ OPEN CITY is an open source, modular, low cost system made by N55 that persons in local communities can use as a tool to implement a wide range of shared functions in public space. With XYZ OPEN CITY N55 proposes to share things in public space as an alternative to state or private ownership and hereby to establish new commons. XYZ OPEN CITY can plug into existing infrastructure and change the functions of existing buildings, indoors or outdoors, or it can be used to build a new city from scratch. The XYZ OPEN CITY system can be seen as a do-it-yourself urban planning tool; An alternative to the top down urban planning that dominates most cities in the world. N55 encourage persons to build their own XYZ OPEN CITIES.
The XYZ OPEN CITY constructed at Aarhus Kunsthal has an emphasis on sharing and local production and distribution. Not just the actual production of things and distribution of actual things but also the production of meaning and that what is significant to us in our everyday life.
07.FEB.2015 - 22.MAR.2015. Opening the 6th of Febryary. Download PDF version of the manual for the exhibition here
PLEASE HELP YOURSELF!
September, 2014:
Among other things we are setting up a temporary XYZ OPEN CITY in Estonia, developing a new project called ROOMS CYCLE, working on the socially and environmentally sustainable XYZ CARGO project ( art as a part of everyday life), participating in an exhibition at the Songwon Art Center in Seoul, Korea. On top of that we have to deliver the final design and finish the manual for the UNDERWATER HABITAT project in Sydney, Australia in early Oktober..
June, 2014:
The N55 ROCKET SYSTEM is part of COMING SOON: real imaginary futures, an exhibition organized by Bureau Europa, Maastricht, NL. We are also represented locally in our neighborhood in Copenhagen at: SWEET HOME - HOMELESS (CPH photo festival), Gallopperiet, Stadens Museum for Kunst, Freetown Christiania
Have a look at these articles about the XYZ CARGOs here
: lowtechmagazine.com and Treehugger.com
Das Fahrrad / The Bike” in Hamburg’s Museum Of Work. N55 in collaboration with Till Wolfer
The XYZ CARGOs are part of the new exhibition “Das Fahrrad / The Bike” in Hamburg’s Museum Of Work. Our new XYZ CARGO homepage is up and running and almost ready: www.xyzcargo.com.
WALKING HOUSE is currently part of a show at the MOA, Museum of Art, Seoul Korea. PARCYCLE SWARM is represented at the exhibition URBAN NATURE at the Copenhagen Museum. Recently we were invited to be part of a roundtabel discussion at DAC, The Danish centre of Architecture as part of the Copenhagen ArchitectureX Film Festival. The Swedish Documentary MICROTOPIA, that we are participating in, was also shown on this occassion and by the Danish national television.
We are still working on the large scale urban development project in Hedehusene in the outskirts of Copenhagen, invited by White Architects.
Its getting more and more clear to us how we all need to: Scale down consumption, take up less space, share more, repair more and produce as much of the things that we need in our everyday life locally. its also crucial to develope systems for fair distribution of raw materials and our planets ressources in general. The XYZ CARGOS are an important part of N55´s attempt to find ways of living in compliance with all this.
Marts 2014:
Art as a part of everyday life: XYZ CARGO BIKE, Copenhagen 2014
N55 have now tested the new XYZ CARGO BIKE and it works beyond all expectations. Its really fast, steady, slim, lightweight and introducing a whole new "flat front" design of the front wheel and steering geometry. We will finish some details and test it thoroughly within the next couple of months and then make it available as a finished bike, as a kit or offer persons to build their own at workshops along with the XYZ CARGO TRIKE. The XYZ CARGO BIKE is based on the N55 Open Source project XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES and is designed in collaboration with Till Wolfer and Jesper Rølund. The XYZ BABY ( made in collaboration with Anne Romme) is also on its way so we will be able to offer three models soon: XYZ CARGO TRIKE, XYZ CARGO BIKE and the XYZ CARGO BABY. The overall work with art as a part of everyday life will continue and a lot of everyday life things are on the way...
The XYZ CARGO BIKE is based on the XYZ SPACEFRAMES VEHICLES and hereby on the general XYZ NODES system. the new manual for XYZ NODES can be found here.
Here is the newest version of XYZ CARGO BIKE. ( 13th of march 2014) We are still fixing small details, but its almost ready...
At the moment N55 is also working with the following things:
We are involved in a large scale urban planning project in Hedehusene, Denmark, with White Architects, Malmø. N55s main strategy is to convince the clients that a major distribution of power in society is needed, in order to find ways of existing with as small concentrations of power as possible, so that any real changes can happen. The power of logic versus the logic of power. The guys at White have created a fantastic team of specialists in very different fields and its really interesting to be part of this.
Together with architect Anne Romme, Engineer Anne Bagger and Engineer Daniel Sang-Hoon Lee, we are developing a SPACEPLATES underwater habitat, for marin biologist Loyd Godson, to be placed at the Great Barrier reef in Australia. Its going to be realized soon.
We have just started a new collaboration with Dane Shea aiming to make an open source XYZ 3D PRINTER. It will be based on the XYZ NODES system and different open source hardware and software. Really exciting!
We are currently planning a situation in Denver Colorado together with Architect/ Artist/ Curator Rori Knudtson later this year. It will include the use of XYZ CARGO cycles s and maybe also the XYZ OPEN CITY.
XYZ CARGO BIKE PROTOTYPE
November 2013:
We have just finished installing a prototype of XYZ OPEN CITY in Groningen, The Netherlands. XYZ OPEN CITY is an open source, modular, low cost system that persons in local communities can use as a tool to implement a wide range of shared functions in public space. The XYZ OPEN CITY system can be used to build anything from urban gardens to fully functional insulated housing. Building materials can be new or recycled. XYZ OPEN CITY constructions can be dedicated to a specific purpose like for example an OPEN POWER STATION based on solar panels and/or wind turbines or it can form multifunctional buildings providing a variety of facilities. It can also be used to construct new infrastructure like bridges, etc. With XYZ OPEN CITY N55 proposes to share things in public space as an alternative to state or private ownership and hereby to establish new commons. XYZ OPEN CITY can plug into existing infrastructure and change the functions of existing buildings, indoors or outdoors, or it can be used to build a new city from scratch. When the system is implemented in an area, it can grow in relation to local needs and wishes. The XYZ OPEN CITY system can be seen as a do-it-yourself urban planning tool; An alternative to the top down urban planning that dominates most cities in the world. N55 encourage persons to build their own XYZ OPEN CITIES and hereby influence their local urban environments. The single modules are so lightweight that a crowd of people can carry one each, gather up at a site and quickly create a large structure with different functions in public space.
The manual for XYZ OPEN CITY can be found here
July 2013:
We have just tested the new PARKCYCLE SWARM in Copenhagen. The PARKCYCLE SWARM is a modular system that empower persons to build an instant public park whenever and wherever they want to. The PARKCYCLE SWARM consists of a number of human powered mobile gardens. The individual gardens can be combined to form public parks. A PARKCYCLE SWARM can consist of any number of individual gardens.
Check out the manual for PARKCYCLE SWARM here
The PARKCYCLE SWARM system is based on the XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES project. ( Please find the manual here). PARKCYCLE SWARM is an Open Source project by N55 and Till Wolfer in collaboration with the Rebar group.
April 2013:
XYZ CARGO workshop at Pb43
We have just finished a 5 day workshop at Pb43 ( A user driven cultural center in Copenhagen ) Have a look at a video made in the situation here.
We are currently doing a workshop at the Ecological production school in Copenhagen, Teaching the students how to build a XYZ CARGO from scratch. In the next month we will do two workshops in Leipzig, Germany and one in Hamburg.
April 2013:
The last couple of months we have been concentrating on developing and finishing the design of the XYZ CARGO. Its based on our Open Source construction system XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES. In order to finance the further development of new free designs we are now starting up a production and distribution of the XYZ CARGO. The XYZ CARGO have been thoroughly tested and its ready!. The aim is to produce as much as possible of the vehicle locally and to produce and sell it in a fair way. The economy involved in the production will be completely transparent. It will be published in order for buyers to see what our fee for producing and assembling the XYZ CARGO is. You can preview the XYZ CARGO. com site here. The XYZ SHOP will be fully functional and ready before the first of June 2013.
The attempt to make an actual product based on a fair and environmentally friendly way of thinking
is part of an ongoing experiment focusing on low tech systems like the XYZ NODES construction system ( manual will be published soon) and high tech systems like the SPACEPLATES. We are trying to find ways of distributing our work where it can become part of any persons everyday life if they want it. At the same time we are researching the ethical and aesthetic implications of production and distribution. Can we find new and more fair ways of producing and distributing things?
More thoughts on design, production and distribution of things here: WE ARE ALL DESIGNERS
November 2012:
From now on N55 NEWS will be updated more frequently. It will work as a timeline and new stuff will just be added.
We participated in 13 exhibitions in 2012. News about our exhibition activity can always be found at N55 CV.
Please find a new updated version of the SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSE manual here
SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSE in Bristol, UK
In December we will travel to Hong Kong to participate in the exhibition "Design Renegade", with XYZ MOBILE FACTORY:
Setting up the XYZ MOBILE FACTORY in Hong Kong
We are participating in the exhibition "Get it louder" in Beijing and we gave a talk there recently.
We have developed a new Version of the XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES: The XYZ CARGO. Find some pictures of it in the manual for XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES here. We aim to take this project all the way and make our art part of everyday life for any person that would like it to be so. In order to find out if its possible to establish a fair way of producing and selling things locally under the realm of Open Source, and Creative Commons, we have decided to set up a MICRO BUSINESS producing and selling XYZ CARGOs locally and under fair conditions. We have been working for months in order to refine the design and production and we hope to be able to deliver homemade XYZ CARGOs in the spring. At the beginning of next year a crowdfunding campaign will be set up, enabling everyone to support this further development of XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES. Also we are searching for collaborators in production and distribution here . An internet store possibility for online ordering of XYZ CARGOs will be available soon. Until then inquire about prices ETC and place your order here. The manuals for the basic XYZ construction principles and the XYZ recumbent type will nonetheless remain for public download as specified here.
XYZ CARGO read more here
We are continuing our research into SPACEPLATES and an academic paper written together with our collaborators, architect Anne Romme and now also engineer Anne Bagger, about the subject, has been accepted for the ICSA, International Conference Structures and Architecture 2013. Follow the work at the manual for SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSE. New summer photos of the worlds first permanent large structure using the principles can be found here
Negative gaussian curvature- model by Johann Rooijackers made for
the further development of the SPACEPLATES system.
We are looking for someone that can help us updating the N55 BOOK for printing a new edition. The current edition is from 2003. So there is a lot of new work to include. See more here
We have published two new N55 TEXTS: WE ARE ALL DESIGNERS, and THE POWER OF LOGIC VERSUS THE LOGIC OF POWER-urban planning.
A new MOVEMENT CAMPAIGN has been launched: RECLAIM PRODUCTION.
More about this soon. What if a simple construction system could be used to build most of the things persons need in their everyday life, in a sustainable way, from houses, vehicles to furniture etc? Manual for XYZNODES will be published soon!
The WALKING HOUSE has been moved to PB43 in Copenhagen. We are working on fixing a computer problem at the moment.
See WALKING HOUSE walk here.
FAMILY XYZ TOUR, July
April 2012:
XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES, Dundee, Scotland
XYZ FACTORY, cuxhaven, Germany
Cuxhaven, Germany
We are proud to present the first large scale version of the SPACEPLATES building system developed by N55 in collaboration with Anne Romme: The SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSE in Bristol, UK. You can see a video documentation here. See the manual here.
SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSE. Bristol, UK. 2012
SPACEPLATES GREENHOUSE prototype, Copenhagen 2011
Relaxing at The ONE CITY CAMPAIGN site, 2011
WALKING HOUSE is now part of the ONE CITY CAMPAIGN in the center of Copenhagen.ONE CITY CAMPAIGN is a collaboration between N55, Anne Romme and the INSTANT HERLEV institute. The ONE CITY CAMPAIGN attempts to create connections between the urban and the suburban.
A number of things and persons will participate in the ONE CITY CAMPAIGN during the comming year. The N55 ship, the SHIP OF FOOLS will be moored at a central site in Copenhagen, where food will be grown etc. The SHIP OF FOOLS together with the WALKING HOUSE will serve as accomodation for persons working in the situation.
You can see WALKING HOUSE walk here. Watch a time lapse video here. The very first steps can be watched here. Or read about it in Dwell magazine here.
WALKING HOUSE at the ONE CITY CAMPAIGN, 2011
XYZ SPACEFRAME VEHICLES are also part of the ONE CITY CAMPAIGN. Please see the manual here or watch them in action here.
N55 are currently developing a new system called the PUBLIC SPACE ROVER in collaboration with Bill Mckenna, Sam Kronick and Anne Romme. The PUBLIC SPACE ROVER will be used to perform various missions in PUBLIC SPACE. At the moment we are working on the control systems. It can be controlled by a smartphone or a computer positioned anywhere in the world using the internet and wifi. Watch a walking test at the ONE CITY CAMPAIGN here
PUBLIC SPACE ROVER taking a walk at ONE CITY CAMPAIGN
COMMUNAL BAKERY was realized last spring in Rotterdam and will be part of the ONE CITY CAMPAIGN this summer in COPENHAGEN.
Have a look at the new manual for WORK IN PROGRESS here
DISCUSSIONS have been updated. Read new text here.
We have updated WALKING HOUSE SITUATIONS
We have updated MICRO DWELLINGS SITUATIONS
We have updated URBAN FREE HABITAT SYSTEM SITUATIONS
Manual for SOLAR POWER STATION (1999) has been added
N55 BOOK was released in January 2004. Please notice that there
are lots of new manuals ready to be downloaded at N55
MANUALS
A digital version of N55 BOOK can be downloaded
for free here.
Please find an updated version of N55CV here
NEWS was last updated March 2012
Thanks to Grethe Lund for photos of the ONE CITY CAMPAIGN